View source for Activist mental health and managing burnout

<p>This page was created following a question received by a person from the HUB community: ''"How can we take care of ourselves as activists, when the resources and support available reinforce the systems we want to dismantle?" 
'''The following are covered: capitalist approaches to mental health, eco-anxiety, eco-whitewashing, individual empowerment, burnout, community care and individual practices within communities.''' This page will be continuously added to.</p>

''<span style=""></span>''
= Mental Health =
== In capitalist society ==
In our capitalist society, mental health is presented as an individual matter and for us to work on or it is treated as a matter to be medicated. <span style="">We live in interdependence with the people and situations around us. </span><span style="">Individual mental health and the [https://www.attachment-and-trauma-treatment-centre-for-healing.com/blogs/understanding-and-working-with-the-window-of-tolerance window of tolerance] one has to manage stress is affected by, for example: </span>
*<span style="">the [[oppression]] the individual experiences; includes things like environmental factors in our upbringing or present (e.g. living conditions, access to opportunities, microaggressions etc).</span>
*<span style="">the difficulties faced by people around them</span>
*<span style="">the variety of ways our brains function</span>
*<span style="">our parents upbringing and the influence this had on the parenting we received</span>

<span style="">Mental health is a collective issue.</span>

== Facing the climate crisis ==
<p>''<span style="">Why seek psychological services if the person I see does not understand what I am going through and is not also trying to dismantle the system in place?</span><span style=""></span>''</p>
<p>''<span style="">Will going to see a therapist will just make me even more angry? I don't want to educate him on the systems of oppression and the seriousness of the crisis...</span>''</p>
<p><br><span style="">The multiple crises that surround us, exacerbated by the climate crisis, awaken emotions that are also influenced by:</span></p>

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 14.4px; height: 260px;"
|-
| style="width: 168px;" | '''Dominant discourses on the climate crisis'''
| style="width: 1483px;" | <li>Greenwashing. Green technologies. Green growth. A focus on fear. Carbon footprint and individual actions.<br></li>

<br>'''On the discourse of individual gestures - '''The discourse saying that we must reduce our ecological impact, or our "carbon footprint" associates individual behavior with the climate crisis. It says a person who consumes is an enemy of nature. Individuals feel guilty and helpless. It also says all of humanity is something that harms nature. In truth, it is the capitalist economic model and it's exploitative mentality that destroy nature; not individuals who are born and socialized into this system. While we are talking about individual gestures, business leaders continue to make profits by selling “reduced impact” items and exploiting people and the planet.
|-
| style="width: 168px;" | '''Dominant discourses on eco-anxiety'''
| style="width: 1483px;" | 
*Be careful not to describe young people or marginalized groups as “victims” that need to be helped. It creates a saviour narrative.
<p>Saviourism draws autonomy away from these groups, and describes them as powerless.</p>
<p>Focus on the people, groups and systems who are perpetrating the climate crisis and that need to be held accountable.&nbsp;</p>
|- style="height: 51px;"
| style="width: 168px; height: 51px;" | '''Individual responsibility for care'''<br>
| style="width: 1483px; height: 51px;" | “''People talk a lot about taking care of yourself, but that means doing what you individually can outside of your job while the big structures that reproduce inequality remain firmly in place."''- Janey Starling & Seyi Falodun-Liburd  <ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj-alDQD2fg</ref> &nbsp;<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"></sup>
|}

=== Countering the dominant discourse ===
<p><span style="">Faced with this reality and these discourses that feed distress, it is important to </span>'''<span style="">nurture a counter-discourse that centers the real causes of the climate crisis and the collective action necessary for [[climate justice]]. </span>'''<span style="">These counter-discourses speak of social movements, popular organization and collective power.</span></p>
*<span style="">To learn more about the different components of social movements, see [[movement ecology]] </span><span style="">.</span>
*To better understand how what you feel is related to the climate crisis, see @[https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpx9sYLN5Rq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link environmentalist.affirmations] <span style="font-size: 14.4px;">who popularized the content of the book, </span><em style="font-size: 14.4px;"><span>A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety </span></em><span style="font-size: 14.4px;">by Sarah Jaquette Ray </span>
*<span style="font-size: 14.4px;">See also our page on [[eco-anxiety]].</span>

