When it’s time to take a break!

Ishbel Straker is a Consultant Psychiatric Nurse and one of her passions is the mental well-being within ministry. She has been working with Elim developing this provision for nearly three years and it continues to grow.

Ishbel is the Founder and CEO of I Straker
Consultants, a mental health service.

When we think about mental health, we think about how to become more resilient, more able to cope with situations that are thrown at us and how we can thrive in the most difficult environments.

So when I speak to pastors about taking a break, they look at me and inwardly (and sometimes outwardly) say, “That’s not an option.” Is that shocking to read, or does this resonate with you? What they want is the power to continue pressing forward without any difficulties, no matter what issues arise.

The idea of taking a break to enable resilience feels like an alien concept. The thought of stepping out of a situation to gain perspective and be refreshed is deemed as weak – or is misconstrued as a punitive process, making them appear ‘part of the problem’. Some readers, however, might have experienced this process and feel able to look on with hindsight, knowing that stepping out was part of the healing process.

In my practice, I like to draw parallels between mental and physical health, and when I consider the increase in physiological healing through rest, I ask why would be any different with our brains? The only difference I can see is that if you don’t regard mental health on the same platform as physical, then you are not going to understand the power of rest. There is no weakness in taking a break, and rejuvenation can only happen when we are still.

I work with a lot of professional athletes, and part of their training is relaxation. Rest is as important as physical activity – it allows muscles to strengthen, grow and repair.

Imagine a footballer saying to their coach, “I don’t want to have a rest day as the team will think I’m incapable and weak for not being able to train every day.” That wouldn’t happen because athletes are trained to listen to their bodies and understand when rest is needed.

So, I implore you to consider this within your role, not simply to take a rest because you have reached exhaustion, but to listen to yourself and think about this as part of your routine on a weekly basis. Time out to be still and recuperate should become one of your non-negotiables in how you function within your role, and you should set it as an example to those around you so the next generation of leaders works from an athlete’s mentality.

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

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