......TTAAKKEE CCAARREE OOFF EEAACCHH OOTTHHEERR......

Sustainable Activism & Avoiding Burnout Burnout is a political andmovement issue. Every yearcommitted activists suffer anddrop out of our communitybecause they have burnt out.

To a great extent burnout issimply accepted as a by-product of being involved inactivism. However as we workin groups, if a person issuffering from burnout, it willtend to have a negative affecton the group as a whole.

The way we behave to both ourselves and thepeople around us has profound impacts. Anenjoyable and effective action or process can easilybe turned into a negative one. This is in no waymeant to blame or attack people suffering fromburnout, it is more to emphasise the fact that weneed to support each other more effectively. Wedon’t have to accept burnout as a fact of activist life.We don’t have to continue to lose valuable membersof our community.

This workshop/handout begins from the premisethat the most effective way of transforming oursociety and so halting it’s destruction of theEarth, is through transforming ourselves,and the way we interact with botheach other and the Earth herself.

This, in part, is what ourmovement is about, doingthings in different, moreeffective, and most importantly,less destructive ways. Re-evaluating our approach to ourown mental, emotional andphysical health can play a large partin enabling our activism to becomemore sustainable, and thereby help us toavoid burning out, and so continue our resistance.

What is burnout?

“Burnout is defined, and subjectivelyexperienced, as a state of physical, emotionaland mental exhaustion caused by long terminvolvement in situations that are emotionally

demanding. The emotionaldemands are often causedby a combination of veryhigh expectations andchronic situational stresses.Burnout is accompanied byan array of symptomsincluding physical depletion,feelings of helplessness and

hopelessness, disillusionment and thedevelopment of negative self-concept andnegative attitudes towards work, people and lifeitself. In its extreme form, burnout represents abreaking point beyond which the ability to copewith the environment is severely hampered.”

from Career Burnout - Causes and Cures,Ayala Pines and Elliott Aronson, The Free Press 1998

Basically life goes sour, you lose your sparkyou stop having fun and you stop being fun to

be with.However we can also look at burnoutas a warning sign - in this sense it is

an opportunity to re-evaluate andre-prioritise, to develop moresustainable and healthyworking methods. Toparaphrase R.D. Laing theinfamous 1960s Psychiatrist -

‘It doesn’t have to be allbreakdown, it can also be

breakthrough.’Burnout often results from working

too hard, from experiencing too much stressor too many stressful situations.

Acknowledge your own humanity: you have theright to pleasure and a right to relaxation.

Accept and show our vulnerability. We are notmachines, when we deny the vulnerable aspects ofour nature, they can easily resurface in moreproblematic ways.

Lead as healthy a lifestyle as you can:

• Get adequate sleep and rest to maintain yourenergy levels.

• Eat a healthy balanced diet, lots of fresh fruit andveg, cut out junk food and don’t skip meals.

• Get regular aerobic exercise - eg. swimming,cycling.

• Be aware of your intake of stimulant andrecreational drugs, and whether it’s helping orhindering your work.

Another technique is Core Energy Management(CEM). A set of simple mind/body techniques tomanage your physical/emotional energy. CEM usesvisualisation to stimulate endorphin production andenergy work adapted from Taoism. It’s useful to helpprevent burnout, reduce stress (ideal before andduring an action), and generally keep peopleenergised and positive. See:/www.adrianharris.org/cem.htm

Learn some simple breathingexercises - in the west we have atendency to breathe veryshallowly - however it isphysiologically impossible to bestressed and anxious if you arebreathing deeply

Take up Tai Chi, Chi Gong, meditation, or yoga(all good for getting the habit of breathing deeply)Get a massage, learn how to give massages.Massage is a great way to relax and findcomfort.

Play and be with children - rediscover yourspontaneity - notice how effortlessly in the momentyoung children are - join them by engaging fully intheir games.

Celebrate individual and group achievements.Create positive spaces, events and alternatives (likeClimate Camp!).

Starhawk has said that in her experienceactivists who stay completely away from a spiritualpractice of some kind, sooner or later reach aburnout point, whereas those who do have practicesthey return to consistently know how to reinvigoratethemselves and keep the fire burning.

A spiritual practice could be anything frommeditation to walks in the countryside, frompermaculture and gardening to being entranced byoil rainbows on wet tarmac. Basically anything thatnurtures our sense of our own intrinsic worth andbeauty and the intrinsic worth and beauty of all lifeon Earth.

Explore your creativity - it’s often said what acreative group of people activists are. How aboutexperimenting with your creativity in areas that don’tinvolve outwitting the police, or foiling corporateshenanigans?

Ultimately, at the end of theday, there is no one size fits allsolution. The process of healingthat is involved in avoiding orcoping with burnout will be asunique and singular as each oneof us is. We have to follow ourpassions, there is no point taking

up an activity just because you read about it in ahandout, for such a healing process to be trulyeffective you need to make use of a combination of

activities and practices that really grab you andyour passions.

For more info: Activist Trauma Support Tel: 07962 406940Email: activist_trauma@riseup.net www.activist-trauma.net

This can happen when we demand too much ofourselves, when we set ourselves idealistic orunrealistic standards, when we don’t feel able totake time out and are unable to delegate. In otherwords, when we don’t value ourselves, when we failto look after our own most basic needs.

