With everything going on in the world, not the least of which is the social protest and reform going full blast, this is a reminder to step back on occasion and take care of yourself.
Boosting and Supporting and Educating yourself and others is essential, yes, but you canât do that effectively if youâre an incoherent mess. You canât get a firm grasp on anything if you canât even keep yourself standing, physically OR ESPECIALLY metaphorically.
Those of us who are already quick to tire, who get overwhelmed easily, or who simply do not deal with stressors as quickly or effectively as others. Those of us with mental health issues that were difficult to navigate even in the best of circumstances. Those of us with physical maladies that prevent us from being able to do a lot at any one time or repeatedly.
This is a reminder to step back. To stop feeding the never-ending cycle of news, bad and good, into our brains for a while. To stop trying to force more good out of our bodies and into our heads.
One break isnât enough. You need to keep on top of your own health and step back when you feel yourself cracking, slipping, getting short of breath.
This applies to everyone, no matter your color or position.
We are constantly being bombarded with messages saying âDonât give up now! Keep pushing! Do more! Keep up the pressure! Find new ways to help every day! Never stop educating yourself!â
These have their place, but I believe are meant to apply to communities, groups, people as a whole. These are not explicit instructions to an individual to keep fighting until they drop, shaking and crying, at what they could not force themselves to keep up indefinitely.
Burnout is real. The organizers, allies, and activists in the midst of everything know this. You may even recognize it and say âokay I can take one day off, one hour away, a brief break.â
And yes, please, do go back to whatever you can.
But if you approach your breaking point again, no matter where or when it is, LISTEN. STOP. TAKE ANOTHER BREAK.
You are already closer to the edge than other people, you will have to check yourself more frequently and take more breaks.
This is mostly a call-out for myself and my intense anxiety over the state of the world and how I could and should be doing more, despite the fact that when I take a step back and look at my physical and emotional health, I realize that no I am doing what I can and taking care of myself. Iâm not doing a great job at it, but thatâs what this reminder is for. For me, and for you.
Because I know Iâm not alone.
Even though anxiety is a bitch and tries desperately to convince me otherwise, even though I donât really talk about this a lot with almost anyone else.
I know there are more people worrying about this and pushing themselves so hard in the hope it will help, and it can, but you also need to take care of yourself.
Because this movement isnât run by one person. Itâs run by a group. Many groups! You are allowed to take breaks! You NEED to take breaks!
And if something really will crash and burn without your personal immediate attendance, please get something set up so that will not happen (delegation, sub committees, a substitute, allowance for delays, etc). Being needed is a nice feeling, but being indispensable is unhealthy and not sustainable, for yourself or your cause/group.
Tl;dr - If you already had a hard time functioning in society when it was ânormalâ, give yourself more breaks now that things are decidedly crazier, more intense, and all around more problematic for us.
