The brain and the rest of the nervous system are located in the body. It seems silly to have to state this basic fact, but we tend to act as though "we" are somehow separate from our bodies. In fact, all of our thoughts and feelings are physical processes arising from interactions within our bodies and between our bodies and our social and material environments.

Hence, taking care of yourself starts with taking care of your body. The good news is that simple steps intended to bolster and protect physical health also increase resiliance to stress, improve mood, facilitate cognition, and make it easier to withstand and bounce back from trauma.

So....

• Eat as well as you can, remembering that food is the fuel for everything you do. If it is possible for you to do so, choose the kinds of foods (such as complex carbohydrates) that will provide slow-burning, sustainable energy rather than the quick rush of a sugar fix.
• Drink enough water. Many if not most people are chronically dehydrated without knowing it. Dehydrated brains don't work as well as well-lubricated ones.
• Get your sleep. I can't stress this one enough. Sleep deprivation lowers resistance to illness and stress, hinders cognition, and increses emotional irritability. Research shows that people who are sleep-deprived do know realize how significantly impaired they actually are. Activists often claim not to have time to get enough sleep and, of course, some circumstances do make it difficult. However, anything you can do to make time for sleep will pay off in both increased productivity, improved thinking, and enhanced ability to bounce back from stress.
• Stretch. Seriously. Stretch in the morning. Stetch before and after sleeping. Get up and stretch for a minute every hour while working. While you're at at...
• Breathe. Deeply.
• Exercise when and however you can. If your circumstances allow you to bike, swim, dance, or play a sport regularly, then do it. If that's not possible, do whatever you can to give your heart and other muscles a moderate workout.
• Express and release (rather than deny and supress) your feelings, especially those of sadness, anger, or frustration. Remember I said that our feelings are bodily processes? That's true. Deciding not to feel them won't make them magically go away. They'll just rattle around in your body, wreaking havoc with your nervous system. So, find ways to express your negative feelings, such by writing, drawing, singing, dancing, or any other way you can. Putting your feelings into words and having those words heard by another person can be especially helpful, but please do remember to phrase feelings of anger and frustration as "I statements" ("I feel...") so that they do not seem to be attacks on others.
• Seize pleasure however you can. When you are happy or experience pleasure of any kind, you body releases hormones that not only feel good but also help to protect you against stress and depression. So, seize any opportunity you find to feel pleasure, whether that is by listening to music, tasting something delicious, seeing something beautiful, or engaging in consensual pleasurable activities with another person. When you catch yourself feeling happy, consciously savor the experience, drawing it out as long as possible.

As an activist, your body is your toolkit. No mechanic would boast about letting his or her tools get rusty. It's not a virtue to run your body into the ground. Do what you can to take care of your body, and your body will take care of you.

Hi everyone,

I would like to share an excellent resource with you, called the "Self-Care and Self-Defense Manual for Feminist Activists" by Marina Bernal, Elige and Artemisa. I wrote a brief review of the article back in July and I thought this resource would be helpful for many of you! 

The manual is broken down into several sections. "Recognizing Who I Am" encourages readers to examine the many identities that we each hold, as well as what it means to be an activist. "Recognizing the Violence That We Face" helps readers observe the violence surrounding us and gain insight into how to deal with it. "Self-Inflicted Violence" deals with an activist's tendency to put others' needs before their own. "Optimizing Our Vital Strengths" teaches how to identify what elements give one inner strength, and how to nurture these qualities. Lastly, there is a section on self-defense that teaches psychological, physical, and legal defense. The author includes exercises in every section to help the reader apply the theories and principles to their particular situation.

I would highly recommend this manual for any activist. The combination of self-exploration, self-care, and self-defense that is taught in this manual is absolutely essential knowledge for any human rights defender in their work.

Dr. Dan Siegel is a child psychiatrist and researcher at UCLA who describes himself as an "interpersonal neurobiologist". His 2010 book "Mindsight" explains his research on brain structure and function including a focus on mindfulness practice and its benefits for mental, emotional and interpersonal well-being. He discusses brain plasticity, or neuroplasticity, the phenomenon whereby experience can alter the physical structure of the brain, growing new neurons and forming new connections. Research demonstrates that the regular practice of mindfulness meditation can physically strengthen areas of the brain that control regulation of emotions and other important functions. Understanding this reality can provide incentive to activists to explore mindfulness meditation or other approaches to mindfulness as part of a self-care program, in the same way that understanding the physiological benefits of healthy diet, aerobic exercise and adequate sleep can reinforce motivation to do those things. You can google "Daniel Siegel" and/or "mindfulness" for more information and follow the links. Of course, there are many routes into exploring the benefits of mindfulness practice for well-being.