What to look out forBurnout happens slowly, over a long period of

time. It is expressed physically and/or mentally.Symptoms of burnout can include:• A creeping feeling that activism is taking over

your life.• Difficulty in making decisions.• Inability to stay focused.• Insomnia, difficulty in sleeping, or getting enough

sleep.• A growing tendency to think negatively.• Pervasive feelings of hopelessness.• A loss of sense of purpose and energy.• Physical indications of burnout include muscle

tension, restriction of blood flow to the tissuesand increased adrenalin buildup. Thesephysiological signs can lead to headache,backache and exhaustion

• A loss of pleasure in food, friends or otheractivities that were once exciting and interesting -a general sense of running on empty.

• Other warning signs of burnout include tempertantrums over trivial matters, not wanting to getout of bed in the morning or becoming accidentprone.

What causes and contributes to burnout?

Direct action can stir up the most extremeemotions. You can experience extraordinary thingsvery quickly. Many people find that a direct actioncampaign can be one of the most important, life-changing and empowering things in their lives. Butsome, especially if a campaign is lost and what theywere seeking to protect is destroyed, say that it wasthe worst experience ever, and that they couldn’t gothrough that pain again.

In short, direct action can at times be verytraumatic for most people. The best way to copewith all the stresses is to help and support oneanother. Stress reaction begins with the release ofadrenaline, which gives temporary bursts of energy.By continually pushing ourselves harder we canstay on a high, but this cannot last. This should befollowed by relaxing, curling up in a corner andrecuperating. If we don’t recuperate, ignoringmessages that something is wrong, then our bodiesand minds will resort to something painful ordramatic to get our attention. This is burnout.

We are neither inexhaustible machines norsoldiers who can consistently take loads of abuse. Itis positively healthy to get upset about it all - itwould be worrying if we were not affected. It isimportant that people talk, giving one another timeto listen to worries and stresses. We need to makesure that we look after each other. And further thatwe don’t forget the ‘strong’ people who may pretendto be fine all the time. Don’t be afraid to let eachother know what you are feeling.

Burnout can be difficult to deal with, as theperson concerned may claim that they are fine. Ifyou notice people around you going close to theedge, try to ease their pressure without challengingthem. If you suspect you are burning out, don’t beafraid to ask for help.

Infighting: One of the big causes of burnout is when

groups/people fall out, and exhaust their energies ininfighting. Infighting often comes from people understress who are looking for someone to blame andscapegoat. It can manifest itself as mistrust,bullying, intimidation, abuse and gossip. Payattention to the group dynamics. Be aware if peopleare spreading malicious rumours and bad feeling;they are either hyper-stressed or dodgy - this is acommon tactic used by infiltrators to destabilisegroups. Before getting suspicious, try talking to thisperson to see if there is any substance to theiraccusations. Paranoid witch hunts help no-one.Above all be kind to each other, and to yourself.Value each other.

Activist culture: Research has highlighted that activist burnout

often appears to be caused by people settingthemselves unrealistically high standards, whichthey are never quite able to meet, no matter howhard they drive themselves. Taking the weight of theworld on your shoulders and not allowing yourself torest until the problems of the world have beensolved is a sure way to burn yourself out. Seewww.parkc.org/activist.htm

What kind of a culture do such commonpersonal attitudes end up creating? As a movementdo we accept periods of lowmotivation, while respectingpeople for admitting that theyneed a break to recharge theirbatteries? Do we respectactivists who own up to the factthat they don’t have the time orenergy to complete tasks theyhave taken on? Or rather, arerespect and kudos within ourcommunity earned through akind of devotion to the causewhich requires endlesspersonal sacrifice?

Is there a danger that theoften pressing and urgentnature of activist work fosters awork ethic which in itself can be highly damaging?While perhaps understandable, can a culture thatrespects personal sacrifice ultimately be eithersustainable or effective?

The downsides of the activist culture of devotionto the cause are that our community continuallyloses some of its most committed participants, whilethere is also the tendency for new participants to bediscouraged from becoming involved.

If we want to become the transformations thatwe wish to see in society at large, then surely it istime we accepted that relentlessly driving ourselvesand those around us is neither sustainable nordesirable. We need to remember that changing theworld is a marathon, not a sprint. We need to paceourselves.

Strategies for avoidingburnout - making ouractivism more sustainable

Our commitments need regular review andpruning to prevent overload. If you have taken onsomething but can’t do it say so publicly, rather thanpeople thinking you are doing it when you are not.

Ensure that you take regular breaks while alsocombining a variety of different activities - plan sometime off, before, during and after big actions or worksessions - aiming for a balance that is right for youand your needs.

What are the situationsthat grind you down the most?Can you create ways of dealingwith them?

Don’t feel you have to goon every action - if it doesn’tfeel right don’t do it.

It helps to know your ownmotives. Sometimes peoplecome to activism as a way ofexpressing anger and pain thatactually arises out of morepersonal sources - an abusivechildhood, or difficult lifeexperiences. This is not to saythat you can’t have both, or that

family violence does not have political aspects.However, in terms of sustainability, it is helpful toknow what is coming from where.

Long term involvement in emotionallydemanding situations is easier to cope with whenyou have a way of releasing the emotions that thesituations create, regular emotional release throughsupport networks, co-counselling, sport, sex, beingin nature, basically things that take your mind offwork, they can help you bring out the best inyourself and others around you.

Learn and practise the art of letting go - face upto, accept and work through your pain, your stress,your fears, while being compassionate with yourself,until you come to the point where you can let go andmove on from them.