Understanding stress in Christian living.

Image via WikipediaUnderstanding stress in Christian living.




There is much talk about stress these days. Unfortunately, the idea that stress is mainly the result of inadequate coping and inappropriate perception of the world is all too common. Conflict resolution and stress management courses have sometimes contributed to this interpretation by their emphasis on the individual person under pressure, at the expense of a better understanding of the work or family environments, and the social context in which the stress is experienced.



Hans Selye, one of the earliest researchers on human stress, distinguished between the positive or pleasant manifestations of stress (eustress), and the negative or unpleasant manifestations (distress). he concluded that eustress causes us much less damage emotionally and physically than distress; in the final analysis it is 'how you take' a given stressor which determines whether you can successfully adapt to pressure and change. We might recall the many reasons the Apostle Paul had for suffering distress - 'insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities' and yet he had inner resources that enabled him to rise above these: 'when I am weak, then I am strong... I will most gladly spend and be spent for your soul' (2 Corinthians 12:10, 15). A most daunting model of an ongoing powerful living, in the face of a negative work and social environment!



Finally, it is worth noting the related terms of burnout and depression. 'Burnout' relates to 'fuel depletion.' When a Christian suffers burnout, major emotional exhaustion and demoralization, it implies that there was an earlier stage of being 'on fire.' Burnout is a malady of the zealous, not the lukewarm, and it is characterized by the expending of great emotional energy, with little 'fuel replenishment' in return. 'Depression', on the other hand, relates to intra-psychic factors. Psychologist Dorothy Rowe says that depression is a prison that we build for ourselves - principally by holding certain key misperceptions about ourselves.