<span style=""></span>

== In activism ==
=== Burnout ===
<p><span style="">Burnout is physical or emotional exhaustion caused by overwork or stress according to the [https://commonslibrary.org/balance-or-burnout/ Chambers Dictionary]. </span><span style="">This is a lived reality in almost all militant circles. </span><span style="">It can be the result of an imbalance between aspects of our activism and our life. </span></p>
<p><br><span style="">Here are some causes of activist burnout mentioned by [https://transitionnetwork.org/news/editorial-sophy-banks-on-balance-or-burnout/ Sophy Banks of Transition Network]</span></p>

{| class="wikitable"
|- 
|    <p>'''<span style="">The stakes are high, urgent and very important</span><br>'''</p>
|    <p>''<span style="">“…in a society where a portion of the population is causing the problems, the people who feel responsible for solving them may be a small minority with few resources.."</span><span style=""></span>''<br></p>
|- 
|    <p>'''<span style="">Doing is more good than feeling</span><br>'''</p>
|    <p><span style="">If we don't realize how we feel, it's possible that our feelings...</span></p>
*<span style="">push us to act beyond our limits</span>
*<span style="">solidify as numbness or illness</span><br>
|- 
| '''<span style="">Giving more value to actions than to the state of people</span><br>'''
|    <p><span style="">Only giving value to what is “productive”. This is a form of internalized [[ableism]] and it is </span><span style=""></span><span style="">damaging to our mental health.</span><br></p>
|- 
| '''<span style="">Act according to “heroism”</span><br>'''
|    <span style="">Overdoing and not letting other people do important tasks, i.e. not sharing leadership</span><br>
|- 
| '''<span style="">Succumb to time pressure</span>'''<br>
| ''<span style="">“What do we lose when we go too fast and </span><span>do </span><span>too much?"</span><span style=""></span><span style=""></span>''''<span></span>''

<span>We lose:</span>
*<span style="">Time to fix communication issues.</span>
*<span style="">Time to listen to the points of view and needs of groups and people who are not part of the dominant group.</span>
*<span style="">Time for evaluation and reflection: an inability to adjust strategic direction, (activities can become more risky and/or less relevant.</span>
*<span style="">Time for learning, personal development and deepening.</span>
|}

= Collective support =
<p><span style="">Systems of oppression create great hardships for each person to go through. </span><span style="">If we collectivize care, we include the most precarious people and we learn to use our greatest tool in building a world without violence. <ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj-alDQD2fg</ref> </span><sup class="reference"></sup></p>
<p><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"></sup><span style="">"</span>''<span style="">Prioritising care is a refusal to abandon oneself and the others around us."  <ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj-alDQD2fg</ref> </span>''<sup class="reference"></sup></p>
<p><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"></sup><span style="">In the face of the climate crisis and the many social crises we face, we can support each other collectively through community care and a regenerative culture.</span><br></p>
<p><br></p>

== Community care ==
<p>'''<span style="">Community care </span>'''<span style="">is the </span><span style="">shared responsibility to offer and receive the emotional, physical and structural support we need in order to live more lovingly and liberatedly. </span><span style="">It's also the way we improve our groups to meet our aspirations.</span><br></p>
<p><br><span style="">Communal care within a group includes...</span></p>

<span style=""></span>
*<span style="">Space to arrive as a human person with personal challenges.</span>
*<span style="">Building a culture in our spaces and relationships rooted in trust and mutual compassion</span>
<p><br>'''<span>Community care is not o</span><span style="">pposed to discipline or rigor. </span>'''<span>Instead,</span>'''<span style=""> </span>'''<span style="">we use our energy more strategically because </span><span style="">“o</span>''<span style="">ur battles are too important for any one of us to burn out."  <ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj-alDQD2fg</ref> </span>''
<sup class="reference"></sup><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"></sup><span style="">Thus, community care is integral to team functioning so we can carry out our fights with more ease. </span></p>
<span style=""></span>

<span style="">Patriarcheal systems today suggest</span><span style=""> care is largely assumed by women in our societies. If we wish to develop community care in our spaces, this work must be done and organized in an explicit way so that the mental load is not assumed by women and femmes, or by those experiencign other forms of oppression (ableism, racism etc).&nbsp;</span><br>

