Before you start – no, sadly this is not a toolkit that will help activists to recharge or get their well-earned rest. It is however, the start of a conversation. This is purely for those moments of overwhelm that happen in our daily lives – conversations with colleagues, a news story, frustrating progress made in your campaign, facing yet another brick wall of resistance.

We know how tiring the fight for social justice and equity is, and the toll it takes on our bodies and well-being. For a US-based perspective on that topic, I recommend Tricia Hersey’s work on The Nap Ministry.

I wanted to share some ideas that have worked for me to rest in my work, and to make sure I am fuelled enough to continue working properly without burning out.

I used this checklist in a training session recently, and it’s based on a meditation practice I’ve been using for years – from when the news is too much for me to take, to toxic work environments, to feeling overwhelmed by the scale of the challenges we and our planet face.

I’ll say it again – this is not the full conversation, it’s a start. No social media platitudes about lavender bubble baths here.

I use these reflective questions as prompts to think about how I feel and whether I need a break. Use it for yourself as a flowchart, or journalling prompts. You can also use it during team meetings when you are all facing some levels of frustration.

I’ve used it to help think through a response to a project’s challenge, which threatened one of the activities. At a larger level than the individual, these questions can help you reflect and solve problems – just tweak the language a little.

You can use it while preparing for advocacy meetings where you have to convince lawmakers that something that seems very obvious to you, but isn’t to them, is worth them engaging in. It can be tiring to have the same conversations about seemingly simple ideas over and over again – but focussing on the end goal can sometimes help.

Nothing can ever replace the medical attention of a therapist and if you find yourself feeling truly burned out, please go see one.