Thanks for this important discussion. I love hearing about the many new (and historical) practices for sustainability. I worked for many years with Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights and had the privilege of spending a lot of time with fellow activists from around the world. One of my concerns when it comes to self care is deep-rooted habitual patterns in activist movements. For example, during one of my visits with a group in the Balkans, I sat with women who had been in the movement their whole lives. The level of burn out was palpable. The idea of security/safety was scoffed at as a symbol of weakness. All involved were exhausted, running on little sleep and eating only when food was passed around. They were experiencing constant threats and violence. There had also been cancer-related deaths within the community and no resources to support either the cancer patient or her organization. When we discussed sustaining activism/activists, there was resonance and interest. However, many of the resources (even eating well or sleeping) seemed unfathomable to many of the activists I spoke with.

Another example was in the Philippines where I met with activists who moved from house to house to stay safe from threats to their lives. The concept of caring for oneself seems to have multiple layers, for many activists it means staying alive, for many it means working with secondary trauma, and for many it means having the time to have a relationship etc. 

I was particularly concerned when discussing the sustainability concept with activists who had been involved for their whole life in movements that had definitive unsustainable/unhealthy structures and norms. It seemed almost impossible to penetrate the survival mode they had developed. And, when we did begin to talk, the dams broke open and what came out had no real container. Many activists felt that if they actually began to address the issues preventing their sustainability they would loose the strength they needed to be 'fearless'. 

Of course we had many successes with the sustainability work we were engaging in. However, lack of resources always came up. Often the feedback we received was: 'So we've opened this pandora's box. Now what?" There are still very few resources for activists who want to engage in this. In the end though, even with the resources, how do we support a change in habitual patterns in activism. And how do activists who are living in life or death situations find the time, energy, resources, or support to engage in their own sustainability? 

A few years ago I was preparing a workshop on Avoiding Activist Burnout and I was at a week long conference with some great activist speakers. So I thought I would go and ask them what their tips were for avoiding burnout. One of the first that I approached was Joanna Macy. She is an eco-philosopher, scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory, and deep ecology and has been an activist for over four decades. She simply said that 'all her work was about avoiding activist burnout.' Hmm  - I thought, this dosn't give me the tips I need for my workshop so later in the week I asked again, but got the same answer! Her work has become known as 'the Work That Reconnects' . The source book for the work is 'Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World' and it is an invaluable tool - it is an open source guide with lots of group exercises. 

One that I would like to point to here is called Breathing Through:

Basic to most spiritual traditions, as well as to the systems view of the world, is the recognition that we are not separate, isolated entities, but integral and organic parts of the vast web of life. As such, we are like neurons in a neural net, through which flow currents of awareness of what is happening to us, as a species and as a planet. In that context, the pain we feel for our world is a living testimony to our interconnectedness with it. If we deny this pain, we become like blocked and atrophied neurons, deprived of life's flow and weakening the larger body in which we take being. But if we let it move through us, we affirm our belonging; our collective awareness increases. We can open to the pain of the world in confidence that it can neither shatter nor isolate us, for we are not objects that can break. We are resilient patterns within a vaster web of knowing.

Because we have been conditioned to view ourselves as separate, competitive and thus fragile entities, it takes practice to relearn this kind of resilience. A good way to begin is by practicing simple openness, as in the exercise of "breathing through," adapted from an ancient Buddhist meditation for the development of compassion.

Closing your eyes, focus attention on your breathing. Don't try to breathe any special way, slow or long. Just watch the breathing as it happens in and out. Note the accompanying sensations at the nostrils or upper lip, in the chest or abdomen. Stay passive and alert, like a cat by a mouse hole......

As you watch the breath, you note that it happens by itself; without your will, without your deciding each time to inhale or exhale...It's as though you're being breathed--being breathed by life...Just as everyone in this room, in this city, in this planet now, is being breathed, sustained in a vast, breathing web of life......

Now visualize your breath as a stream or ribbon of air passing through you. See it flow up through your nose, down through your windpipe and into your lungs. Now from your lungs take it through your heart. Picture it flowing through your heart and out through an opening there to recon-nect with the larger web of life. Let the breath-stream, as it passes through you, appear as one loop within that vast web, connecting you with it......

Now open your awareness to the suffering that is present in the world. Drop for now all defenses and open to your knowledge of that suffering. Let it come as concretely as you can...concrete images of your fellow beings in pain and need, in fear and isolation, in prisons, hospitals, tenements, hunger camps...no need to strain for these images, they are present to you by virtue of our interexistence. Relax and just let them surface...the vast and countless hardships of our fellow humans, and of our animal brothers and sisters as well, as they swim the seas and fly the air of this ailing planet...Now breathe in the pain like dark granules on the stream of air; up through your nose, down through your trachea, lungs and heart, and out again into the world net...You are asked to do nothing for now, but let it pass through your heart......Be sure that stream flows through and out again; don't hang on to the pain...surrender it for now to the healing resources of life's vast web......