<span style=""></span>
=== Putting community care into action ===
==== Bringing the ingredients of a culture of care to life ====
<p><span style="">These ingredients are taken from the article [https://wagingnonviolence.org/2023/03/we-need-a-movement-that-addresses-the-trauma-of-fighting-for-a-burning-planet/ We need a climate movement that addresses the trauma of fighting for a burning planet] by [https://wagingnonviolence.org/ Waging Nonviolence].</span></p>
<p><span style="">Note that the actions for the different ingredients described may be different from one group to another.</span></p>

{| class="wikitable" style="height: 1016px;"
|- style="height: 28px;" 
| style="height: 28px; width: 175.25px;" | '''<span style="">Ingredient</span><br>'''
| style="height: 28px; width: 1476.75px;" |   <p>''<span style="">Examples</span>''<br></p>
|- style="height: 158px;" 
| style="height: 158px; width: 175.25px;" | '''<span style="">Ease </span>'''<span style="">*ingredient added by the HUB</span><br>'''<br>'''
| style="height: 158px; width: 1476.75px;" |   <p><span style="">This ingredient allows people to take action accessibly; it's less complicated, less energy-consuming, and less reserved for people who know how things work. </span><span style="">In a context where many activists tell us that their mental health improves in action, facilitating it has its place as an ingredient of community care in the context of activism.</span></p>
<p>You can contribute this ingredient to your grop by:</p>
*<span style="">Creating documentation answering potential questions for new joiners.</span>
*<span style="">Creating a meeting calendar to remove the collective burden of planning a new meeting date after each meeting</span>
*<span style="">Adding opportunities that makes it easier to get involved (i.e. makes </span><span style="">certain tasks, project management, meeting organization, etc. less energy-intensive).</span>
|- style="height: 135px;" 
| style="height: 135px; width: 175.25px;" | '''<span style="">Space</span>'''<br>
| style="height: 135px; width: 1476.75px;" |   <p><span style="">To rest, reflect, recover and heal.</span><br></p>
<p>Contribute to this by:</p>
*<span style="">Planning campaigns with low points (that is, easier lift actions or time off)</span>
*<span style="">Holding sharing and learning circles.</span>
*<span style="">Planning rest times.</span>
|- style="height: 196px;" 
| style="height: 196px; width: 175.25px;" | '''<span style="">Love</span>'''
| style="height: 196px; width: 1476.75px;" |
<span style="">This might include:</span>
*<span style="">Regular compliments, positive feedback, and celebration of people and their work (“I separate people from their work, because we need to better celebrate the inherent value of people, regardless of their work”). <ref>https://wagingnonviolence.org/2023/03/we-need-a-movement-that-addresses-the-trauma-of-fighting-for-a-burning-planet/</ref> </span><br>
*<span style="">Put time into the personal growth of members.</span>
*<span style="">Regularly check in on people's well-being.</span>
*<span style="">Create communities of support for people going through difficult times.</span>
*<span style="">Mentoring and pairing.</span>
|- style="height: 28px;" 
| style="height: 28px; width: 175.25px;" | '''<span style="">Diversity</span>'''
| style="height: 28px; width: 1476.75px;" |
<span style="">Encourage diversity of perspectives and respectful feedback.</span>
|- style="height: 106px;" 
| style="height: 106px; width: 175.25px;" | '''<span style="">Limit</span>'''
| style="height: 106px; width: 1476.75px;" |
<span style="">Try:</span>
*<span style="">Asking rather than assume that some people are able to take on more work.</span><br>
*<span style="">To have clear objectives to avoid feeling like you have to do everything.</span>
*<span style="">Encouraging people to set their own boundaries and communicate them.</span>
|- style="height: 28px;" 
| style="height: 28px; width: 175.25px;" | '''<span style="">Awareness</span>'''
| style="height: 28px; width: 1476.75px;" |
<span style="">Create spaces to address different issues (unconscious bias, trauma, feedback and reflection, etc.).</span><br>
|- style="height: 77px;" 
| style="height: 77px; width: 175.25px;" | '''<span style="">Compassion</span><br>'''
| style="height: 77px; width: 1476.75px;" |
<span style="">Encourage:</span>
*<span style="">Seeing mistakes as part of learning.</span><br>
*<span style="">Knowing the needs of the people around us.</span>
*<span style="">Avoiding judgment.</span>
|- style="height: 77px;" 
| style="height: 77px; width: 175.25px;" | '''<span style="">Vulnerability</span><br>'''
| style="height: 77px; width: 1476.75px;" |
<span style="">Suggest:</span>
*<span style="">Honesty when you make mistakes.</span><br>
*<span style="">Taking time to welcome people with their strengths, fears and needs.</span>
*<span style="">"Demanding and striving for what is needed, not just what [one thinks] can be achieved, despite fear or outside attacks." <ref>https://wagingnonviolence.org/2023/03/we-need-a-movement-that-addresses-the-trauma-of-fighting-for-a-burning-planet/</ref> </span>
|- style="height: 77px;" 
| style="height: 77px; width: 175.25px;" | '''<span style="">Joy</span>'''
| style="height: 77px; width: 1476.75px;" |
<span style="">This includes:</span>
*<span style="">Taking time to play, “time without a goal”.</span><br>
*<span style="">Recurring social time and moments of celebration.</span>
*<span style="">Identifying the types of work that are associated with joy and find ways to incorporate them.</span>
|- style="height: 53px;" 
| style="height: 53px; width: 175.25px;" | '''<span style="">Fluidity</span><br>'''
| style="height: 53px; width: 1476.75px;" |
<span style="">Encourage this by:</span>
*<span style="">Having an openness to change according to what surrounds us.</span><br>
*<span style="">Sharing and learning from others in order to “contaminate” ourselves with our knowledge.</span>
|- style="height: 53px;" 
| style="height: 53px; width: 175.25px;" | '''<span style="">Imagination</span><br>'''
| style="height: 53px; width: 1476.75px;" |
<span style="">Try:</span>
*<span style="">Welcoming more art and artists to our spaces.</span><br>
*<span style="">Learning from people outside our circles.</span>
|}

