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PAGE 12—The Georgia Bulletin, September 8,1983
Arizona Psychologist:
Saddest Result Of Burnout Can Be "Loss Of Faith"
DENVER (NC) - Although everyone is vulnerable to
burnout, people involved in ministry are especially
susceptible, according to psychologist David Balk.
Balk, director of program evaluation at a behavioral
health facility in Tucson, Ariz., spoke at a regional
permanent diaconate conference in Denver.
He defined burnout as “a state of physical, emotional
and mental exhaustion, marked by physical depletion and
chronic fatigue, feelings of helplessness, unhappiness, and
by development of a negative self-concept and attitudes
toward work, life and other people.”
He said a recent Gallup poll showed 20 percent of all
clergymen suffer from bumout, and 13 percent of priests
consider leaving the priesthood because of severe bumout.
“One of the saddest results of bumout can be loss of
faith,” Dr. Balk said. “People often feel betrayed by
God.”
To experience bumout, Balk said, “a person must be
very dedicated to a job, project or relationship over a long
period of time. Bumout occurs when the commitment
fails to produce the expected rewards ... when the results
people expect are not always there. They know what they
want to accomplish, and when it doesn’t happen they feel
frustrated, overwhelmed, trapped and blame themselves
for incompetence.”
Often, said Balk, one thing leads to another.
“It’s a downhill slide beginning with idealistic service,
proceeds to feeling overwhelmed... to the ‘Avis
response’ (‘We try harder’)... to physical exhaustion and
strain on relationships ... to a sense of helplessness ... to
growing resentment... then to feelings of guilt and
shame, and finally to rededication to try harder.
“The last step is a real trap. The worst thing a person
can do when he or she is suffering bumout is to ‘try
harder’ ... It just intensifies the symptoms.”
People most susceptible to bumout are idealistic,
inflexible, set rigid standards for themselves, try to please
everyone, can’t say no, are easily angered, impatient and
hurried.
Other likely victims are “high achievers, caring,
compassionate people who really want to help others and
make the world a better place in which to live. They
expect too much of themselves, and too much is expected
of them by others,” Balk said.
A renewed spiritual program is a viable solution to
bumout, but it must be a daily routine, Balk said. Journal
keeping, fasting, or physical exercise help some people.
“Take a half-hour every day and do not let anything
interfere with that time, except a crisis ... That’s the only
way it will work,” he said.
“Take time for yourself. That’s a must, and it should be
done daily, weekly, monthly and at other intervals during
the year.”
Interpersonal support is vital, Balk said. A person
suffering from bumout needs a supporter who “will level
with you, care enough to hold you accountable, asks
difficult questions, enjoys you, gives you a sense of worth,
affirms that you are competent and still allows you to ask
foy help, and evokes the best in you.”
Identifying burnout is often the beginning of
overcoming it, Balk said, but a person needs to take some
risks and become vulnerable.
“That’s very hard for burnout victims to do because
they’ve already been so hurt by life that they’re afraid of
further risks. But, with some risk-taking and some
important lifestyle changes, hopelessness can be turned
into hope. That’s the difference between winning and
losing the bumout battle.”