Burn out: rediscovering our emotional energy and passion

A lot has been said and written on the mental aspects of success like planning, education and timing. You can always find tips and tricks from other people’s “secrets to their success” to get you where you want to go, but I’m finding that mental road map has to be supported by an emotional one too to get you where you want to go. Even in Christian circles the emotions get denied in favour of “what does the Word say”. Motivation can be an emotion, but most of the time it’s just a purpose statement like, “I want to lose weight to fit into my skinny jeans”. So what does one do when one is emotionally burnt out? This does not have to be because of depression. Many things can cause emotional burn out.
So what do you do? How do you reclaim your emotional energy and passion and combat burn out?

Prayer, nature photography, going for walks and meeting people is what keeps me from not completely burning out. Seeing i have purpose and help people keeps me thriving and I know that I have friends I can reach anytime when things go downhill.

I get emotional and mental downs but these factors always get me back up

I light up a smoke and drink coffee.

Settling Emotional Issues:


Is the answer where we think?

We need to distinguish between what the "word really says", and what you "hear in Christian circles."

The whole problem is that these two are not always the same.
So... you shouldn't equate them.

The word always has answers for us, but the brethren... not always.

Christians will often give very trite and vacuous responses from scripture for all of life's problems.
The issue isn't necessarily that the scriptures they quote are not applicable, the issue is that they usually don't know HOW to do the application.
Most Christians just repeat whatever they've heard, without the slightest thought to what they're really saying.
* Usually... advice is not found in a singe verse.
* Usually... advice is found in applying ALL principles of scripture, in a balanced way, to your problem.
Sometimes that CAN be summed up in a single verse, but usually it cannot.

So, we need to make a distinction between "what the word says" and "what Christian circles say."
They are not always the same.

Now, if we start with that as a premise, where does that take us?


Looking for the real answer:

The scripture actually makes it very clear, over and over, throughout all of scripture, that something as SIMPLE as continual meditation on scripture WILL sort us out emotionally.

If we apply ALL of scripture, we see that simple principle throughout, over and over.

More time in the scripture, along with more time in prayer, really WILL settle those emotional issues.
That is where we find peace.
We find peace in spending more time with God... in prayer and in his word.

The solution really IS simple.

You need to spend more time with God.
Spend more time with God, in prayer and in scripture.
If you start doing this daily, and continually, you will start to see things differently, and you'll start to feel differently.
Your emotional state will begin to change and settle.
But it takes some effort and commitment.

There are many principles in scripture about WHY prayer helps us so much, and WHY meditation on scripture helps us so much.
You can study those out if you want to know HOW it all works and WHY it's so powerful.


Conclusion:
1. The solution to emotional problem STARTS with spending more time with God.
2. We need MORE time in the word, listening to God's thoughts, and we need MORE time in prayer, pouring out our hearts and seeking God's supernatural provision.
3. In Christianity, the answers are often easy to understand... but hard to do.

..

My burn out has been happening from getting too involved with God and the scriptures. Nature does seem to be big for balancing emotions and just talking to people about what’s going on with you. (I’m in therapy now with a Christian councillor. It’s new but going well.)
I need to balance my life with Word and application out there in the world. Or to “fall in love with the world” because right now all I want to do is live inside my Bible (which by the way seems better for us introverts )

Not to sure about 'fall in love with the world', a person yes, but not the world. We live in the world but are told in scripture not to be of the world. I am an introvert as well and there are many others on this site. Studying and pondering God's word is a good thing but as you have said, there is the application part to address and that means to get out in the world and live your life to the best of your ability using the tools and resources that God has graciously provided. It sounds by your posts that you may be suffering from depression, if so, please know that you're not alone in this either.

David encouraged himself in the LORD. I don't know what he did, but when I get worn out, discouraged, and depressed, I get peace by reading the psalms and singing Christian songs I or others have written. Ephesians 5:17-21

[QUOTE="StephanieMM, post: 3913741, member: 283831"]My burn out has been happening from getting too involved with God and the scriptures. Nature does seem to be big for balancing emotions and just talking to people about what’s going on with you. (I’m in therapy now with a Christian councillor. It’s new but going well.)
I need to balance my life with Word and application out there in the world. Or to “fall in love with the world” because right now all I want to do is live inside my Bible (which by the way seems better for us introverts )[/QUOTE]


Biblical Issue:

I want you to be well.
But now you are beginning to make statements which are the complete opposite of Biblical teaching.