====Establish a feedback mechanism <ref>https://transitionnetwork.org/news/editorial-sophy-banks-on-balance-or-burnout/</ref> &nbsp;</span><sup class="reference"></sup></p>====
<p><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"></sup><br><span style="">A work team can be mandated to conduct this process on an ongoing basis. </span><span style="">Roles related to supporting the process should be clear and ideally, rotating to sharing the emotional load.</span></p>
<p><br></p>

{| class="wikitable" style="height: 276px;"
|- style="height: 57px;" 
| style="height: 57px; width: 174.344px;" | '''<span style="">1. Space for receiving feedback and needs</span>'''<br>
| style="height: 57px; width: 1477.66px;" |   <p><span style="">Have spaces to take and receive </span>''<span style="">feedback </span>''<span style="">from members on group activities and on people's needs related to group activities.</span></p>
<p><br></p>
|- style="height: 51px;" 
| style="height: 51px; width: 174.344px;" | '''<span style="">2. Evaluation of feedback received</span>'''<br>
| style="height: 51px; width: 1477.66px;" |   <p><span style="">Discuss what the feedback means for the group.</span><br></p>
|- style="height: 57px;" 
| style="height: 57px; width: 174.344px;" | '''<span style="">3. Taking action</span>'''<br>
| style="height: 57px; width: 1477.66px;" |   <p><span style="">Create an appropriate care response for people in the group or community.</span></p>
<p><span style="">Examples: meeting every two weeks rather than every week, creating moments for congratulations, hosting activities, organizing recurring social activities, creating a support and sharing group etc.</span></p>
|- style="height: 83px;" 
| style="height: 83px; width: 174.344px;" | '''<span style="">4. Counter resistance</span><br>'''
| style="height: 83px; width: 1477.66px;" | <span style="">At this stage, we try to go beyond the old comfort zone of the group to create a new one. </span><span style="">Collective effort must be made to support the actions needed to respond to the feedback of the group.&nbsp;</span>
|- style="height: 28px;" 
| style="height: 28px; width: 174.344px;" | '''<span style="">5. Assess</span><br>'''
| style="height: 28px; width: 1477.66px;" |   <span style="">Ask whether the action(s) were able to respond to the feedback or the needs expressed.</span><br>
|}

== What sustains activists around the world ==
<p><span style="">An [https://commonslibrary.org/sustaining-ourselves-as-activists/ article by Helen Cox] </span><span style="">summarizes what activists said they do to support their activism. </span><span style="">They shared </span>'''<span style="">their individual care practices </span>'''<span style="">alongside creating community care mechanisms.</span></p>
<p><br><span style="">Their answers could guide reflections related to...</span></p>

