Alicia Michelle, the author of Emotional Confidence: "Three Simple Steps to Manage Emotions with Science and Scripture."

Alicia Michelle helps women manage emotions with faith and science

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When Alicia Michelle turned 50, she had already walked through a season that nearly cost her life.

It was a wake-up call that forced her to slow down, face her emotions and listen to God in a deeper way. Today, she uses that journey to help other Christian women manage their emotions through biblical truth and brain science.

“I work as a mindset coach now, specifically helping women manage emotions,” Alicia explained. “I work with faith-based women using the scriptural side of mindset work, but also help them understand the science behind how their minds and bodies work together.

“That combination has been life-changing for me and for the women I serve,” she added.

Her book, “Emotional Confidence: Three Simple Steps to Manage Emotions with Science and Scripture,” offers a practical framework called the ADD method – acknowledge, discern and decide – that equips readers to process emotions with God’s help.

A medical crisis that changed everything

For years, Alicia was the picture of productivity. She homeschooled four children while her husband traveled half the time. But, beneath the surface, she was running on fumes.

“I would sleep maybe four hours a night,” she explained. “After doing that for about 10 to 15 years, I was just running on empty.”

In 2017, everything came to a head while she was on a missions trip in Mexico. A severe headache led to an emergency hospital visit, where doctors discovered she was suffering from a vertebral artery dissection. It was an injury more commonly seen in victims of car accidents.

“They said, ‘We can’t believe you’re standing here,’” Alicia recalled.

She was transferred to a neurological intensive care unit. But, a week later, the same thing happened on the other side of her neck. The result required Alicia to spend nine months flat on her back.

“Everything was stripped away from me,” she said. “In those moments, when everything is taken away, you have a choice. You can either learn from it or keep going in your mess. I remember sensing God saying, ‘This is your second chance. There will not be a third.’”

That experience forced Alicia to address the deeper reasons she had ignored her personal needs.

“It wasn’t that I needed a hack to learn how to sleep more,” she explained. “I needed to figure out why I was so driven and still not satisfied after all I was doing.”

Helping women confront long-buried emotions

While Alicia’s coaching is open to all, she focuses primarily on Christian women because she understands the unique pressures they face.

“They’re under tremendous pressure all the time. Their families occupy all of their attention, and then they add a job on top of that. The stress levels are enormous,” she explained.

One common struggle is “mom guilt,” the persistent feeling that a mother should have done something differently.

“This age, the fifties and beyond, is when it either reveals itself or it really comes to the surface,” Alicia said. “The earlier years of parenting are so noisy that we don’t notice it. But when things quiet down, those feelings can really rise up.”

She also helps women address the inner critic, which is the voice she describes not as an enemy to be silenced, but rather as a misguided protector.

“The inner critic is designed to alert us to danger,” she explained. “It’s a helpful voice that’s gone toxic. We need to acknowledge it, understand why it’s there and then bring it to the foot of the cross.”

A biblical approach to emotions

In “Emotional Confidence,” Alicia outlines a three-step system for processing emotions:

  • Acknowledge – Recognize the emotion and why it makes sense. It requires people to lean into God’s compassion in that moment because he understands what they are going through.
  • Discern – Seek God’s clarity to separate truth from distortion.
  • Decide – Determine the next step with God’s guidance and have courage to act.

“I believe emotions are invitations to see God in the everyday,” Alicia said. “They’re not meant to rule our lives, but they are indicators of what’s going on inside.”

Guarding mental and spiritual health

Alicia also encourages clients to set boundaries on things that impact their mindset, including news and social media. After launching her book, she took a six-week break from all online engagement. The results were so positive that she now keeps social media apps on a separate work phone.

“No one else is going to manage our mental habits for us,” she said. “We have to notice what’s influencing our perspective and be willing to set boundaries.”

Navigating life after 50

Now that she’s crossed the milestone herself, Alicia sees the years ahead as a time for reflection and fresh vision.

“It requires mourning what’s been lost, but also celebrating the dreams God might give space to embrace now,” she explained. “This season is an opportunity to rediscover why he made us and what he gave us to help bring his light to the world.”

She also acknowledges the challenges of the “sandwich generation,” when adults start caring for their aging parents shortly after their children are on their own.

Whether through coaching, support groups or friendships, Alicia urges people to find ways to stay spiritually and emotionally strong for these responsibilities.

Spreading hope through her podcast

Alicia hosts “The Christian Mindset Coach podcast,” now with more than 300 episodes and listeners in nearly every country. She uses it to teach biblical mindset principles, share personal stories and occasionally interview guests.

“I can’t tell you how many people say, ‘I feel like I know you,’” she said. “If the only way someone hears they’re not alone is through my podcast, then that’s a gift.”

A message for those seeking purpose

For people over 50 who are unsure about their next chapter, Alicia offers this encouragement:

“Ask yourself, am I looking at this season with hope or with regret?,” she explained. “Every day is a chance to keep growing and to be God’s light in the world. God is not done with us just because we’ve reached a certain age. We all have an assignment from him to complete.”

For more information

People can connect with Alicia in several ways, including:

Alicia’s podcast, “The Christian Mindset Coach,” is also available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube.

Her book, “Emotional Confidence: Three Simple Steps to Manage Emotions with Science and Scripture,” is available on Amazon and in other bookstores.

If you buy Alicia’s book from a link above, Forward From 50 may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

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