Thriving Amidst the Chaos? Burnout in the Age of Late-Stage Capitalism
You’ve been here a long time. You might turn to doom scrollingl through our social media feeds to capture the news of the day with a dash of levity with a baby or cat video but you know you have to get to work. You tell yourself you’re fortunate to have a job, even if the job might not be enough to sustain, or it’s just enough but not fulfilling. You desire to do something different or want to find a way to give back to your communities. You tell yourself that these are ‘first-world’ problems but know deep down you have to pivot - make a change. It’s an oxygen mask on yourself moment in the hopes of something greater.
Mutual Aid: A Call to Support the LBT Mental Health Fund - Support Us Store
I started the mutual aid fund during the pandemic because people found themselves in the midst of the crisis without access to mental health services. As we all remember, that time was also fraught with grief in relation to the many, many deaths of loved ones in our communities, job loss, fear and uncertainty of what the future might hold; fear of getting sick; getting sick with little resources. Then add the death of George Floyd, and the extremely divided political situation going into the presidential election - many people were on the brink. LBT reached out to a few generous individual donors who were able to support the fund - and we were able to provide support to people who were in deep need.
A Story To Help You Reprogram Your Body
As soon as we began to ask the BODY what it was feeling, she started to say that the body felt “heavy,” and she started making motions as if the weight was on her shoulders. Words are very important to DECODING. We found out that my client had been sending messages to her body, conscious and subconscious, telling it to be strong enough to carry the WEIGHT of life: emotions and heavy responsibilities she continued to have with her medical career and family discord. As you may know by now, everything is connected: mind, body, and spirit. Your body listens. Look out for the messages you are sending your body. Look out for these particular words: LIFE IS HEAVY. I HAVE SO MUCH ON MY SHOULDERS.
Engaging Compassion
Some clinical methodologies and modalities are designed to support privileged concepts of “normalcy” and/or “adaptation” that can have little to do with the reality of people’s lived experiences. However, a liberated approach to talk therapy does not separate the individual from the systemic and structural issues one faces. Therapeutic conversations from this approach creates multiple access points for healing by acknowledging a both/and to outside forces and personal agency.
Anxiety as an Ally
The holiday season often triggers anxiety around issues like spending time with family members who say or do hurtful things and maintaining healthy boundaries around eating or drinking. This year, many people have additional worries about contracting and/or spreading COVID-19 during their holiday celebrations, which may feel especially heightened after nearly two years of living in a pandemic. (Not to mention the other systemic concerns that we might also feel anxious about.)