Let's be honest: most of us don't think we're in a hurry. Maybe we're not running late to every appointment or juggling three calendars at once. But hurry has a sneaky way of weaving itself into our hearts, our habits, and even our faith lives, without our noticing.
I've been there. And I didn't realize how much I was living from a place of rush until stillness felt… uncomfortable.
What is hurry sickness?
"Hurry sickness" is a name for that constant, low-grade sense that you need to move faster, do more, and get to the next thing, even when nothing is actually urgent. The term goes back to the 1970s and cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman. More recently, pastor John Mark Comer wrote about it for Christians in The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.
So how do you know if you've got a little hurry problem?
3 signs of hurry sickness (with love and zero shame) 💛
1. You feel weird when you're not doing something. You sit down to rest and immediately think of ten things you "should" be doing. Your body might be still, but your brain is sprinting. You feel like rest has to be earned, which makes it really hard to just receive it.
2. You multitask… everything. You cook while doing laundry. You listen to a podcast on a walk. You scroll your phone while watching a movie (yep, guilty). You're technically there, but not really present.
3. You rush when there's no reason to. You speed through Target even when you have nowhere to be. You feel irritated in traffic on a Sunday. You stand impatiently watching the timer while the microwave reheats your meal. Your nervous system is always bracing for the next thing.
Sound familiar? Me too.
But here's the good news: hurry isn't who you are. It's just a habit. And habits can be gently unlearned.
5 mistakes women make when trying to slow down
So many of us reach midlife with a deep longing for less noise, more peace. We crave margin. Spaciousness. Time to breathe, pray, and reconnect with what matters. And yet… even in our best efforts to slow down, we sometimes stay stuck in the very patterns we're trying to release.
🌪 1. Trying to slow down without letting go. You can't create space while clinging to everything. Slowing down isn't just about moving slower. It's about releasing what no longer serves. Ask yourself: What am I holding onto that's keeping me hurried?
📅 2. Filling the schedule with "better" things instead of fewer things. We swap hustle for healing retreats, stack spiritual podcasts on top of grocery runs, and call it rest. But peace doesn't come from doing better things. It comes from doing fewer things with greater intention.
🧠 3. Thinking it's a time-management issue. It's not just about better planning. It's about inner posture. Slowing down is a soul shift, not a scheduling fix.
🤍 4. Believing you need to "earn" rest. Rest is not a reward. It's your God-given rhythm. You don't need to do more to deserve stillness. You just need to trust that stillness is where your renewal begins.
💨 5. Forgetting the body: ignoring your breath and nervous system. You can't slow your life without slowing your body. Many women overlook the importance of a regulated nervous system. Intentional breath, grounding, and simply pausing throughout the day are not luxuries; they're lifelines. When we forget to breathe, we forget how to be present.
How do I stop rushing?
Here's a little challenge for the week: do one thing slowly, on purpose.
✔️ Drink your coffee without checking your phone.
✔️ Go on a walk without earbuds.
✔️ Fold laundry (or some other ordinary task) and sing or pray instead of rushing through it.
It doesn't have to be fancy. Just choose presence over a hurried pace. You might be surprised what opens up when you do.
A few questions women ask me about hurry
Is hurry sickness a real diagnosis? No. It's not a medical diagnosis. It's a helpful name for a pattern of constant rushing that many of us recognize in ourselves.
Why do I feel guilty when I rest? Often it's because we've come to believe rest must be earned. But rest isn't a reward. It's a God-given rhythm, built into creation itself.
What's the first step to slowing down? Do one ordinary thing slowly, on purpose, this week. Small, repeated choices are what gently unlearn the habit of hurry.
A gentle invitation to return
Friend, if you're making any of these mistakes, you're not alone.
The path to unhurried living isn't a checklist to master. It's a gentle invitation to return: to presence, to peace, to your inner wisdom.
If you've tried to slow down and it hasn't stuck, you're not alone. My book Women Who Rest is a simple, sacred path toward a more unhurried life. 🤍 Find your copy here
With BIG love, Julie
