6 Warning Signs of Pastoral Burnout
How emotional burnout due to adrenal fatigue is the body’s way of calling time out.
Adrenal Fatigue
After the death of my third child, my family physician told me that clinical depression was the result of accumulated stress that had been allowed to exist and grow over a period of years. My onset had been triggered by the trauma of death and the hormonal symptoms inflicted upon my wife that created forms of stress and conflict that we had never even come close to experiencing.
According to webmd.com, “Your adrenal glands, which are small organs above your kidneys, respond to stress by releasing hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.”
Eventually, the adrenal glands become fatigued and cease to function properly. Some doctors believe that adrenal fatigue may be linked not only to physical exhaustion but to depression, sleep apnea, fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, and many other conditions.
According to my physician, stress over time, triggered by a specific trauma, resulted in burnout of my adrenal system. Something like this may be to blame for what some experience after years of pastoral ministry. If you Google pastoral burnout, you will discover that you are not alone in feeling empty, unmotivated, and exhausted.
