While there are certainly traumatic events that a pastor experiences in exercising the ministry, a less obvious but very real strain in the ministry is the continual vicarious experience of trauma that a pastor has from listening and counseling others who are going through difficult times. As I have mentioned previously, there are times when you can stand before your congregation on a Sunday morning and be struck by how many people are wounded and bearing deep burdens in your congregation.
In a sense, like a mirror, as you work with a person in deep pain, you reflect that pain in your own being. The challenge is that frequently you continue to bear that person’s pain and then move to the next person and the next person, hearing and reflecting their pain as well. The emotional burden is real and cumulative. In addition, you feel the pain of the institution — both congregation and denomination — and the anxiety of society around you.
This build up of secondary traumatic stress is reflected in a variety of symptoms — sleep problems, irritability, impulsiveness, relational problems, isolation, blame, depression, a feeling of dread or hopelessness, etc. The dramatic rise in obesity among the clergy as well as destructive acting out in unhealthy ways is often a reflection of secondary traumatic stress. It can easily lead to what is often referred to as burn out. It can also lead to a numbing or shutting down of your feelings and an increased detachment.
Burnout has been described as a psychological syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced sense of personal accomplishment. It has also been described as the chronic condition of perceived demands outweighing perceived resources. Such labels should not be seen as an excuse but rather as signs that one must attend to the building up of antibodies to counter the stress you are experiencing.
That is what we will be exploring in the next several blogs.
