Coping with Cancer and Other Stressful Situations

The relational training you have received utilizing the SDI is helpful in so many ways because we are relational people.  To get work done in ministry or work, we need to be able to navigate relationships successfully.  However, your training and understanding goes beyond the work place or your ministry context.  It can be applied in a variety of ways that perhaps you haven’t explored.

This past week, I received a note about a couple who had taken SDI training from someone who had training several years ago.  They shared how they were applying SDI in their personal life together as they were facing cancer.  They gave permission for me to share their note with you to help you apply SDI more broadly in your life.  Read how this husband and his wife Tori learned and how they applied SDI to this challenging situation:

“The reason we were talking about you and Julie last night is because Tori brought up how the red-blue-green training has helped her cope with this.  It has helped us both, actually.  For instance, when we first got the diagnosis, all we knew was that it was cancer–we were missing all kinds of information such as how big the tumor was, how much it had spread, what the treatment regimen would consist of, etc.  At that early stage, I was having a hard time dealing with it, and I realized it was because I didn’t have enough information to process it.  I was googling and reading everything I could find.  Once we got all of those data points, I felt more comfortable and was able to cope with it better (green!).  Likewise, our blue Tori has leaned heavily on her family and friends for emotional support. It struck her that everyone experiences things differently, and if more people were aware of how that works, it could help people in situations like hers.  She’s not sure how she could help people in that way, but it’s an idea.”

Our prayers are with this family as they face cancer and work through the stress that it causes.  I also thank them for sharing how they applied SDI to their stressful situation.  Because he was green, he found relief from the stress in getting more information.  Tori however, leaned heavily on family and friends for support as she is blue and people oriented.  If the husband was red, he may have needed to get into action and do something to resolve the stress.

We all react different to stress and relief is found differently for different people.  Understanding your MVS and what is helpful to you can be useful in stress management.  Spiritually, understanding your MVS and the three passions of the soul is also important.  The three passions of the soul are acceptance, significance, and security.  When we are under stress it is important to understand what is going on in your spirit/soul.  Which of the passions are driving the stress and anxiety?

Once we are able to discern which of the soul’s passion is the underlying source of stress, we can apply the Gospel to our lives.  The Gospel (good news) is that God’s love as given to us in Jesus Christ can be trusted to provide for our needs of the three passions (acceptance, significance, and security).  God is a good, good father!  We can trust him and place our faith in Him to care for us, keep us safe regardless of what happens, and we are of such importance to the Father that he will never leave us or abandon us in our time of need.

We all experience stress in our lives.  Sickness is part of the human experience.  Stress caused by broken relationships are common.  We face challenges that feel like impassible mountains with steep and jagged cliffs.  Regardless of the source of stress, we can turn to Christ and find our help.  Understanding our personality wiring can also help us know what is happening inside of us and why and seek out behaviors that may be useful in working through the stress.

I would be interested in hearing from more of the 8000 people that have received SDI training from Consentia Group over the past several years and how you have been applying SDI and the Three Passions of the Soul in your life.  You can post right here on the blog so others can benefit or send me an email at bruce@consentiagroup.com.