Category Archives: psychology

Lutheran, psychology

Reminders

5 Comments

Through a series of peculiar events, I am serving as a delegate to the 2010 LCMS Convention in Houston, Texas.  You may follow my general thoughts about it here.  One event today kind of served as a trigger for me that I thought would be worth reflection upon here.

Since my illness, I have been less comfortable around large crowds, loud noises, and kind of close in, packed situations.  Tonight I had opportunity to go to an awesome baseball game where the Cardinals whooped the Astros 8-0.  (GO CARDS!)  The game was good.  It was fun.  I love baseball and so much about it and the culture which surrounds it.  But at the end of the game when we were getting up to leave, the people around us looked at us funny.  I couldn’t figure out why no one was getting up.  The game was over, and the home team got trounced.  Don’t these people ever leave?

It turns out that this Friday they were have a fireworks display after the game.

Now those of you who have been reading this for a while might remember that fireworks are one of those triggers for me.  You can read more about it here.  So when I heard that they were having fireworks, it was as if 15000 people all sorta crowded in around me asking, “So, Todd, are you going to stay?”  I kinda freaked out, and left rather abruptly.

I’m fine.  Just so we’re clear.

This little mini-event reminded me of how certain things can serve as triggers.  Sights, sounds, smells.  There are some things that I haven’t been able to really enjoy since I was on disability, because I associate them with my illness.  Golf and woodworking both come to mind.

I think all of us have these events or things that trigger certain memories or feelings.  What are yours?  How do you address them?  Do they derail you, or is it just a passing feeling that improves over time?

A part of what helps me in these situations is being able to externalize them.  If I can recognize what is going on, that allows me to maintain a modicum of control and perspective on the whole matter.  For those of you who are into E.Q. type stuff, this would fall under self-awareness.  This process has allowed me to move forward through such events and not allow them to paralyze me.

What think ye?  Is this common or a peculiar Peperkornism?

-DMR

 

NewImage.jpg

depression, Pastoral Office, psychology

Am I happier than I thought?

10 Comments

Paul Gregory Alms over at Incarnatus Est pointed out a study done over a Yahoo! Jobs. Apparently America’s pastors are among the happiest workers.

Now what I find interesting is trying to juxtapose that with the fact that 20-30% of America’s clergy suffer from some sort of clinical depression. I don’t have any real brilliant insights, but I would be interested in yours. What’s your take?

-DMR

++++++++++++++++++++++

Clergy rated Americas happiest workers: “I bet you thought that headline was an Onion article. Its not.

After all we hear about burnout, stress and unhappiness this comes along. Turns out the ministry is a pretty good gig. While there is a reality in all those things, there must a be a big middle ground of contented folks.

Where Do America’s Happiest People Work?

I guess we are happier than we think.

Career isn’t the only factor”

depression, Pastoral Office, psychology

Am I happier than I thought?

Leave a comment

Paul Gregory Alms over at Incarnatus Est pointed out a study done over a Yahoo! Jobs. Apparently America’s pastors are among the happiest workers.

Now what I find interesting is trying to juxtapose that with the fact that 20-30% of America’s clergy suffer from some sort of clinical depression. I don’t have any real brilliant insights, but I would be interested in yours. What’s your take?

-DMR

++++++++++++++++++++++

Clergy rated Americas happiest workers: “I bet you thought that headline was an Onion article. Its not.

After all we hear about burnout, stress and unhappiness this comes along. Turns out the ministry is a pretty good gig. While there is a reality in all those things, there must a be a big middle ground of contented folks.

Where Do America’s Happiest People Work?

I guess we are happier than we think.

Career isn’t the only factor”

book reviews, depression, psychology

Response from Dr. Yahnke

2 Comments

In the previous post regarding the book, Sophie’s Choice, I referenced a fine paper by Dr. Beverly Yahnke. A couple of people raised questions about whether she was advocating the breaking of the confessional seal in the second to last paragraph of her paper. I took the liberty of contacting her directly about this, and this was her response:

DarkMyRoad invited me to review the most recent postings regarding my paper,”The Taxonomy of Despair” and I appreciate the opportunity to respond to the very appropriate concern raised regarding confessional privacy.

As one who treaures the practice of individual confession and absolution, I prize the confidentiality of the confessional and would never recommend that any pastor violate the privacy promised the penitent.

For the record, the Saint Louis speech was addressed to parish nurses, church workers of all stripes, family, friends and pastors of the despairing. Every single one of those individuals should seek external professional assistance to respond to a person who is acutely suicidal UNLESS that information is offered as part of individual confession and absolution. In that case, the pastor is always bound to protect the privacy of the penitent. (I presumed that point to be obvious to the pastors in attendance; hence did not feel the need to dwell on the matter.) I should underscore that most of the time, as the paper suggests, individuals in end stage self-loathing and seeking escape are not seeking an opportunity for conversation or confession. They are barely tolerating any care of any sort. In fact, the most frequent conversation about end stage despairing individuals often takes the form of a pastor who learns from a friend or a family member that a soul is dangerously pre-occupied with suicidal thoughts or self-loathing. If the soul refuses care and remains at risk, I believe that the pastor must act to provide appropriate safety in seeking care for the mentally ill — whenever the seal of the confessional does not prohibit it.

Dr. Bev Yahnke

There you have it. Does that make sense?

