On Monday I went in to see a doctor. It had been months since my last appointment, so there were the usual things to check up on – breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, etc. In addition to the usual things was also a minor amount of back pain I received from the car accident I was in nearly two weeks ago. Doctor also asked about neck pain, but, despite being a “fender bender,” I never had any neck pain.
And yet there was one other thing I wanted to ask the doctor about. Ever since November I have been feeling stomach pain in my lower abdomen. It’s never been anything more than an achy feeling, so I’ve never really thought much of it – let alone why I might have been feeling it. I told the doctor about it and she asked a couple questions about what I’m doing in life and I told her that I’m in seminary. She nodded in understanding and said, “It’s very typical for seminarians to have this pain; it’s due to the stress.”
I had never really thought about what I do as a seminarian as stressful, even though my body tells me otherwise. Of course, when I think back over the past year, I have had a lot of stuff going on outside of seminary; changed cars twice over last summer and I’m currently shopping for a third, moved everything I own (practically) in a single day, worked part-time in retail through the holiday season, had my grandfather pass away, and I was in my first car accident. Throw in hours of reading, research papers, translations of Hebrew, and finals and one could imagine why the stress would be there.
As I discussed last week, I’m not the best at minimizing my stress; putting research papers off until a week before they’re due doesn’t bode well for a stress-free life. So if there were one major thing I’d say that I learned from this first year of seminary is that there is stress – even though it doesn’t look like it. And the best way to counter the physical effects is to budget time wisely (like laying off the Doctor Who marathons or cutting down the amount of times spent on Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, etc.), commit to doing what you can when you can, and to eat healthy and exercise regularly (even if it means, sadly, cutting dairy). Regular life will happen outside of seminary, so that must always be factored in.
Needless to say, I’m looking forward to a much more relaxed summer break.
In your experience as a seminarian, what areas have been the most stress-inducing? What did you do to help ease that stress? Or is it still present? If so, what do you think you might do to help make it easier?
Hey Jeremy,
I’ve never been one to get easily stressed, but that has a lot to do with being a highly organized individual. Every hour of my work is planned out, I believe in indulging every once in a while just for mere pleasure’s sake, and I plan to get paper’s done a little early just in case. However, the most important thing is stepping back and thinking about the big picture and the moment you’re in. When we realize that Seminary is not our life, but rather we are living our life in seminary, we can remember that there is more to us than what will be, but rather what is. We forget to live life now.
Stop, splurge, do something fun, relax, treat yourself, miss a homework assignment, take a sudden trip. Do these things regularly. Life is supposed to be lived now. That’s what works for me.
Zach:
That is great advice. I think I did do a lot more relaxing as this last semester winded down – partially due to my grandpa passing away, but partially also due to a need to unplug from the routine. Hopefully that’ll help the stomach pain (and allow me to have my beloved dairy products).
Thanks for reading and commenting!
I exercise regularly. And I date someone who is not a crazily driven type-A like myself, so she forces me to relax once in a while.
JD:
That is helpful! My roommate and girlfriend have kind of done the same for me; forcing me to take a break and watch an episode here or going out to dinner there. It’s somewhat of a healthy balance. I think I need to exercise more, though, haha.
A proposition voiced in 1961, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your county.” resonated throughout the world. The nobility of this statement challenges not merely the populace but those with greater authority are proportionately tasked. Noble individuals examine their participation in living. This examination will contemplate, who am I? Judgment will transcend nationalistic jingoism to account for behavior defined by your God. Certainly we will find we are in a dangerous position. Thank God for Jesus. Repent, confess your unrighteousness before your maker God. Give Him the position in your life that He deserves, one who will stick closer to you than a brother. One who loves you with an everlasting love not that which of this temporary world.