God is the Source of Peace and Wisdom:

The Bible talks a great deal about balance, and God himself is the source of all peace and wisdom.

Since God is the SOURCE of peace and wisdom, I don't think it is metaphysically possible to become unbalanced from "getting too involved with God."

That isn't biblical, and I don't think it is logically possible.

But you CAN become burned out from getting too involved with your Church, or from just doing the wrong things.
You CAN become unbalanced and "burned out" from MISUNDERSTANDING the Christian walk, and from MISUNDERSTANDING the bible.

It is very COMMON for people to misunderstand the Christian walk, and misunderstand their Christian duties, and become burned out from these misunderstandings.

God and the Bible are not the source of any human's problems.
Humans are the source of human problems.

WE are the source of the problems; God is the source of the solutions.
If you get those reversed, you're going to end up wrecking your life.

Biblical Balance:

The Bible discusses all areas of our life.
The Bible contains more than just doctrine, prophecy, and "busy" things to do at church.
The bible covers relationships, work, family, and even things like planning, prioritizing, rest and time-off.
If you study the entire bible, you will find it has many principles which "balance" each other out, and which show you how to have a "balanced" life, with appropriate peace and rest.


Conclusion:
1. We shouldn't place the blame for "unbalance" or "burn out" on the wrong things.
2. No one is unbalanced and burned out from "getting too involved with God".
3. People get burned out from their own FAILURE to understand the Christian walk.
4. People get burned out from MISUNDERSTANDING God: misunderstanding God's intentions and direction, misunderstanding Biblical principles, misunderstanding Christian duties, misunderstanding the Christian walk.
5. The good news is that this "burnout" from MISUNDERSTANDING the Christian walk is COMMON... it is a common issue that many have encountered and many have have overcome through better understanding of God and the scripture.

..

Biblical Issue:

I want you to be well.
But now you are beginning to make statements which are the complete opposite of Biblical teaching.


God is the Source of Peace and Wisdom:

The Bible talks a great deal about balance, and God himself is the source of all peace and wisdom.

Since God is the SOURCE of peace and wisdom, I don't think it is metaphysically possible to become unbalanced from "getting too involved with God."

That isn't biblical, and I don't think it is logically possible.

But you CAN become burned out from getting too involved with your Church, or from just doing the wrong things.
You CAN become unbalanced and "burned out" from MISUNDERSTANDING the Christian walk, and from MISUNDERSTANDING the bible.

It is very COMMON for people to misunderstand the Christian walk, and misunderstand their Christian duties, and become burned out from these misunderstandings.

God and the Bible are not the source of any human's problems.
Humans are the source of human problems.

WE are the source of the problems; God is the source of the solutions.
If you get those reversed, you're going to end up wrecking your life.

Biblical Balance:

The Bible discusses all areas of our life.
The Bible contains more than just doctrine, prophecy, and "busy" things to do at church.
The bible covers relationships, work, family, and even things like planning, prioritizing, rest and time-off.
If you study the entire bible, you will find it has many principles which "balance" each other out, and which show you how to have a "balanced" life, with appropriate peace and rest.


Conclusion:
1. We shouldn't place the blame for "unbalance" or "burn out" on the wrong things.
2. No one is unbalanced and burned out from "getting too involved with God".
3. People get burned out from their own FAILURE to understand the Christian walk.
4. People get burned out from MISUNDERSTANDING God: misunderstanding God's intentions and direction, misunderstanding Biblical principles, misunderstanding Christian duties, misunderstanding the Christian walk.
5. The good news is that this "burnout" from MISUNDERSTANDING the Christian walk is COMMON... it is a common issue that many have encountered and many have have overcome through better understanding of God and the scripture.

