Tips to help you build resilience in a Covid-19 world

BY STEPHANIE SCHWARZ, RESILIENCE CONSULTANT, PEOPLE CARE AND DEVELOPMENT TEAM

TIPS TO HELP YOU BUILD RESILIENCE IN A COVID-19 WORLD

Our ministry journeys are full of the impact of Covid-19: delays, rescheduling, suspended decisions, adjusting constantly, isolation, and staffing needs.

This sustained stress increases depletion, anxiety, and depression for everyone. There’s a good reason for this: brain imaging research shows that when we tolerate ambiguity it is stressful in a way that is very much like experiencing physical pain. Living amid Covid is hard on everyone’s mental health.

The good news is that living with adversity brings the opportunity for growth. That growth can be in skills, experience, and in our understanding of how God works. We also see growth in qualities like generosity, collaboration, load-sharing and corporate prayer.

It's important to check that we have a good balance between our resources and our challenges, which will help us grow instead of becoming overwhelmed. If the challenges we encounter outweigh our resources, our well-being will begin to decline.

Here are two good tools you can use to monitor your own well-being:

The Caring Dial

The Caring Dial (see above)

This is a quick way to check if you have energy ‘in your tank’ to serve others.

Ask yourself, “How much energy do I have available to care for people around me?” If your gut feeling is that you are at 4 or lower, you should review your activity and the demands put on you.

Asking yourself the simple question, “Am I living at a sustainable pace?” will help you consider any changes that might be necessary.

If you are over-committed, you might find it difficult to assess objectively whether, or how, some of your commitments should be reduced. Inviting a trusted friend to talk with you and pray through the options can be a big help.

The K10

This measures mental health with a 10-question survey – an automatic-scoring version can be found on Port.

It offers a brief, reliable way to check if your stress is becoming distressing.

To find these tools on Port go to Home> International Leadership and Services> People Development and Care + Cafes> Resilience> Review your self-care activity

We are not meant to address these concerns on our own. Paul’s teaching compels us to look for the resources God has given to each person around us to help us build our resilience. In Ephesians we are told that we are one another’s inheritance (1:18) and that we are to build, join and hold each other up (4:15-16). Elsewhere, Paul teaches that we belong to one another and should use our gifts to care for one another (Romans 12:4-8, & 1 Corinthians 12:1231). We are meant to share one another’s loads.

If you score low on either of the two tools, there are resources available to help you.

The People Development and Care resources are on Port or you can contact me (stephanie.schwarz@sim.org) – I am a mental health professional and my door is open!

PLEASE PRAY

• Give thanks for the resources available to help people who are dealing with stress

• For the People Care and Development Team, that they will be able to give appropriate support to all who need it

• For all those who are suffering with stress, anxiety or depression