-DMR

psychology, stress, therapy

Going bananas over cognitive reframing

1 Comment

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. -Proverbs 23:7


cognitive therapy
n.

A form of psychotherapy using imagery, self-instruction, and related techniques to alter distorted attitudes and perceptions.

Cognitive reframing is a type of cognitive therapy where the basic premise is this: as you think about yourself, so you are. So the question basically is this: can you rethink how you view your world, and particularly the stressors or other events in your life so that you can handle them?

First the theological question. How does this jive with a biblical view of original sin? The problem with most psychological theories is that they begin with the false premise that man is either inherently good or morally neutral. This is why psychotherapy methods based on the works of Jung or Freud are inherently suspiscious, if not flawed from the start. Neither of these jive with a biblical view of human nature.

Cognitive reframing, however, works not with underlying questions or good and evil, but with the question of behavior. When certain events occur in your life, it has a physiological and psychological effect upon you. The high from a great run. The low from getting fired. A family meal. A friend or family member dying, or even simply moving away. Sex. All of these and more clearly have both mental and physical aspects to them.

That really is at the foundation of understanding many aspects of depression. Depression is a mental illness that has physical manifestations. Furthermore, one suffering from depression can have “trigger” events that will send them into a mental and physical tailspin. Stress. Family. Work. A combination. Particular parts of work or family life. You get the idea.

The premise behind cognitive reframing is how we view these events mentally will shape our mental outlook as well as our physical outlook to things. No, this is not some Zig Zigler type motivational nonsense (you may see Little Miss Sunshine for a great parody on that). What cognitive reframing teaches us is that we can change our mental outlook on things, just as a good counselor or psychologist can.

My counselor tells me that they could raise my body temperature by several degrees just by talking to me about heat in great detail. If this is true, is it so hard to believe that we can reframe how we look at things?

For me, we’re talking about stress. Stress triggers a mental and physical overload, so that I cannot function. I may know at some level that I’ll be fine, I’ll handle it, and that there is a future. But my mind and my body is telling me otherwise. My brain gets foggy. I can’t think. I can hardly move or listen. In really bad cases, it probably isn’t safe for me to drive.

But what if I can think of these trigger events differently? What if instead of looking at them as “stressful” I look at them as “pickles” or “opportunities” or “bananas”? Crazy? Maybe. But try it. Consistenly try it. It works.

Think through the events that drag you down, that make you crazy, that turn you into that zomebie or down that deep, dark hole. Come up with a word for those events that are absurd. Take the fear out of them, and with it, you will find that over time, events that terrified you or filled you with dread will come back to the realm of normalcy, or at least a whole lot closer.

Here is one link to cognitive reframing I found interesting. There are others I’m sure.

-DMR

psychology, stress, therapy

Going bananas over cognitive reframing

1 Comment

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. -Proverbs 23:7


cognitive therapy
n.

A form of psychotherapy using imagery, self-instruction, and related techniques to alter distorted attitudes and perceptions.

Cognitive reframing is a type of cognitive therapy where the basic premise is this: as you think about yourself, so you are. So the question basically is this: can you rethink how you view your world, and particularly the stressors or other events in your life so that you can handle them?

First the theological question. How does this jive with a biblical view of original sin? The problem with most psychological theories is that they begin with the false premise that man is either inherently good or morally neutral. This is why psychotherapy methods based on the works of Jung or Freud are inherently suspiscious, if not flawed from the start. Neither of these jive with a biblical view of human nature.

Cognitive reframing, however, works not with underlying questions or good and evil, but with the question of behavior. When certain events occur in your life, it has a physiological and psychological effect upon you. The high from a great run. The low from getting fired. A family meal. A friend or family member dying, or even simply moving away. Sex. All of these and more clearly have both mental and physical aspects to them.

That really is at the foundation of understanding many aspects of depression. Depression is a mental illness that has physical manifestations. Furthermore, one suffering from depression can have “trigger” events that will send them into a mental and physical tailspin. Stress. Family. Work. A combination. Particular parts of work or family life. You get the idea.

The premise behind cognitive reframing is how we view these events mentally will shape our mental outlook as well as our physical outlook to things. No, this is not some Zig Zigler type motivational nonsense (you may see Little Miss Sunshine for a great parody on that). What cognitive reframing teaches us is that we can change our mental outlook on things, just as a good counselor or psychologist can.

My counselor tells me that they could raise my body temperature by several degrees just by talking to me about heat in great detail. If this is true, is it so hard to believe that we can reframe how we look at things?

For me, we’re talking about stress. Stress triggers a mental and physical overload, so that I cannot function. I may know at some level that I’ll be fine, I’ll handle it, and that there is a future. But my mind and my body is telling me otherwise. My brain gets foggy. I can’t think. I can hardly move or listen. In really bad cases, it probably isn’t safe for me to drive.

But what if I can think of these trigger events differently? What if instead of looking at them as “stressful” I look at them as “pickles” or “opportunities” or “bananas”? Crazy? Maybe. But try it. Consistenly try it. It works.

Think through the events that drag you down, that make you crazy, that turn you into that zomebie or down that deep, dark hole. Come up with a word for those events that are absurd. Take the fear out of them, and with it, you will find that over time, events that terrified you or filled you with dread will come back to the realm of normalcy, or at least a whole lot closer.

Here is one link to cognitive reframing I found interesting. There are others I’m sure.

-DMR