..[/QUOTE]
I’ve heard of a lot of burnt out pastors and spiritual leaders who quit for this very reason. I guess God was doing a little “weeding” in the church. LOL

I’ve heard of a lot of burnt out pastors and spiritual leaders who quit for this very reason. I guess God was doing a little “weeding” in the church. LOL[/QUOTE]

God DOES do weeding in the church.
That's in the Bible.

All of these "problems" are in the bible.
We don't understand problems better by ignoring the bible.

..

I thought it was depression, so I was on medication for it, but it didn’t work. It only made things worse. I thought it was unprocessed sadness and grief from all the losses in my life. That may be closer. A lot of my emotional burn out comes from trying too hard to do what I think is right and needed in the moment. It’s that pressure that perfectionists put on themselves. I hear a lot from church and the world that “this is right. You need to do this,” so I’m trying my best to do it (God’s principles foremost, of course) and I can’t seem to make it to the “finish line”. I’m like a car that runs out of gas. To me, after being depressed, depression is like trying to drive a car with no gas at all. Mine is more the running out of gas driving now. I need a more fuel efficient car. LOL

Real Life:

If someone feels "burned out" and they just want to ignore God, and get away from God...
that is their choice.

But the Biblical solution is to get a better understanding of the Christian walk and Christian duties,
because the problem is caused by misunderstanding.

We Christians usually burn out from placing too much pressure on ourselves, and this pressure is because of misunderstanding the Bible, and because of our own pride.

These are very normal Christian problems.

Welcome to real Christian life.

.

There are days that I feel like that I'm running on fumes.

I use 800mg daily

https://draxe.com/ashwagandha-benefits/

I like you Maxwell. You have such conviction.
Just one question. How do you know you’re misunderstanding something? And if we are misunderstanding something, what do we do about it since our understanding is filtered through out flawed human brains?
I think there’s something to be said for happy oblivion. I haven’t found more information helps my emotional state. I’ve actually found that the less information I have about certain things the better I am emotionally. Example knowing how many babies and young children are aborted or died every day would wreck me. It’s one thing to pray, do what you can and leave it in God’s hands, but it still takes an emotional toll. It’s that “groaning of creation” that won’t stop until Jesus return.

Ha ha. It sure helps out my stomach, and good health produces better emotional health. So many people who have long term illnesses get depressed because of it.

Yes eating right does help, I have a low functioning thyroid because of age, I take the Ashwagandha instead of prescription drugs which was slowly killing my thyroid by just adding the hormone to the body without actually helping the thyroid produce it’s own,, the thyroid will shutdown over time. synthetic Medicine is some times needed sometimes it’s not.

The Ashwagandha helps to keep calm and collective in my opinion for me at least, it doesn’t cost a whole lot at Walmart it’s about 7.99$ for 60 caps, and seems of good quality, but there might be even better quality but

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Spring-Valley-Ashwagandha-Root-Powder-Vegetarian-Capsules-800-mg-60-count/

Good Question:

That's a good question.
But there's a problem with good questions - they often have answers.
: )

God gives us ways to test and measure ourselves.
When things in life don't line up right with these measuring devices, we know there's a problem - so we then know to look in scripture for a solution.

One of these measuring devices is "peace."
God says we are to have internal peace.
God even says he wants us to have a peace that is overwhelming, something called "a peace that passes all understanding."

So when we don't have peace, we know that something inside of us isn't lining up right... something is off kilter.
So we know to look in scripture for the solutions to that kind of problem.

God gives us measuring devices to know when we're doing something wrong.
God also gives us solutions in scripture, along with principles for applying these solutions.

The Bible is full of VERY PRACTICAL help.


Conclusion:

1. In Scripture: God gives us measuring devices to know when something is wrong
2. In Scripture: God gives us the solutions for these things that are wrong.
3. In Scripture: God gives us principles for studying and applying these solutions... so we can apply them in a "balanced" and intelligent way.
.

Hummm...I’m still trying to figure out how to get our emotions back. Do we just rest and wait for the download of joy, peace, etc. Because that seems to be my preferred method? Lol

A song writer! I hope to hear some of your music one day...or maybe I already have. I went through a really tough time with a severe pain in my shoulder and upper back, and Christian music was the only thing that got me through it. I got a lot of hope from the song “New Wine” by Hillsong Worship.