Can Self-Care Strategies Really Avoid Burnout?
Philosophically, I believe that managing my own affect amid traumatic situations has been to a huge extent guided by my faith. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I discovered that a pursuit of life’s goals, desires and aspirations are nothing if God is not the centerfold of all that I desire to come to fruition in my life. The following two verses of Scripture have been the bedrock of my life navigation process. “Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass (Psalm 37:4-5, King James Version).
There was a time when I believed that I could achieve anything in life if I worked hard enough. To some extent there is some truth to the fact that many goals, aspirations, and desires may be accomplished just through hard work and determination. However, one particularly important philosophical and theological question that I came to realize that should be a precursor to life exploits is the question: “God is this your will for my life?” I believe that discovering God’s will for our lives can only authentically be discovered through a life committed to prayer and studying the Word of God.
Experientially, I have come to know that God’s Word acts as a rudder in my life. As a rudder, His Word not only gives me direction, but it also provides the balance needed to cope and manage difficult and even traumatic situations. In short, as Christians, our faith will be tested and even shaken at times. This is when we discover the true depth and breadth of our faith in the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Can People Recognize Signs of Stress in Their Body? A Personal Experience.
According to The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM–5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013), Trauma and stressor-related disorders include disorders to traumatic or stressful event(s) that may result in reactive attachment disorder, disinhibited social engagement disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acute stress disorder and related adjustment disorders.
As professionals, working with client/patience can present its share of challenges regarding stress management. In my case, the first signs of stress that manifest in my body are excessive weariness and difficulty sleeping. Of course, if the extends for a period it will have an effect on one’s immune system. As it relates to self-care, I am extremely intentional with my nutrition. I focus on eating as healthy as possible. I have not eaten red meat for decades, never smoked and stop drinking over two decades ago. Quite honestly, these were Spirit-led decisions. I can still recall when I made several of these decisions in my personal life how surprised many of my family members and friends were.
That said, I knew that it was the prompting of The Holy Spirit, and I had a choice to be obedient or not. I have also always enjoyed sports and am a former athlete. As a result, I allocate time for exercise. I enjoy walking, jogging and working out in the gym. Of course, during the days of Covid-19, the pandemic had some effects on my normal routine. That said, I made every effort to be as consistent as possible. In other words, I have been guided by a holistic approach regarding my stress management. I give focus to maintaining a healthy spirit, a healthy body and a healthy soul.
How Does Stress Play out In the Decision- Making Process?
According to Steele and Malchiodi (2012), Traumatic events make it make it difficult to feel positive about the world and themselves. I posit that the decisions one makes, particularly under stressful circumstance will be dictated by one’s core beliefs and core values.
As such, an individual’s core values and beliefs will ultimately shape their view of the world. A worldview is a conceptual framework of how an individual perceives the world and is shaped by the individual’s core beliefs, values and cultural experiences which ultimately guide his/her behavior (Esqueda, 2014).
I further submit that the process of the individual decision-making process will be determined by how one views the world through past and present experiences. The soul comprises of one’s mind, emotions and will. In other words, if stress affects one’s thinking and affect significantly enough it will lead to making one potentially making emotionally driven decisions.
Emotionally driven decisions most often are not pragmatic decisions because they are driven solely by affect as opposed to engaging adequate cognition in the decision-making process.
How Can People Proactively Manage Positive Affect in Trauma-filled Environments?
My proactive management of positive affect while doing trauma work includes: (a) keeping my Christian faith at the center of what I do professional, (b) being purposeful in my daily therapeutic approach to maintain a healthy therapeutic alliance, (c) maintaining a healthy personal and professional life-work balance.
Several therapist-client variables impact the therapist and client relationship including self-discovery, client creativity, unfulfilled potential, decision-making abilities, sense of meaningfulness of life and realization in the fact that life stressors and that death are inevitable processes regardless to the circumstances (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014). I have developed a few assessments tools geared to achieve positive results regarding improved coping skills and the optimization of work-life balance skills. According to Cohen et al., (2017), regulations skills help recognize and engage in conversations about things that may have upset them (stressors) rather than displaying their feelings through maladaptive behaviors.
As such, if one can achieve healthy thinking, this will augment healthy affect and by extension healthier life decision making outcomes. This is what I term self-medicated Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) prevention. (Cohen et al., 2017).
Reference
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Blaustein, M., & Kinniburgh, K. M. (2019). Treating traumatic stress in children and adolescents: How to foster resilience through attachment, self-regulation, and competency (2nd ed.). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P. & Deblinger, E. (2017). Trauma Focused CBT for Children and Adolescents: Treatment Applications. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Esqueda, O. J. (2014). Biblical worldview: The Christian higher education foundation for learning. Christian Higher Education, 13(2), 91-100. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/15363759.2014.872495.
Seligman, L., & Reichenberg, L. (2014). Theories of counseling and psychotherapy: Systems,
strategies, 4th Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education