Become New with John Ortberg How to Stop Feeling Anxious This Christmas (w/Steve Cuss)
10 snips
Nov 28, 2025 
In this engaging discussion, Steve Cuss, a pastor and leadership coach specializing in anxiety management, shares insights on navigating holiday stress. He delves into how family dynamics trigger old patterns and explains the contagious nature of reactivity. Steve emphasizes practical tools like noticing reactivity and using curiosity to stay grounded, alongside exploring Jesus as a model of a non-anxious presence. He also introduces a breath-prayer ritual to help re-center before gatherings and exposes the false gospel of self that fuels anxiety.
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Why Reactivity Repeats In Systems
- Systems theory explains why families and workplaces repeat the same reactive patterns over and over.
- Reactivity often convinces us it's not present and blinds us to God's presence.
Reactivity Is Contagious Anxiety
- Reactivity is a contagious form of chronic anxiety that spreads through relationships.
- It both numbs people to God's presence and drives them into self-focused solutions.
Twelve Days Before Reverting To Old Patterns
- Steve describes staying non-reactive only 12 days before reverting to childhood reactivity while visiting family.
- He uses it to illustrate how quickly family dynamics pull us back into old patterns.
