Tag Archives: burnout

Season 3 Episode 12: 2023 Wrap up

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Join Brandi and James as they wrap up 2023 with some highlights, trends, and what they look forward to next year. One way to incorporate this same idea yourself or with your family would be through the practice of an Examen. Pausing to notice the highs and lows of the year and to write down things that are worth holding on to.

Resources

The Ignatian Examen

St. Ignatius invites us to find God in all things. That means we have to pay careful attention to how the Spirit is moving in each moment of our daily lives. We have to take a magnifying glass to the seemingly ordinary, seeking to encounter the Divine. 

That’s why the Examen is such a powerful prayer. In it, we’re invited to encounter God, express gratitude for the gift and gifts of each day, and to commit to make up for any mistakes we may have made. 

The Examen is a flexible prayer, too, responding to the signs of the times. Below, you’ll find several variations to meet your need in this moment

Ignatian Exercises

practicing-the-examen-with-childrenDownload
daily-prayer-of-examenDownload

Essentials for People Care and Development

Practical insights and activities to help your organization build a thriving culture.

Finding, sending, and caring for missionaries has grown increasingly complex for mission leaders and staff. The mission world is more multicultural and global crises seem to be more frequent. And we can no longer make the same assumptions about shared values which can open the door for legal difficulties. We all want to see ministry staff thriving and serving the kingdom to their full potential, but how can we support that? In this book, you will be able to dig deeper into these fundamental issues and more.

Member care workers collaborated with us to bring practical insights that will help you and your agencies. No matter where you fit on the spectrum of care – a concerned pastor, missionary colleague, or ministry leader all the way to a professional services provider – this book and its contents will help you implement improvements in caring for ministry staff.

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Season 3 Episode 10: Short-Term Teams with Andrea Kroeze

Posted on by under Cross Cultural, Mental Health, podcast, Podcast, Shop Talk, Uncategorized

Join Brandi and James as they talk about Short-Term teams with Andrea Kroeze. Andrea serves with Touch The World, offering training and development for short-term projects, teams, or individuals doing short-term cross-cultural ministry. https://touchtheworld.org

Through The Missions Academy, you will be equipped with:

  1. A Biblical understanding of missions
  2. Methods for culturally sensitive ministry
  3. An understanding of the complexities of poverty
  4. A heart focused on service

https://learn.themissionsacademy.com/

Contact Andrea andreak@touchtheworld.org

Season 3 Episode 8: Expectations

Posted on by under Cross Cultural, Mental Health, podcast, Podcast, Shop Talk
  • Be aware of the “Shoulds” that can control your life.
  • “All of life’s frustrations come from unmet expectations“- Dr. John Lund
  • Cross Cultural Servanthood by Duane Elmer
  • Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown

Cross-Cultural Worker Expectations Worksheet – by James Covey, MA LPC-S

Step 2: Invitations

Internal Expectations

A) Give grace to myself or others. Is my expectation unrealistic? Is this person
able to give me what I need at this time? Do my expectations need to be
adjusted?
B) Release, surrender or grieve an unmet expectation. Do I need to release the
timing of something, confess an unrealistic standard, release the way I think
something should be done, need to suspend judgment about a person or
situation, people group, or grieve that I may not see that expectation fulfilled?
C) Explore deeper healing around a theme. I am aware this expectation is linked
to an area where I need healing. As God has raised my awareness this week, I
want to surrender to Him anew AND have a conversation with someone about
how to pursue healing more deeply.
D) Praise God for His mercy. I’m realizing my expectations have been exceeded
in some areas! I want to take some time to worship and thank Him for His
kindness to me.
E) Redirect my misplaced hopes towards God. I’m realizing how externally
focused I am on getting my needs and desires met. The Lord is inviting me to
release others and turn my focus back on Him as the source of my hope.

External invitations
1) Help in the fog. I don’t know if my expectation is realistic OR I can’t find the
expectation or don’t know how to resolve an unmet expectation. I need someone
to help me explore what is happening on a particular situation.
2) Call to action. Do I need to clarify an expectation with others, have a
conversation about my disappointment, or mirror back to someone a theme I see
in someone’s life around expectations?
3) I need others. This expectation is realistic but I’m having trouble moving
forward. I may be hitting a deeply ingrained attitude or behavior OR see this as
an issue of character development. I need coaching, accountability, prayer, or
counsel.

Make Adjustments Step 3

  • Having done the internal and external invitations; now I need to rewrite or adjust my
    expectations. Changing the expectations to live in the reality of what is now (Step 3)

Season 3 Episode 6: Compassion Fatigue with Mark Ventrella

Posted on by under Cross Cultural, Mental Health, podcast, Podcast, Shop Talk, Uncategorized

Compassion Fatigue

“It is impossible to be close to suffering and not be impacted by it” – Mark Ventrella.

“Most healthcare providers enter the field with the intent to help others and provide empathic care for patients with critical physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. Healthcare providers, however, can be impacted by the continuing stress of meeting the often overwhelming needs of patients and their families which may result in compassion fatigue. ” https://proqol.org

One could easily substitute Cross-Cultural workers for health care providers in this definition as often they are in positions of caring for those around them. The ProQOL is an excellent source for assessing burnout, compassion fatigue, and compassion satisfaction.

 Professional Quality of Life (proQOL) is intended for any helper – cross-cultural workers, health care professionals, social service workers, teachers, attorneys, emergency response, etc. Understanding the positive and negative aspects of helping those who experience trauma and suffering can improve your ability to help them and your ability to keep your own balance.   https://proqol.org

Season 3 Episode 5: Emotional Intelligence

Posted on by under Cross Cultural, Mental Health, podcast, Podcast, Shop Talk, Uncategorized

Join Brandi and James as they discuss emotional intelligence, what it is and why it is important for cross cultural workers and organizations to be emotionally intelligent.

