Sunday, September 18, 2016

what every vegan should know about burnout (resource list included)

 

Activism burnout

Which rather makes it sound like I have all the answers, but clearly I don't, otherwise I would've been able to avoid burnout myself. At least, I'm wondering if I've reached burnout given the tone of some of my previous posts (we-animals-deserve-to-rot-in-hell in particular), and my more-than-usual cynical mood of late.

For example, while I like the oft-used quote about slaughterhouses being made of glass walls, I don't think it's actually true, and in general think it's less a lack of awareness than an agreement that other animals are ours to use as we see fit mentality that's at play. Sadly, as long as animal use is profitable or pleasurable or both, a vegan world seems a long way off to me. On the other hand, I realize my the-human-species-as-a-whole-is-insufferable conclusion isn't really effective, and isn't going to help. And while the people-who-consume-animals-are-bad labeling syndrome may be tempting; it too is not strategic, and not likely to increase the number of vegans.

But, back to burnout. Is this a condition that every vegan can expect to face at some point? Given that I'm eight years into the vegan journey, should I be surprised or happy that at least it didn't happen sooner? Is it in part what can make a vegan become ex-vegan? (Thankfully, I don't anticipate that happening with THIS particular vegan at any time.) And is burnout the same as compassion fatigue? Are the two terms interchangeable? Nope, apparently not. Here's a helpful article outlining the difference between compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma and burnout.

In my own case, there's also a degree of caregiver fatigue thrown in, which makes me wonder if vegans acting as caregivers for elderly parents are even more at risk for burnout. It's a bit of a double whammy methinks, and given that most vegans and most caregivers are female, you could have fatigue coming at you from all sides. Actually, forget about double whammy. If you're female and part of the sandwich generation looking after kids and parents, AND participating in the labour force, you're likely looking at at least a triple or quadruple whammy, eek!

At any rate, since I don't have the answers that the post title implied I might have, I thought I'd look around and share what I find. Especially since if the statistics on recidivism are correct (I've yet to be convinced they are, but that's a topic for another post), and if some form of burnout precedes recidivism, then nearly most of us will face this battle at one point or another.

As with many other problems, prevention is always better than solving, but given the continual assault on the beings of our concern and the huge scale of what we're up against, I would say that it might be a big battle to prevent or overcome this too-common occurrence. Luckily, there ARE also many resources that can help, whew, so I've compiled a short-ish list (a long one can be overwhelming in itself if you're already stressed) and for convenience sake divided it into books, websites, PDF material, and articles. Take from them what you can, as other animals need us to be strong, resilient and healthy. As do other vegans!

It takes guts

BOOKS:

WEBSITES:

PDF MATERIAL:

ARTICLES:

MY OWN FAVOURITE QUICK PICK-ME-UPPERS:

So there you go. That should be enough to keep all of us busy(ier) for a while, snort. Let's take nasty burnout, turn it inside out and nip it in the bud. Let's Keep Calm, Keep Vegan, and Keep Going. (Which is also my new motto and blog byline, woot!) 

Comments

Hi Friend,
Thank you for all the interesting links. This is the first time hearing the term, compassion fatigue. Since I don't feel all that motivated to read about it, I guess that I might have it. I can't even say that it came over gradually, but rather was an instant kind of knowing that hit me a couple of days ago.Let's hope it passes on the way it came, silently but deadly.
Take care,
Anne

Hello Anne, so sorry to hear that you might be struggling with compassion fatigue or some degree of burnout. Completely understand the lack of motivation, but maybe sometime in the future when you're feeling rejuvenated you could find out more about it to help cope. It really is something that a lot of vegans experience at some point, so being prepared can be useful.

But yes, let's hope it passes quickly!

{{{And big hugs to you my friend.}}}

Thanks Friend,
I am doing fine, but had to step away from Facebook for a few days, reading a few posts, but replying to few and avoiding the worst of the other species use and exploitation.
I will get back to it soon, because I feel compelled to do so and because I hope that my advocacy and activism can make a difference.
Take care.
Anne

Yeah, I can see how taking a break from Facebook could be useful. And Twitter is just as heartbreaking in showing all these horrible ways humans use and abuse -- I even find myself trying not to look at all of the images scrolling by. Both of those mediums are probably a blessing AND a curse.

Krissa said...

Sorry to be so late in getting to this! It's a really great post! i guess I actually never thought about it before, but I'm not sure what burnout really means. Maybe exhaustion, but you keep going? I'll have to look into your links soon. I hope it doesn't mean giving up and just going back to old ways. I really doubt that, but I never gave thought to it before. I do think it must mean exhaustion.