<span style=""></span>
*<span style="">commitment capacity</span>
*<span style="">exercise</span>
*<span style="">sleep</span>
*<span style="">food</span>
*<span style="">nature</span>
*<span style="">time management and breaks</span>
*<span style="">group dynamics</span>
*<span style="">meditation practices</span>
*<span style="">non-activism relations</span>
*<span style="">mentoring</span>
*<span style="">social networks</span>
*<span style="">long-term vision and thinking</span>
*<span style="">creativity</span>
*<span style="">spirituality</span>

== What sustains activists in the HUB community ==
<p>''<span style="">Here are some responses from activists in the HUB community to the question "What makes you feel good about activism?"&nbsp;</span>''</p>
<p><br></p>

{| class="wikitable"
|- 
| style="width: 463px;" |   <span style="">"Community "</span>
| style="width: 361px;" |   <span style="">"The interconnection"</span>
|- 
| style="width: 463px;" |   <span style="">“Feeling the influence we can have”</span>
| style="width: 361px;" |   <span style="">“More people are starting to get involved in activism”</span>
|- 
| style="width: 463px;" |   <span style="">It can allow you to "free yourself from certain frustrations or anxieties."</span><span style=""></span>
| style="width: 361px;" |   <p>"Hearing from movement elders. It's a reminder these are intergenerational, long-term fights."</p>
|}

<p><br></p>
<p>''<span style="">Would you like to submit your response? W</span><span style="">rite to kenzie@lehub.ca!</span>''</p>

= Other resources and external support =
[https://www.activist-trauma.net/assets/files/burnout_flyer_rightway.pdf Zine: Sustainable Activism & Avoiding Burnout]<p><br></p>[https://www.activist-trauma.net/fr/mental-health-matters.html Mental health of activists (PTSD, panic attacks, prevention, burnout, police violence, post-action, class struggle]<p><br></p>[https://wagingnonviolence.org/2023/03/we-need-a-movement-that-addresses-the-trauma-of-fighting-for-a-burning-planet/ Analysis: We need a climate movement that addresses the trauma of fighting for a burning planet]<p><br></p>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj-alDQD2fg How collective care can change society | Janey Starling & Seyi Falodun-Liburd | TEDxLondonWomen]<p><br></p>[https://commonslibrary.org/topic/wellbeing/ Section Well-being - Commons Change Library]<p><br></p>[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W2D6BcCvNHXNAoQkZ0pLvttoniy80_57OIFOzhdr2VU/edit Notes from the book A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety by Sarah Jaquette Ray]<p><br></p>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.disruptionlab.org%2F&source_ve_path=MTY0NTAz&feature=emb_share&v=iR6rjVynQsk State Violence & Mental Health - Disruption Network Lab]<p><br></p>[https://www.disruptionlab.org/madness Fighting for Justice in Mental Health - Disruption Network Lab]<p><br></p>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/collectifecomotion/ Eco-motion support community]<p><br></p>[https://www.jaremsawatsky.com/books/healing-justice/ Book: Healing Justice by Jarem Sawatsky]<p><br></p>[https://www.jaremsawatsky.com/books/healing-justice/ Book: Care work - Dreaming disability justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha]<p><br></p>[https://www.collectif-ecomotion.org/ressources Eco-motion resources (see bottom of page for free resources)]<p><br></p>[https://commonslibrary.org/sustaining-ourselves-as-activists/ Sustaining ourselves as Activists - Helen Cox (The Commons)]<p><br></p>[https://fireweedcollective.org/crisis-toolkit/ Crisis Toolkit - Fireweed Collective]<p><br></p>[https://www.letempsdemiliter.com/ Testimonials from young people about their feelings about the climate crisis (Le temps de militer)]<p><br></p>[https://commonslibrary.org/10-great-resources-on-activist-wellbeing/ “10 Great Resources on Activist Wellbeing - Commons Librarian”]<p><br>'''<span style="">Tiohtià:ke (colonially known as Montreal)</span>'''</p>[https://www.thelavendercollective.ca/recherche-de-services?lang=fr Mental health support for people from BIPOC communities - Génération Lavande]<p><br></p>[https://www.thelavendercollective.ca/recherche-de-services?lang=fr Emergency and relief resources for people in BIPOC communities - Génération Lavande]