Stress

Research shows that 50% of missionaries returning home from the field have emotional or physiological disorders.

The Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale was given to us today. It allows us to look at the past 12 months of our lives and the factors that may have contributed to our stress. As I'm a couple of weeks away from moving, the following stuck out to me as major changes - financial state, living conditions, recreation, church, social activities, sleep habits, diet, family get togethers, moving, work conditions, etc. You get the picture. Each of these life events are given a score and when added together show the probability of stress impacting your health. The chart below shows the correlation between the score and the chance of impact on health.

Life Crisis *** Score *** Probability of Health Change

Moderate *** 150-199 *** 37%
Medium *** 200-299 *** 51%
Severe *** 300+ *** 79%

Just based on things recently, my score is above 400. Our speaker yesterday shared that most missionaries in the field score between 800-1000. Suddenly the quote at the top begins to make more sense. Burnout is defined as a state of mental, physical, spiritual exhaustion brought on by long-term unrelenting stress. Because of this problem, many mission agencies are advocating for and teaching about "Member Care" - people whose ministry is caring for missionaries. It is an amazingly important role, which has allowed missionaries to stay in the field instead of leaving it. If you're interested in ministering to me in this way, please let me know. =)

I know this post seems sort of sad and depressing, which it is, but I think it's important to know the realities of this job. However, missionaries aren'’t the only ones with stressful lives. What is your stress level like? Have you slowed down enough to think about it ... or to let it catch up with you? Something to process. May we all learn to listen to our bodies and balance all that we do.