Which brings me to why I'm so behind....this summer has kicked the living hell out of me. Benni requires nearly round-the-clock care at this point because of the nasty weather and I am just beaten down. He is the most absolutely wonderful dog though and I won't let him down, but it has taken all my time. He does ok when we come in and I get him cooled off, mostly sleeps and gets his massages, etc. He's not suffering to a point that it's cruelty, but he's obviously sad that he can't walk much and he absolutely doesn't like this weather. Every once in a while when we get out and it's cool enough, he go-go-goes again and I just hope with all my heart that he gets some more time when he's ok like that before his "time" comes. They didn't think he would make it more than a couple months so I'm very impressed with his strength, but yeah, caregiver exhaustion is a real thing. I can't believe I've gotten down to 100lbs again (due to the weather) and he's up to about 45 and I carry him around for hours (not in a row) a day! He's definitely worth it, but I'm sick myself now..anyway, this is a really great post and I need to look over it a bit more just to learn. Glad to see you've had time to post again! And I hope things calm down for you more and more. Hm, now I'm thinking the term emotional overload...I feel that a lot sometimes, but it doesn't change anything about what I do or think. So I think I'm getting a better idea of what burnout is.

have gone vegan said in reply to Krissa...

Hey Krissa, figures eh, I write a post about burnout and don't include any definitions, snort.

From the last link in the Article section, burnout is generally defined as "...the physical and emotional exhaustion that workers can experience when they have low job satisfaction and feel powerless and overwhelmed at work." While compassion fatigue "...refers to the profound emotional and physical erosion that takes place when helpers are unable to refuel and regenerate..."

https://www.tendacademy.ca/what-is-compassion-fatigue/

Activist burnout (as defined by the folks in the link you mentioned in the comment below) "broadly encompasses all personally negative mental, emotional, physical, and behavioural changes caused by one’s activism, that in result hinder the effectiveness of that activist." This just expands the definition of burnout as it specifically relates to activists.

https://helpactivists.org/activist-burnout/

So sorry to hear that you're having a tough time with Benni and the weather! It's cooled off down here and you can really tell that Fall has come, so I hope you'll be able to say the same soon. And please take care of yourself! For all of us. :)

{{{hugs to you as well!}}}

Krissa said in reply to have gone vegan...

Your post was great! I personally didn't think that at my age I shouldn't have a clear definition of what burnout is since it's such a "thing" in the modern world. I mean, I've been hearing about that for decades and in relation to all kinds of things. But thank you for the definitions because now I know I don't have it. I have absolutely severe exhaustion, but not burnout by definition. Partly most likely because I am so limited in what I actually do activism-wise. I mean, now that I have Benni I can't even go to a demo-march because his health does not allow him to be left alone as long as that would take. But before I start rambling, thanks for the definitions and I think this is a post that is very, very helpful. At least I can be on the lookout and prepared for when my exhaustion might turn into burnout. (We humans sure make things complicated, don't we? snort!).

Hugs back at ya! I'm glad your weather is better! Stupid summer.

have gone vegan said in reply to Krissa...

I'm lucky in that my day job has a high enough compassion satisfaction component as I enjoy interacting with the residents, and they make up for most of the management crap that goes on and the other less fun parts of work. Caregiver fatigue is definitely a factor though, and I need to make sure I refuel often enough, which I'm actively paying more attention to these days.

So like you I've come to the conclusion that I don't actually have burnout, but it was useful to do the research (and given that I had the energy and actually enjoyed doing the research and writing was probably a big clue, snort, that burnout isn't a problem yet) and I hoped that sharing might be of help. No point wasting all that time and effort, eh? ;)

Krissa said...

Just wanted to say that even though I haven't had a chance to check all the links, this one in particular is really great and would be very helpful to lots of Esther Approved folks, I'm sure! Thanks for sharing all of them, but if anyone is reading comments and doesn't have time to check all the links at the moment, this one is a good one to bookmark!

https://helpactivists.org/

have gone vegan said in reply to Krissa...

Yeah, I probably included too many links, and likely when someone is actually dealing with burnout or compassion fatigue, even a shorter list can be too much.

So the one I would recommend comes from the same website as you mentioned, but provides a bit more information right off the bat, including:

1)what is activist burnout
2)why do activists experience burnout
3)what are the symptoms of activist burnout, and
4)what can activists do to avoid or overcome burnout

https://helpactivists.org/activist-burnout/

Hope that helps!

Krissa said in reply to have gone vegan...

Oh, I don't think it's too many at all! If I didn't have Benni and had more time, it's good to have plenty to choose from! I appreciate your time you took to find out the extra info for me! Especially pointing out this one above specifically.

Keep calm, keep Esther Approved (I swear to god I can't even NOT write that instead of 'vegan' anymore!!!! snort!) and keep going! I'm with ya!

have gone vegan said in reply to Krissa...

No problem.
Maybe the motto should be, Keep Calm, Keep Cool, Keep Going? ;)

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