I’m not sure whether there is any comfort in the fact that the struggles that clergy are experiencing are not restricted to clergy in this country, but I came upon an article on the same subject but from research done in Australia. In that article, the author made an interesting comparison between what it means to be stressed out and burnt out. Since I think that is an important distinction, I share his list with you.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BURNOUT AND STRESS
Dr. Arch Hart
* Burnout is a defense characterized by disengagement.
* Stress is characterized by overengagement.
* In Burnout the emotions become blunted.
* In Stress the emotions become over-reactive.
* In Burnout the emotional damage is primary.
* In Stress the physical damage is primary.
* The exhaustion of Burnout affects motivation and drive.
* The exhaustion of Stress affects physical energy.
* Burnout produces demoralization.
* Stress produces disintegration.
* Burnout can best be understood as a loss of ideals and hope.
* Stress can best be understood as a loss of fuel and energy.
* The depression of Burnout is caused by the grief engendered by the loss of ideals and hope.
* The depression of Stress is produced by the body’s need to protect itself and conserve energy.
* Burnout produces a sense of helplessness and hopelessness.
* Stress produces a sense of urgency and hyperactivity.
* Burnout produces paranoia, depersonalization and detachment.
* Stress produces panic, phobic, and anxiety-type disorders.
* Burnout may never kill you but your long life may not seem worth living.
* Stress may kill you prematurely, and you won’t have enough time to finish what you started.
As you read this comparison, it becomes clear that Burnout is more closely linked to spiritual issues while stress results from trying to do too much in too little time and not taking the necessary breaks. It is a good distinction to keep in mind. When we experience burn out, we need to deliberately take some recreative breaks but when we rest up, we can continue on. When we experience being burned out, we have lost the sense of meaning in our work. We need to reconnect with the source of our call.
You might want to put these in parallel columns and give yourself a rating in each area. From one to ten, how do you rate. When you total it up, you have a sense of what you need to focus on.
