We all are
subject to burnout when we work with people. Whether we call it
compassion fatigue, burnout, or secondary trauma, it is very real, and we close
our eyes to it at our peril. What I am going to present here are 12 warning
signs of trauma exposure response. Some of us have experienced trauma first
hand, and need to get those wounds healed. All of us experience it second hand
from talking to people who have gone through it (or are still experiencing it).
They are from a book by L. Lipsky called Trauma Stewardship: Guide to Caring for Yourself While Caring for Others. They are particularly relevant for counselors, teachers, pastors, lawyers, missionaries, doctors, nurses, and caregivers to the sick or disabled.
In the next 4 blogs, I'll discuss 3 items each time. Some may resonate more than
others with you. Pay attention to those!
At the end of each one, I've put some Bible verses which we can use to counteract them, and receive encouragement from. How vital that we receive encouragement in our journey!
1 1.) Feeling helpless and hopeless- probably one of the most common
responses to trauma. It’s not unusual for a worker to feel “Why even get out of
bed? The job is so great, and my contribution is so small.” There are 3 perceptions that contribute to
such helplessness.
a. Individuals hold themselves personally
responsible for every troubled situation. While you know in your gut there is
only so much you can do, you still feel responsible in some way.
b. The traumatic event will be
long-lived; they see no possibility of relief. A war-torn situation, or family
problems that continue for decades are two examples of this.
c. The individual believes that no matter
where he/she goes, they will repeat their current struggles. “I’m not good
enough!”
Hab. 2:2,3 “Record the vision and inscribe it on
tablets, that the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for the
appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail, Though it
tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.”
Is 35:3,4 “Encourage the exhausted, strengthen the feeble,
take courage, fear not. Behold your God will come with vengeance…”
Is 49:24,25 “Can the
prey be taken from the mighty man, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?
Surely, says the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away, and the prey of the tyrant will be
rescued; for I will contend with the one who contends with you, and I will save
your children.”
Lk 5:31 “It is not
those who are well who need a physician but those who are sick. I have not come
to call righteous men but sinners to repentance.”
Is. 55:10,11 "For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth, making it bear and sprout, ..so shall my Word be which goes forth from my mouth, it shall not return to me empty, but without accomplishing what I desire..."
2 2.) A sense that one can never do enough- This powerful, widespread message
often starts from childhood. As children, were we taught to take care of
ourselves, prioritize our health and well-being? Or did we learn of the urgency
of the cause we champion? This sense of urgency is often communicated to
volunteers and workers, distracting them from pacing themselves at a
sustainable rate. After all, there’s always one more child in need of care, one
more woman whose been beaten and abused, one more poor family needing money…
His yoke means giving up our self
-imposed ideas of changing, controlling, and manipulating others and
co-operating with Him to accomplish His kingdom’s work. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for
I am gentle and humble in heart and you shall find rest for your souls.” –Jesus (Matt. 11:28-29)
Gal 6:2,5 Bear one another’s burdens and thus fulfill the
law of Christ… Each shall bear his own load.
Rom 9:16 “So
then it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God
who has mercy.”
3) Hypervigilance- This means a person has an
abnormally increased arousal, constant scanning of the environment to detect
threat. It causes and is caused by anxiety. This experience is common for
people who have survived trauma. But it also shows up in people who have
secondary trauma.
Whenever I do a seminar about sex trafficking, for days before and
afterwards, every man I see I wonder “Is he a perpetrator?” Or after I’ve
counseled a series of troubled marriages, I go into a store, see a couple, and
assume that the man is controlling the woman.
It is made worse by modern
technology: cell phones beep and ping every few minutes. We have difficulty
turning off the information, getting away from work, and relax and be present with
our lives.
Who suffers? Ourselves and our families!
"Be still and know that I am God." Ps. 46:10
Is. 54:15 “If anyone fiercely
assails you it will not be from me, whoever assails you will fall because of
you.”
Hopefully you don't struggle with these symptoms too much. Recognizing them is half the battle towards beating them!
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