CLEVELAND, Ohio – “You think too much.”
Ever have someone tell you that?
Or how about this: “Quit living inside your own head.”
It’s easy to become self-centered in normal times. But it can reach epidemic proportions during the pandemic. We are told to “shelter in place" and “socially distance” by staying 6 feet away from anyone else.
Some of us have lost our jobs. Others are working or going to school from home.
That breeds isolation and anxiety.
Think of those in extended living facilities, where many people haven’t had visitors since COVID-19 hit in March.
I talked to one lady who had not been out of her room in a nursing facility for weeks. A few cases of the virus had popped up among the staff (no symptoms), but they kept hitting the 14-day quarantine rules -- not even allowed to leave the room to eat in the dining room.
Then over the weekend, her TV went out. She had to wait 36 hours for it to be fixed because the repairman couldn’t come until Monday.
Alone in a room. No TV for a distraction. No visitors. Just phone calls.
As my friend’s daughter told me, “It’s devastating. I can’t see her. I can’t help her.”
Both of them are fighting a variety of negative emotions, and it’s been seven months since they were last together in her room.
"Words form thoughts, thoughts form actions," said Father Bob Stec. Photo by Chuck Crow / Plain DealerThe Plain Dealer
FEELING OUT OF CONTROL
Others may not be in such extreme circumstances, but many of us can testify how the year 2020 has caused emotional upheaval in our lives.
“Part of it is because this virus seems endless and we have no control over what will happen next," said Father Bob Stec of St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Brunswick.
You can Google “psychological toll of COVID-19” and find studies showing the negative impact on seniors, school kids and everyone in between.
“A lot of us are emotionally drained and physically tired,” said Jeff Bogue, pastor of Grace Church in Bath.
As Bogue explained, “If I’m not careful, I can become very pessimistic when under the stress of the unknown and rapid change that we’re experiencing right now.”
And it’s easy to think the worst.
“Our emotions can lie to us,” said Bogue. “They can create all these false and destructive narratives in our heads.”
WHAT ARE WE LISTENING TO?
Stec mentioned the impact of regular and social media.
“If you watch and listen to that stuff even for a little while, you stop seeing the good in people and God at work,” said Stec.
How to control your thoughts? Turn that junk off, even though it’s tempting to revel in all the misery.
Even if things aren’t going poorly in our own lives, the media will make it feel that way because there is so much anger, division and suffering being highlighted day after day.
ABOUT OUR THOUGHTS
Driving back from the Browns' 38-7 loss in Pittsburgh Sunday (talk about depressing), I found Rick Warren giving a sermon on the radio about our thought life.
“You need to think about what you think about,” said Warren, the author of “The Purpose Driven Life” and pastor of California’s Saddleback Church.
Warren explained how “what we think determines what we feel, and how we feel determines how we act.”
Warren knows about dealing with regret and negative thoughts. He lost his 27-year-old son to suicide in 2013 after a long battle with depression.
Warren’s point is we can’t control everything in our lives, “but I can control my thoughts...I can change how I feel based on how I think.”
NEED A SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY
“Words form thoughts,” said Stec. “And thoughts form actions.”
This is a struggle on the spiritual level, and often it’s because we are talking about the wrong things to the wrong people.
Bogue talked about the need for people to connect at church, be it in person or online.
“The Bible talks about us fixing our eyes and hearts on things above,” he said. “Having a spiritual community is more important than ever.”
I was recently having a very down day seemingly for no particular reason.
Warren said when he feels depressed, he asks God, “What lie am I believing?”
Because we sometimes aren’t thinking clearly. I knew that was the case with me. That’s why I asked my wife to pray with me.
When we were done...nothing.
But a few hours later, it was as if the weight lifted off me. I had stopped thinking about what I had been thinking about that had been depressing me.
“When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, O Lord. My prayer rose to you and your holy temple,” is a good verse to remember from Jonah 2:7.
Don’t play these destructive mind games alone.
RECENT TERRY PLUTO FAITH & YOU COLUMNS
Driving myself crazy? Perfectionism during the pandemic
Another night with the frogs: Do I want to get well?
Is it worth destroying a close relationship over politics?
Pioneer Pastor Diana Swoope dies, inspiration to those with cancer.
The trap of wanting to be liked
What to say to someone who has cancer
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula: A land of massive rocks, bugs, bears and beauty
Shelter In Place is rough on those in Nursing Homes
Can you really forgive and forget when it’s so painful?
Stories of parents, kids, pain and hope
Are you agonizing over your trouble child?
When you go the store, do you see the mask-wearing clerk as a person?
"about" - Google News
October 24, 2020 at 04:18PM
https://ift.tt/2TnJjAA
It’s time to start thinking about what we think about – Terry Pluto’s Faith & You - cleveland.com
"about" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2MjBJUT
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "It’s time to start thinking about what we think about – Terry Pluto’s Faith & You - cleveland.com"
Post a Comment