DON’T FIGHT ALONE: How Isolation Keeps Us Stuck in Anxiety and Why Community Helps Us Win Mental Battlesنموونە

If we're going to win the battle in our minds, we must fight together. But how do we do this practically? Let me give you three specific next steps.

First, identify someone you'll ask for help from today, or reach out to someone and "jump into their pit" with them.

One mark of growing in Christ-likeness is minimizing the gap between being convicted by the Holy Spirit to do something and acting on it. If God is moving in your heart today, leading you to confess "I am isolated, I am lonely, I need people, I am struggling," identify somebody you will reach out to today.

You might not be able to have the conversation today, but you could make a phone call, email, or text and say, "Hey, I want to get together this week. Can we schedule some time?"

If you know someone who is isolated or lonely, reach out and say, "I'm here for you. I don't have all the answers, but I want to be in it with you."

Second, share the true nature of the battle to renew your mind.

Others can't pray with specificity or encourage with empathy when fighting a battle they don't know about. This transparency might be especially challenging for men, as research shows women reach out during crises more quickly than men. But men need deep connections too.

For introverts, this process might look different. You may not need as many people, and intentional investments may be more taxing. But you still need those relationships.

If no one knows about your battle, you're more vulnerable than you realize. James 5 demonstrates the power of community, stating that healing comes from confessing our sins to each other.

Third, say the last two percent.

In many relationships, there's the 98 percent we feel free to share, and then there's the 2 percent we hold back. That 2 percent typically includes what we're afraid to say or worried about how people will respond.

But that last 2 percent is usually the good stuff—where real intimacy begins. If we want genuine friendships that help us win the battles in our minds, we need to share the easy 98 percent and the difficult 2 percent.

These steps might feel terrifying if you're still carrying relational wounds. You might need professional help to process those wounds. Take it one piece at a time—you don't need to bear your entire soul immediately.

The battle in your mind is too important to fight alone. God designed us for community because He knew we would need each other for sustained transformation.

Let me close with this encouragement from Ecclesiastes 4:9-12: "Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up."

It's been such an honor to encourage you through this plan. If you want to keep this encouragement coming, click here for complimentary access to my Overcoming Anxiety Battle Plan, a tool that's helped thousands take their next step towards healing with Jesus and others.