Adrenalin – too much – too often – too dangerous

I am not a medical expert, but I have done considerable research on the topic I wish to share in this blog.

Leaders are emerging from two and one-half years of COVID frenzy, uncertainty, and contention. We have had to respond frequently and immediately to the pandemic crisis's issues. It has required an inordinate amount of adrenalin to function at this level of tension. While adrenalin serves us well on occasion, it does not serve us well long-term.

I liken our emotional capital to a bank account. As long as we invest in that account, there are funds available for withdrawal at the points of need. If we fail to replace the deficit, we eventually bankrupt the supply. However, if we are good customers, the bank will often graciously offer us a 'line of credit.' When we operate from a line of credit, which is essentially an emergency fund, but we do not take measures to correct our financial dilemma ignoring repeated warnings from the bank, this supply is exhausted, and we are left destitute.

Most of us begin in ministry with a healthy 'emotional' bank account. As we continue to draw on that account to meet the challenges of leadership, but we do not take 'self-care' measures to replenish our emotional capital, we exhaust the supply. We then have at our disposal an emotional 'line of credit. It is called adrenalin. It will serve us for a short while but is only meant as an emergency response to tide us over. It is a short-term solution and is never meant to provide a long-term remedy to emotional bankruptcy.

These last months, many leaders have found themselves running in an emotional deficit position and depending on their supply of adrenalin response. Here is what experts say is the long-term danger of overstimulated adrenalin and corrective measures that are needed if we wish to recover.

When stressors are always present, and you constantly feel under attack, the 'fight or flight' reaction, intended for your protection, remains engaged. The adrenal glands keep pumping these hormones into your body.

The Mayo Clinic lists the following potential dangers of an overdose of 'cortisol,' which is the primary hormone secreted by the adrenal glands.

Anxiety. Depression. Digestive problems. Headaches. Muscle tension and pain. Heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke. Sleep problems. Weight gain. Memory and concentration impairment.

Stressful events that call for a release of adrenalin cannot be avoided altogether. But the current demand on ministry leadership is triggering unusual amounts of adrenalin. We must take measures to ensure that our emotional bank account is being regularly replenished so that the demands on the supplemental 'adrenal' emotional line of credit are minimized.

Here are some suggestions offered by medical professionals to help us with this challenge. They may seem simple, but they may also save the day.

• Eat a healthy diet and get regular physical exercise.

• Discipline yourself to a scheduled sleep pattern of at least six hours per night.

• Practise deep breathing techniques to minimize the release of adrenalin in your system.

• Build a regular 'quiet' hour into your daily schedule to bring you back from stress points in your life. (Conversational communion with God, Worship Music, Quiet Reflection.)

• Keep a journal to provide a practical expression of your feelings and what you are grateful for in life. (I like the idea of a ledger where I record the negative things on one side and the good things on the other. Invariably the second outweighs the first.)

• Laugh again – a sense of humour is good medicine.

• Organize your schedule and remove unnecessary tasks. Most of us are busier than we need to be, and it is often simply a cover-up technique to avoid dealing with the real stress producers in our life.

• Seek counsel and prayer from others. God has placed us in the company of 'friends and counsellors.' We receive strength from one another. We falter when we try to 'go it alone.' This is the genius of the Body of Believers.

Stressors that trigger adrenal responses are inevitable. It is a God-given mechanism to stabilize us in times of sudden shock. Remaining in an 'adrenalin dependent state' is dangerous to our health and will have destructive consequences. We must take the necessary steps to correct it or suffer those consequences if we ignore the warnings.

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