Stilling the Storm Within
Dr. Chuck DeGroat
"We're in a busy season right now."
You've probably said something like this. I did...just recently. I felt the old, familiar storm churning within. I'd learned through various practices to calm the storms, but this one was hovering, like a mid-January lake effect snow event here in West Michigan.
Thankfully, I'd managed my schedule beforehand to create a break in the busy cycle. It took at least a week of intentional, embodied rest and practices for the clouds to peel back and for the sun to break through to my soul.
Recognizing the Storm
Years ago, this was the norm. I was living in a pattern of chronic sympathetic nervous system activation. Save that phrase for your next party...you'll really gather a crowd around you.😉 My shorthand for this state of inner agitation is Storm.
But this kind of chronic version of it never quits. It hangs around for months, even years. Perhaps a vacation or practices of some sort give you a brief reprieve. But even with that, this chronically stormy state is your body's default. You're stuck on a hamster wheel you can't get off of. And even worse, because your body thinks you need to be in this survival state, it's working overtime to keep you here.
Over time, your body begins to pay the price.
Finding Stillness
Read Psalm 38. It's a picture of a worn and weary King David, whose addiction to power precipitated a crisis, not just among those he'd harmed, but within his own body. In this place, we find no rest. The still waters and green pastures of life in God seem far, far away. We may even pray for it, but without attending to a body literally stuck in Storm, we'll likely remain there.
Are you in a busy season? A temporary bluster that will quickly blow over? Or, are you stuck in Storm? Does it feel like a chronic pattern you just can't shake?
I needed to find my way to a good therapist when I couldn't pray or even practice my way out of Storm. Maybe you do, too. It's important to find someone who can help you attend not just to the underlying factors, but to your body's stuck state.
Below, you'll find some additional practices I've utilized to find my way to the still waters of God, even as I experience deep rest in my own body.
No matter what you do, be honest with yourself about where you really are. That's how the healing begins.
Helpful Practices
4-7-8 BREATHING - Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds, hold for 7, and exhale audibly through your mouth for 8 (as if you're fogging a window with your breathe). As you're doing this, find an image or memory of a serene place that you can hold within your mind. See if you can't experience God's nearness in that peaceful place.
BUTTERFLY HUG - This has been a wonderfully grounding practice for me. I'll often practice this (see a short video here) accompanied by either an image of God's care (I sometimes imagine the father in Luke 15 holding his beloved son) and/or coupled with texts of Scripture that remind me of God's faithful love.
I long to make my face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
Nothing can separate you from my love.
I am compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
You are always with me, and everything I have is yours.
Want to hear more from Dr. DeGroat?
Join us at our next resilient luncheon on October 10, 11:30s - 1pm.
A version of this article originally posted on ChuckDeGroat.net.
Chuck DeGroat is a licensed therapist, a spiritual director, author of five books, and retreat leader/speaker. He specializes in issues of abuse and trauma, pastoral (and leadership) health, and navigating issues of doubt and dark nights on the faith journey.
He pastored in Orlando and San Francisco before transitioning to training and forming pastors.