If you’re still feeling disheartened and finding it hard to hang on to hope to combat climate change here’s some advice from seasoned activists and those that help them stay strong for the long fight.
First is the advice that you need to sit down, breathe and be tender with yourself for a little while. Then, when you think you’re ready to rejoin the fight, one of the first pieces of advice around burnout, as described in this interesting article is to understand what your limits are. Trauma therapist Rebecca Mangasarian goes on to say that “where many activists go wrong is in thinking that their threshold is a static thing. As you are worn down and accumulate an ever-growing “rest debt,” your threshold will shrink.”
So the time you need to regroup is not always going to be the same. Mangasarian adds that “[M]any young activists are like first-time marathon runners who have been thrown into a race after only a few weeks of training. They start at a sprint and expect to be able to maintain that pace for the long haul, then are shocked to find they are injured and unable to keep running.”
Another resource that you might find helpful for coping skills is The Resilient Activist. This not-for-profit was started by a woman whose high-achieving, activist son took his own life by suicide at the age of 27 after battling burnout and depression.
There is hope and the good news is that there is a growing understanding of climate anxiety and climate burnout as real phenomena with people, researchers and organizers mobilizing to help.