With Shantideva, the Buddhist saint, we can say, "Let all sorrows ripen in me." We help them ripen by passing them through our hearts...making good rich compost out of all that grief...so we can learn from it, enhancing our larger, collective knowing......

If no images or feelings arise and there is only blankness, grey and numb, breathe that through. The numbness itself is a very real part of our world...

And if what surfaces for you is not the pain of other beings so much as your own personal suffering, breathe that through, too. Your own anguish is an integral part of the grief of our world, and arises with it......

Should you feel an ache in the chest, a pressure in the rib cage, as if the heart would break, that is all right. Your heart is not an object that can break...But if it were, they say the heart that breaks open can hold the whole universe. Your heart is that large. Trust it. Keep breathing......

This guided meditation serves to introduce the process of breathing through, which, once familiar, becomes useful in daily life in the many situations that confront us with painful information. By breathing through the bad news, rather than bracing ourselves against it, we can let it strengthen our sense of belonging in the larger web of being. It helps us remain alert and open, whether reading the newspaper, receiving criticism, or simply being present to a person who suffers.

For activists working for peace and justice, and those dealing most directly with the griefs of our time, the practice helps prevent burnout. Reminding us of the collective nature of both our prob-lems and our power, it offers a healing measure of humility. It can save us from self-righteousness. For when we can take in our world's pain, accepting it as the price of our caring, we let it inform our acts without needing to inflict it as a punishment on others who are, at the present moment, less involved.

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There are some practices on the website not in the book here:
http://joannamacy.net/newpractices.html

Here are some 'traps' I've noticed activists can fall into - many of which I'm familiar with from my own experience! These attitudes or practices can contribute to activist burn-out. They can reduce our enjoyment of life and the effectiveness of our actions. Happily, these traps can be challenged or avoided. I'd loved to hear people's thoughts on these.

Scale: Always focusing on the enormity of the problem wears us down! It’s very valuable to be able to focus attention on big problems (more people would be activists if they could) but we need techniques to handle despair and avoid being overwhelmed. Some approaches that may be helpful are: noticing what is going well, getting support with our feelings, breaking our campaigns/projects into smaller scale measurable steps, and celebrating the steps along the way.

Boundaries: Being open to taking on everything is the fast road to burn-out. We can set realistic boundaries – around the amount of time we devote to activism, when and where we work, and what kinds of work we do. We can prioritise. Doing this means we are more likely to be able to perform well and not spread ourselves too thin. We can practice saying ‘No’ and face the feelings that come up.

Monopolies: If we take on heavy workloads alone we can trap ourselves into believing we’re indispensable – ‘no-one else can do it’. Sharing information, workloads, networks and decision making may mean we feel less special and crucial, but is far healthier and sustainable. To stop monopolising work means trusting others, delegating, and investing time in other people’s development. It can also mean being prepared to let things not happen.

Isolation: Activism can be isolating. Building closeness in our lives can seem like a lower priority than the activist tasks we’ve set ourselves. But working for change shouldn’t be a lonely project. Investing in building relationships, letting people in, and asking for help can make a big difference to our activist experience – and our whole lives.

Responsibility and Guilt: Activists take responsibility for addressing social and ecological problems. The decision to stand up against oppression or take action for change is incredibly valuable. However some activists can over-personalise this responsibility so that if they’re not doing their utmost they can feel like the problem is their fault. We need to keep it in context. For example, we did not start the oppression, we are not actually cutting down trees etc. Feeling guilty doesn’t help anyone.

Perfectionism: This is another scale issue – it’s difficult to feel pleased with anything you do if you are focused on every tiny mistake. Changing the world involves making mistakes, being experimental, being bold. Perfectionism holds us back.

Motivations: Some activists and community workers are motivated to do good deeds by feeling better about ourselves. This traps us because when we need to stop or take a holiday we can hit feelings of being bad and worthless. With stronger self-esteem we can change our emotional relationship with our activism, and work from more sustainable motivations.

Skills Gaps: Very few activists have access to the training they need to tackle the tasks they take on. Being continually stretched outside our capabilities can be exhausting and demoralising, and we can feel like there is something wrong with us. It is also pretty amazing how much we figure out on the fly! Having access to training and mentoring is an investment in preventing burn-out, and will increase effectiveness. Planning to work a mix of competence and challenge can help us keep our heads above water.

Lack of systemic analysis: If we don’t have a big picture of the situation we can be devastated by every little set back. Understanding the power relationships in society, and what stage our movement is at, helps us keep perspective. It also means we channel our efforts more effectively, for example we don’t try to build a mass rally when we still need to do awareness raising about a problem.

On the other hand…Self-care is a Political Project

• Having a good life and being happy challenges oppression and contributes to a better future.
• It makes activism more attractive to others.
• It enables you to be active for a long time and enjoy it!