Coping with advocacy-related stress

• Self-care is a method of promoting one’s ability to cope with stress and involves regular engagement in wellness-oriented activities.
• Self-care relies on resources that individuals can draw on to actively engage in coping.
• Personal self-care includes daily routines, such as exercise, meditation, engaging in leisure activities, and therapy as well as occasional activities, such as vacation.
• Types of self-care activities include but are not limited to:
  • Social skills and social support: Having the ability to communicate effectively to draw on social support resources, and having relationships with others who can serve as resources.
  • Positive beliefs: These refer to positivity, such as hope or an internal locus of control, as a self-care strategy. They include problem-solving skills, meaning the ability to evaluate a decision-making situation, weigh various options, and make a decision to follow through. In essence, problem-solving skills involve action-orientation as a method of self-care.
  • Health and energy: Being healthier and having more energy are resources for coping under stress. Examples include exercising, eating healthy foods, drinking enough water, meditation or hiking.

Express your inner distress

• As you advocate on behalf of yourself and others, you may find yourself repressing your pain and frustrations. Repressing your frustrations will only worsen them.
• When in doubt, please check in with yourself or someone else.
• Ask yourself questions such as: ‘What does this feeling indicate and where do I need support?’ 
• If you feel you're on the brink of burnout, externalize that concern:
  • write it in your journal (if you keep one),
  • share it with a close confidant,
  • even say the words out loud to yourself.
• Giving yourself the space to vent and engage in catharsis—however self-indulgent it may feel—will distance you from your challenges and grant you a stable perspective from which to analyze them.
  

Disentangle your sense of self from your advocacy work from time to time

• Reframe advocacy work as part of your character rather than as an all-consuming lifestyle.
• It’s easy to anchor your self-worth in how successful your advocacy work, is but try to disengage from time to time. It’s not easy but totally worth it for your mental wellness. It’s important to re-evaluate time spent at work, at home, for self and for advocacy.

Integrate self-care blocks into your schedule

• As a mom or dad, it is probably very challenging to make time for yourself. Often we feel guilty when we are creating time to rest. The act of blocking out an hour, half an hour, or even five minutes to practice self-care proves to yourself that you are indeed a priority.
• Remember you can never give from an empty cup; self-care is a complete necessity, not a luxury. 

Work incrementally, and celebrate the small victories

• It is easy to feel discouraged when our advocacy efforts are dismissed or when we feel we are not making much progress. Not every form of discrimination can be solved in one day; the fruits of our labor can take time to be enjoyed.
• Establish small, achievable goals and rewards, and celebrate these victories.
• Try listing three successes per week (however minor), and use these moments as fuel for motivation.

Look after your emotional health

• Looking after your emotional health is the practice of taking care of your mind with the same diligence with which you take care of your body.
• As an advocate, you might believe your own emotions come second to those you're helping, and this sense of obligation can negatively affect your inner wellbeing.

Listen to your body

• Mental or emotional stress usually manifests itself physically. To resist exhaustion, you can learn to recognize the physical signs of stress and heed them.
  • Are your muscles stiff?
  • Is your skin breaking out?
  • Are you constantly exhausted?
• Ask yourself these questions on a regular basis, and get into the habit of observing the messages your body is sending you. Your biological instincts are designed to protect you; listen to them.

Reconnect with your support network and lean on your loved ones

• Chances are that the more isolated you feel, the more likely it is you believe there's no light at the end of the tunnel.
• Wherever possible, plug back into your network of peers, friends, family, and loved ones for the emotional recharging you need.
• Sometimes you might feel alone and lack a support network; you can consider seeing a therapist or spiritual leader to give you the necessary support.