Daniel Goleman, the author of Emotional Intelligence, defined emotion as “referring to a feeling and its distinctive thoughts, psychological and biological states, and range of propensities to act.” What he meant is that God created human beings to feel a wide range of emotions. (Pete Scazzaro)

By teaching people to tune in to their emotions with intelligence and to expand their circles of caring, we can transform organizations from the inside out and make a positive difference in our world –Daniel Goleman

Window of Tolerance

Click to access ID%20The%20Window%20of%20Tolerance%2020%2006%2016.pdf

The Window of Tolerance is a model founded in Neuroscience (the scientific study of the nervous system), which helps develop good practice for improving and maintaining mental health and wellbeing.

It offers a way of thinking about how we function optimally, in our various roles, and how to manage when heightened emotions begin to have a negative impact.

Developed by Dan Siegel, a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, the Window of Tolerance describes the best state of ‘arousal’ or stimulation in which we are able to function and thrive in everyday life. When we exist within this window, we are able to learn effectively, play, and relate well to ourselves and others.

Season 3 Episode 1: Conflict Resolution with Dr. Janeen Davis

Posted on by under Cross Cultural, Mental Health, podcast, Podcast, Shop Talk, Uncategorized

Join Brandi and James as they interview Dr. Janeen Davis to figure out why we can’t all just get along! Janeen shares about her experience as a cross cultural worker and care provider and how she found the Peace Pursuit Quickstart Guide and shifted from being a conflict avoider to a peace pursuer.

Janeen Davis, PsyD, MFT, has served overseas in a large global ministry since 2007, where she led a Member  Care team in providing care and support for personnel throughout Asia whenever they experienced personal struggles, difficult team dynamics, and family needs.

In 2020, Covid forced her to evacuate her Asian home and transition back to the States, where she now  partners with Peace Pursuit International as a Master Practitioner and Trainer and serves as the Director of Counseling for a church in TN. She founded Purpose & Peace Solutions to be a center point for specialized  ministry services, through which she provides executive consulting, conference presentations, group trainings, creative development of media and marketing resources, and also offers virtual care for missionaries and Christ followers around the world. She can be reached at https://www.purposeandpeace.com for member care, training and retreats, conflict resolution, ministry consultations and counseling.

Find out more about the Peace Pursuits Model.

It all begins with the Quickstart Guide and the question… Do you want to resolve a relational problem?

If so, you’ve come to the right place. People from many cultures and age groups have used our QUICK START GUIDE to help resolve their interpersonal conflicts.

Experience shows that if both parties in a conflict prayerfully, thoughtfully, and sincerely complete the QUICK START GUIDE, they will reach appropriate confession and forgiveness in the vast majority of situations.

Even if only one party completes the QUICK START GUIDE, the probability of reaching peace is greatly increased.

Remember: proceed prayerfully, thoughtfully, and sincerely.

Visit the https://peacepursuit.org/Peace Pursuit‘s website to find out more

Burnout!

Posted on by under Podcast, Shop Talk, Uncategorized
Podcast Episode 2

Subscribe to “Shop Talk” a podcast with Brandi and James and listen to their second episode. Available on Apple Podcast and Android and GooglePlay

What is Burnout?

“an extended period of time where someone experiences exhaustion and a lack of interest in things, resulting in a decline in their job performance.” “In those situations, the demands being placed on you exceed the resources you have available to deal with the stressors.”- David Ballard.

Certain amounts of stress can be positive resulting in peak performance. However, eventually more stress does not result in more productivity. There is a point where excess stress results in a decrease in productive resulting in fatigue, discouragement and Burnout.

Symptoms of Burnout 

  • Social 
    • Withdrawing from others
    • Cynicism about self, others, work
    • Lowered frustration tolerance
    • Interpersonal Problems 
  • Cognitive 
    • difficulty concentrating 
    • forgetfulness (long term and short term memories)
  • Physical 
    • Health; blood pressure, tight muscles, 
    • Exhaustion, Loss of energy
    • Getting sick more often and easier 
  • Work 
    • Withdrawing from responsibilities
    • Lack of Motivation
    • Feeling of failure vocationally
    • Reduced sense of satisfaction or reward for hard work
    • Sense of helplessness
    • Belief you are no longer effective
    • Generally Decreased Satisfaction
    • Falling behind with an inability to catch back up, resulting in being more behind
    • Sense of Shame (feeling of failure) 
    • Feeling helpless, trapped and defeated

What to do

  • Recognize – Watch for the warning signs of burnout
  • Reverse – Undo the damage by seeking support and managing stress
  • Resilience – Build your resilience to stress by taking care of your physical and emotional health

Some Things to help reverse symptoms of burnout. If you can’t imagine having the energy to do any of these things seek help from a counselor, coach or friend. 

  • Take rest/relaxation seriously- do the things that rest our body, mind or soul
  • Margin/Boundaries – say no to things. The challenge with this is sometimes saying ‘no’ results in feelings of shame “I’m not good enough”. Don’t buy in, burnout happens from overextending one’s abilities 
  • Cultivate a rich non work life – church, friends, family, community 
  • Sleep– good, restful sleep. It might even be helpful to monitor your sleep for a week and see how many hours of quality sleep you are getting. 
  • Organization – it may be worth not doing other things in order to plan out a day, week or month in a way that seems more sustainable 
  • Physical health; eating right, sleeping enough and well, getting exercise 
  • Social Awareness – Know when its you, and when its them
  • Find new friends.– Perhaps your networks is small, unavailable or negative