Yesterday we worked on a check list on your care of the physical self. Today I want to begin a list of caring for your emotional health. Ministry is stressful, with lots of ups and downs. It is important that you identify ways to keep yourself emotionally healthy in the midst of the demanding nature of your profession. Again, this is just a beginning of some ideas for you to consider. You should add others yourself.
1. Do you have a practice of bringing your emotional stresses to God in prayer?
2. Do you have one or two close friends with whom you can unload?
3. Have you considered a spiritual guide with whom you can meet on a regular basis?
4. Do you have a discipline of sharing protective time with your spouse or loved one?
5. Are you able to identify and name the emotions that you are feeling?
6. Are you alert to the signs that you are becoming overstressed?
7. Have you explored the art of writing about what is stressing you as a form of self-therapy?
8. Do you have a particular practice of relaxation that you can employ to relax you?
9. When you are feeling a strong emotion, can you use a parallel experience of that emotion in Scripture to process what you are experiencing?
10. Are you aware of a counselor to whom you can turn when you need that form of counseling?
11. Can you listen to criticism without taking it as a negative reflection on you as a person?
12. Do you occasionally go on retreat, both for an afternoon and for a week, to gain perspective on what you are experiencing?
13. Have you made use of monasteries as a source of spiritual refreshment?
14. Have you identified particular experiences that are refreshing? i.e. going to a movie, listening to music, reading a novel, etc.
15. Have you made use of humor as a way of interrupting a negative spiral of emotions?
16. Do you have a hobby that can interrupt your stress?
These are some possibilities. What other ways have you found to keep yourself emotionally healthy?
