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How Do We Take Care of Ourselves While Making the World Better?
The term “social activism” is about working to bring about a change in society. It’s one of the ways our world wrestles with its values and, hopefully, grows for the better. It’s often an avenue that provides a voice and rights for people or beings which are otherwise unable to speak for themselves.
But social activism is not easy. Society doesn’t change simply or quickly — whether on the individual level or the societal one, change takes dedication, effort, and time. As a result, burnout is common among activists — many people who engage in social activism wind up feeling a lack of mental and emotional resources to continue fighting for justice. For example, up to 50% of union and peace activists were found to have experienced burnout.
Some of the symptoms of social activist burnout can include:
- Exhaustion — feeling emotionally and physically drained
- Cynicism — feeling a lack of hope that change is possible
- Inefficacy — doubting self-worth or ability to affect change
- Moodiness — feeling constantly irritable and/or down
What can be done to prevent this burnout? The Al-Anon program’s principles can be one avenue for preventing it. Al-Anon’s principles, which are rooted in personal…