Crisis Fatigue: What It Means, Why It Matters, How to Help
All around us right now, people stagger under burdens of loss, stress, and crisis: deaths, jobs, civil unrest and a collective sense of trauma because the world seems out of control.
In my own family, a young woman lost her husband just a month ago. He went into the hospital weeks before passing. She was not allowed to visit because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He died alone and she never was able to properly say goodbye.
Her grief and loss seem crushing.
That’s just one (perhaps extreme) example. Still, we all are enduring a period of prolonged stress. Our minds have kicked our bodies into fight or flight mode for an extended period. Consequently, many of us find ourselves moving deeper into that state of emotional exhaustion called crisis fatigue.
What Crisis Fatigue Means
Crisis fatigue describes a real experience with potentially serious consequences. Here is how it works. Accumulated stress causes you to feel worn-out and drained, as if you have no power or control over what happens in your life. You see yourself as stuck and trapped.
These thoughts and feelings then cause you to loose energy and sleep poorly. Your motivation sinks. Eventually, this chronic, stressed-out state begins to damage your physical health.
Why It Matters
Prolonged exposure to crisis creates emotional exhaustion - a primary marker of burnout. That’s important to know, especially when you consider that burnout has been characterized as a diagnosable mental health disorder by some authorities.[i]
Emotional exhaustion can lead to many undesirable outcomes on the way to complete burnout:[ii]
Unhealthy release of stress hormones resulting in high heart rate, high blood pressure, increased blood sugar levels, and issues in one’s digestive system, immune system, and reproductive system.
Challenges in social interaction: simply failing to get along as well with others as well with others as one normally does.
How to Help Others – and Yourself – with Crisis Fatigue
You probably know someone struggling with crisis fatigue. What about your family? Or the parishioners in your church? Or even you?
There are things you can do to help and I’d like to outline three of them below.
Acknowledge the Pain. I love the saying, “Sorrow shared is halved.” If you know someone who has experienced real loss (death of a love one, a job, or any other loss), simply spend some time listening. Practice the ministry of presence. Just be there with them. It will help!
Encourage Some Grace. I find that people sometimes expect perfection of themselves even under incredibly difficult circumstances! They just push too hard. You may even be doing that yourself! It’s ok to schedule some down time, take a nap, or allow yourself some imperfection. As the saying goes, cut yourself some slack! Please allow yourself and encourage others to take a break – and give yourself some grace.
Remember that God is in Control. Perhaps one root of our crisis fatigue and emotional exhaustion lies in self-reliance rather that faith in God. Remind yourself and your congregation that God has got everything under control. I find it amazing what just that simple but profound thought can do to my inner state!
Finally, I’d like to make one additional suggestion. Seriously consider taking a break from watching the news. If anything truly cataclysmic happens, I’m sure someone will let you know! A few days away from the 24-hour news cycle may be the very best thing you could do for your own mental health right now!
I’m sure you know someone who feels burned out or emotionally exhausted. That person may be you! Acknowledge the pain, give yourself some grace, and to remember that God has got it all in His strong hand. I believe if you do, you will find relief.
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[i] https://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2011/03/corner
[ii] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-upside-things/201908/how-deal-emotional-burnout
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George P. Woods, Executive Editor of Influence magazine. interviews Dr. Jeannie on the Influence Podcast.