As a former burnt-out social worker turned healer, I know intimately what it’s like to feel overwhelmed by compassion fatigue, struggling to slow down and rest because you fear the causes you care about will suffer. 

With a background in housing justice, racial equity, and animal advocacy, I’ve noticed that many activists and changemakers end up overextending themselves and burning out.

When we show up exhausted, misaligned, and disconnected, it can cause more harm than good to ourselves, our communities, and the causes we care for. This contributes to conflict between comrades, diminished health and well-being, burnout, and overall ineffective service. 

However, when we show up embodying our worthiness, emotionally regulated, and genuinely excited about how we are here to support the greater good, the impact ripples outward to every area of our lives and work.

So let this be a reminder that you can do really meaningful work without abandoning yourself. 

In fact, if you’re committed to collective liberation, it’s imperative that you embody the freedom you’re fighting for and take really good care of yourself so that you can continue showing up in your power. 

4 Tips for Sustainable Activism 

  • Honor your capacity. When you feel overwhelmed, learn to slow down, rest, ask for support, or say no. 
  • Learn to feel your emotions. Before you try to fix it or figure it out, feel it. Allow yourself to sit with your grief, anger, joy, or whatever is present without judgment, and it will pass like a wave.
  • Do more of what you love, in your work and your life. Lean into what feels good and lights you up—this is your fuel.  
  • Practice daily devotion to your well-being. What’s one thing you can do each day that would make a massive difference in your health and well-being?

Brialle Ringer is a breathwork alchemist, a vegan fairy goddess, a healer, and an embodied leadership coach passionate about supporting changemakers leading with greater ease, joy, and passion in their service. Connect directly with Brialle through her work at Be Well with Brialle. 

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Mercy For Animals is proud to support Brialle and her critical resilience-building work as a People’s Fund grantee, and we are grateful for her partnership in our mission to end industrial animal agriculture by constructing a just and sustainable food system.

*This article was written by a grantee of The People’s Fund and reflects their original thoughts and perspective. Please direct any questions or impressions of their work to their online platforms.