APPLIED BALANCE

SERIES ONE – E-2

PERSPECTIVE

A DEFINING PERSPECTIVE

In this initial series, we will look at the term perspective in various ways that I hope can be applied to the lives of some and stir memories in others that could become a little uncomfortable to re-experience. Nevertheless, my goal here is to create an image of perspective in your mind that you will not easily forget and will hopefully be able to readily apply to the circumstances that are sure to arise in life.

So, let’s start by understanding Perspective more clearly: According to Mariam-Webster’s Dictionary, perspective is the mental view an individual holds of the environment or circumstance in which they might find themselves. Another way of understanding perspective is one’s capacity or incapacity to view things in their true relations to reality or its relative importance. Right there...did you catch that? Let’s listen to that one more time.... “capacity or incapacity to view things in their true relations to reality or its relative importance.

From these definitions, it appears that an individual’s perspective is formed and sustained through the belief they might hold regarding the specific situation they are experiencing. The earlier example of Moses’ perspective of the immense responsibility to care for a multitude of people all by himself is one fit for our closer inspection. On the one hand, he believed that God had called him to lead Israel out of Egypt and into a promised land. This belief had been substantiated by witnessing the mighty miracles God performed on their behalf. Conversely, Moses had developed a faulty perspective by assuming he could care for the physical, emotional, and relationship issues of the entire nation of Israel in his own power. His delusional view of self also formulated this faulty perspective. He viewed himself as the source of power to accomplish this enormous task.

Now, let’s explore another example found in Biblical text that shows a perfect view of perspective held by an individual whose belief was based on the truth). In this well-known passage, we can recognize an example of these individuals exhibiting the “capacity and the incapacity to view things in their true relations to reality and relative importance.”

In the days of the Exodus, a majority of the Israelites had shown a reluctance to enter into Canaan based on their fear of the giants living there, as had been reported to them by their spies who had gone to scout out the land prior to their entry. Although these spies found the land to be as bountiful as God had promised, they could not overcome the fears that welled inside them when witnessing the fortified walls of the cities and the inhabitants that made them appear as grasshoppers. All they could see was a formidable roadblock to them possessing this land, no longer the promises of God.

Here, it is clear that David’s perspective was affixed to the truths of God. Not only did this reinforce his belief that he was to be victorious over this current circumstance, but it also invited God's power to manifest itself in him. A little boy who believed God killed the Philistine giant warrior, now his story is empowering us to correct our own perspective to confront the circumstances that stand against us.

CALL TO ACTION: As always, if this episode stirred thoughts you would like to share or if there is an idea you would like to have discussed on a future episode, don’t hesitate to send me a suggestion at the following email address: [email protected]. (your identity optional). So stay tuned in! We will do our best to include it in an appropriate upcoming episode.

Our birds-eye view of these examples can only be speculative at best, and much more clearly recognized from the outside looking into someone else’s matters. However, chaplains are not given such a distant viewpoint. They are led by a divine calling to ministry, to work inside police and fire departments, hospitals, hospice facilities, and numerous other placements where they are required to encounter multiple of these missions to care on a daily basis. These are frequently the traumatized environments of domestic violence, the aftermaths of violent automobile accidents that have resulted in horrific injuries, or the aftershock of violent domestic incidents. These compassionate messengers of hope are ultimately exposed at a higher degree to compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and vicarious trauma as they called daily to deliver care to the victims and survivors of a wide variety such tragedies.
Remember, the goal here is not to arrive at a solution to the circumstance, but to be awakened to the fact that you (Yes You!) possess the keys to shaping your perspective... one that can deplete you or one that promises to empower.
Music:

There is a Light (instrumental version)
Artist: Stonekeepers (Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)
Asheville Lament
Artist: American Legion (Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)
Victorious Sensations
Artist: Experia (Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)

Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS), sometimes referred to as Vicarious Trauma (VT), is a secondary trauma that results from indirect exposure to trauma. Dr. Charles Figley, Director of the award-winning Traumatology Institute and founding editor of the Journal of Traumatic Stress, submits that Secondary Traumatic Stress is “the natural consequent behaviors resulting from knowledge about a traumatizing event experienced by a significant other. It is the stress resulting from helping or wanting to help a traumatized or suffering person.”[1]

Burnout has many shared core causes and symptoms of secondary trauma. However, burnout differs from secondary trauma in that exposure to clients’ trauma is not the precipitating factor. Burnout results from long-term exposure to work environments wherein support may be minimal, and the demand is ever-increasing. Research has gathered the features of emotional exhaustion, diminished job performance, and an increasingly pessimistic view of the workplace and clientele to be associated with Burnout.[2]

Compassion Fatigue is a term that has often been used as a more user-friendly substitute for secondary traumatic stress. However, Compassion fatigue is described as an acute, affective phenomenon that engenders high levels of stress for caregivers and in which caregivers’ symptoms parallel those of the original trauma victim’s experience.[3]

[1] Jason T. Hotchkiss and Ruth Lesher, "Factors Predicting Burnout among Chaplains: Compassion Satisfaction, Organizational Factors, and the Mediators of Mindful Self-Care and Secondary Traumatic Stress," Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling 72, no. 2 (2018/06/01 2018), accessed 2023/11/11, http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1542305018780655.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Rachel S. Rauvola, Dulce M. Vega, and Kristi N. Lavigne, "Compassion Fatigue, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Vicarious Traumatization: A Qualitative Review and Research Agenda," Occupational Health Science 3, no. 3 (Sep 2019
2024-02-28 2019), http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s41542-019-00045-1.
Bibliography

Hotchkiss, Jason T. and Ruth Lesher. "Factors Predicting Burnout among Chaplains: Compassion Satisfaction, Organizational Factors, and the Mediators of Mindful Self-Care and Secondary Traumatic Stress." Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling 72, no. 2 (2018/06/01 2018): 86-98. Accessed 2023/11/11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1542305018780655.

Rauvola, Rachel S., Dulce M. Vega, and Kristi N. Lavigne. "Compassion Fatigue, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Vicarious Traumatization: A Qualitative Review and Research Agenda." Occupational Health Science 3, no. 3 (Sep 2019/2024-02-28 2019): 297-336. http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s41542-019-00045-1.

Music:

There is a Light (instrumental version)
Artist: Stonekeepers (Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)

Steps To Mindfulness
Artist: Calm Shores (Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)

Applied Balance, the podcast, is dedicated to the exploration of the impact of secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and symptoms of burnout upon chaplain caregivers as a result of working with trauma-affected clientele.

The often undetected primary symptoms of these conditions will eventually expose themselves as a negative toll that can impact their daily pastoral ministry and their ability to continue offering optimal care and support to those left seeking hope after encountering the shock of traumatic events in life.

As we begin our journey to achieve or regain balance in our lives and ministries, we shall explore three main themes that will serve as foundations for each series of episodes. Rather than focusing only on the external causes of secondary traumatic stress in the caregiver, the unique features of this podcast will look inwardly at three main culprits that can result in one becoming imbalanced in one's ministry, family life, and self-esteem. Our initial focus will target the critical importance of how one’s perspective might play a key role in maintaining balance in all aspects of life as our first series of episodes. The next series will feature topics related to our priorities. Here, we will be challenged to re-evaluate our priorities to fit ministry life, relationships, and spiritual formation realities. The final series will be dedicated to one’s search for, misuse of, and misunderstanding of power. In this series, the age-old battle of one’s need to control vs one’s need to submit is rekindled and negotiated.
Music: There is a Light
Artist: Stonekeepers (Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)