Self-Care During Advocacy and Social Justice

Being alive now means that there are millions of people advocating for the causes they care about daily. From housing insecurity to mental health, equality to world justice, eco-consciousness to religious rights, we all have a responsibility to mindfully stand up and fight for better in the causes we care about. But joining in these fights means that you will be experiencing moments of disagreement at family dinners or being invested in the constant news and updates about the things you care about. How can we advocate and protest well while caring for ourselves? How can we continue to receive news from the world and not be distraught or experience burnout from our compassion?

Limit Your Exposure

With a world of information at your fingertips, you have the ability to be forever learning new things. With 8.2 billion people in the world, there will always be more news and more information to react to. To keep the passion and the compassion through the endurance of advocacy, it’s important to know that there is such a thing as too much news. Set limits on your device, recognize the signs in yourself when you need to turn it off and notice what you’re exposing yourself to. Check out these tips on Balancing Screen Time with Self-Care for inspiration.

Check In, A Lot

The only way to advocate well and for the long run is to be well yourself. There is the age-old line, you can’t pour from an empty cup. You must know yourself, your triggers, your reactions and how to lift yourself back up if you want to engage in the mind-heavy work of caring. You will do more and create more impact in the long run if you allow yourself moments to step back and engage in activities or talk to people that fill your cup back up. Listen to the birds, step outside for some fresh air, experiment making a new dinner or paint with Bob Ross. Find the things that you love about the world to remind you what you’re fighting for. We have many blogs on Feel Good Fridays for this purpose – finding the little moments of joy in the middle of a messy world.

Validate

Our bodies have evolved over the existence of humans, but we still have part of an animal brain that reacts to fear with caveman survival strategies. When you hear a news story about a tragedy close to your heart, your body will react as if the event has happened right next to you. You may jump into fight, flight or freeze mode (read about the Ghosts of Stress Response for more on this). Understand that even though you’re not in the tragedy, your body needs to be reminded it is safe. Validate whatever emotions that come up and notice what you’re feeling.

Prepare

What can we do to avoid the news and the causes that break our heart in our world? We practice self-care so that we have the resilience to deal with the things that happen in our life. If we avoid and push aside the pain of the world, we won’t be allowing ourselves to be fully present and we won’t be making change in the places that matter. Your voice, your presence and your wellbeing are all important here. Think about what you need to do, what makes you feel rested and refills your bucket so that when you continue to fight for the causes you care about, continue to think and mourn for the people suffering in our world and continue to show up in meaningful ways to the conversations that matter. What do you need to add to your life and help you feel rested, well and ready to jump in where you can?

Reach Out

If the grief you’re feeling over the state of our world or the news you’re hearing is having a big impact on you, it’s time to ask for help. Talk through with a friend how you’re feeling and check in how they might be feeling in reaction to the news as well. There are a lot of incredible organizations in Canada that were made to support your wellbeing. You aren’t a burden for reaching out. It makes sense that you’re feeling the way you are. Check out the resources below for a place to start or download the Be Safe App to find local resources near you.