I don’t know about you guys but things seem really depressing lately. The news is of course always depressing – it seems big media companies only ever want to report on the doom and gloom and horrible events of the world and rarely ever mention something good. No matter where you look it seems there is some new catastrophe underway. I find that being vegan almost makes this worse though. Because while you can turn off the news and simply avoid that, I find that a lot of my stressors cannot be ignored. For example, in England right now it is about 28 degrees Celsius, every day. When I was growing up this type of heat was unheard of and yet in the past 5 years this weather has become the norm. Last year, England had highest temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius which is not only a record breaking temperature, it is also unbearably hot. So whilst I love the sunshine and the break from the freeing cold rain and miserable grey skies of winter is greatly needed, I am very much aware of the fact that this weather is due to global warming and will only proceed to get worse unless real change is done as soon as possible to combat it.
So I find my mind never shuts off. When I am at work and people are telling me about their lunch meals of chicken and fish and bacon baps, I am reminded of the dead animal on their plate. I don’t think they do it to be mean – it’s just general office chit chat whilst you wait for the microwave – but for me it is a constant reminder of what is happening to animals around the globe. It can be really hard to ignore it, especially when the majority of food is still animal based. Sometimes I forget that my home is like my little vegan bubble, and when I leave I am constantly reminded of how many animals are suffering and dying just for a sandwich.
Couple this with the news, where all you see are articles about stabbings at hospitals, school shootings, breaches of human rights, migrant deaths and all manner of other horrible events, it can get quite hard to see any good in the day. Which in turn can lead to burnout and just general feelings of hopelessness. I find that many vegans are big advocates for a number of different issues, not just animal related, so constantly seeing how messed up the world is really can start to grind a person down.
One of the other causes I am a big advocate for is mental health. I believe that in order to be a good advocate and a long term advocate, mental health needs to be at the forefront of it all. A popular saying I see in the mental health world is ‘Always put your oxygen mask on first before helping others’, and I think this is so true when it comes to mental health. For those of you not familiar with this phrase, it comes from airplanes. Whenever you travel by plan, the safety procedures always say that in the case of emergency and oxygen masks drop down from above your chair, always make sure that you secure your mask first before helping anyone else with their mask. Regardless of whether it is a stranger or your own child, put your own mask on first. The reason behind this is that you aren’t going to be any use to anyone if you cannot breathe. I think this is why it relates so well to mental health – how can you support others when you can barely support yourself?
Which is why, as someone who is currently going through the same sort of burnout and stress as many of you no doubt are, I wanted to share with you some helpful tips that help me take a step back from it all and find some inner peace.
Get off of social media/news channels
This is probably the biggest thing that helps me. When I feel like the news is just weighing me down, I simply turn it off. I do not have notifications turned on for any news platforms or social media platforms and I make a point of not scrolling through my phone at any point in the day. This has helped me take a step back from the doom and gloom and focus more on the now – what is happening right now in my life. Taking that step back and switching off from the bad news can really help remove a lot of the negativity from your day.
This also means perhaps not clicking on any news updates from animal welfare charities or the like for at least a day. As much as you want to support these organisations, and as important as their work is, there needs to be a time when you just let it go for a day. The sad reality is that all of these issues will still be issues tomorrow, next week, next month. And therefore you can be engaged with these issues tomorrow, next week or next month. Taking one day to just hit pause on it all is not only healthy, it may also be necessary to ensure that you can maintain the level of involvement and activism that you wish to for a long amount of time. I have been vegan now for 8 years, and have been a big animal advocate since I was a child. But there are still some days where I need to not see any reminders of it, just for the day, to get a bit of headspace from it all and to have a very brief pause.
Curate a wholesome social media page
This is something that takes time, but for me has been completely worth it. I started it at the beginning of this year and it has helped me immensely. Whilst I still follow news channels and I still follow a lot of animal welfare organisations, I also follow just happy and wholesome creators too. For example, one of the best organisations that i follow online is The Dodo. The entire brand is just wholesome and silly. They share funny cat videos and pets being idiots, but they also share uplifting stories from people who work in rescue centres or animal welfare charities. Whilst the stories do start as sad stories of neglect or abuse, they always end with love and joy. I find that these types of news stories help inspire me, because it no longer feels like it is just me in this fight. I can see videos of people who didn’t even want a cat, turning their entire home into a cat rescue centre simply because of one kitten that started it all. I can see videos of ground breaking technology that is helping create prosthetic limbs for animals so that they can run and jump again.
Aside form the animal side of the news, I also follow people that just make me feel happy. For example, I follow this woman, Bree Lenehan, on Instagram and her posts around body positivity and breaking beauty standards have helped me through some rough patches. I also follow Megan Crabbe who shares her stories of body positivity and life within the LGBTQ community. There are loads of others that I really enjoy – from fitness to food to books and writing to painting – that just help sprinkle some humanity into my day. I love seeing people being happy and seeing all of the incredibly different ways that people achieve this. Find some creators or news outlets that focus on areas that you personally love – the crochet community for example I always find to be very wholesome and supportive – and develop your feed from there.
Plan some fun events
I work a fulltime job and the mundanity of life can really get me down some days. Especially when work is manic and the day to day routine of it all just starts to grind and I start to question whether I made the right decision in my career. It is at this point that, even if I don’t feel like it, I make a point of planning something fun. Even something as simple as booking a game of bowling with my partner, or organising a games night at our house with some friends, having something fun to look forward to can lift your mood immensely. Sometimes when I am having a really rough week at work, all that gets me through the work week is knowing that at the weekend I am off to the cinema with a friend I haven’t seen for ages, or am going out for lunch with my family. It is also hard to feel sad when you are able to relax and enjoy time away with your loved ones.
But with that said, sometimes fun things don’t have to involve anybody else. I am a big introvert myself, so am a big fan of sitting alone all day enjoying some solo projects. I might take myself to a coffee shop where I can buy myself my favourite drink and favourite sweet treat and watch the world go by. I might just curl up in bed with my latest book and spend all day there. I might even take myself on a solo day out to see a museum exhibit that I’ve wanted to see for ages or to visit a new restaurant or shop that I’ve been curious about. Sometimes having that quiet time to yourself can help reset your mind and give it a rest from the constant noise of everyday life.
Get inspired
Similarly to the above comment, getting inspired can mean so many different things. For me, I find the most inspiration watching nature documentaries. I love seeing how nature exists and getting to see all of these magnificent animals up close and personal without even having to leave my house. But I also get inspired just being in nature. As much as I can, I try to exercise outside. Even if it takes me 1.5 hours to run a 10km, I will love every second of it if I get to run through my local parks and see all of the creatures that live near me. Sometimes my partner and I will go on day long walks in our local areas, just enjoying each others company and seeing where our feet lead us. We don’t have a plan, we just walk in a straight line and see where we end up.
Sometimes inspiration comes from other people. When I hit a slump with my writing, when my characters just won’t behave or I can’t get around a plot hole, I will go along to my local writing group and chat to my writer friends about their own writing struggles and victories. I find that just talking through an idea can be the spark needed to really kickstart me to action it. If you are curious about starting a new hobby, or want to get a bit more serious about a hobby you already enjoy and want to make it a true habit, see if there are any local groups near you (either online or in person) and meet other like minded individuals. In my experience these groups are just fun. Yes people want to achieve things and they allow a degree of accountability, but for the most part it is just so inspiring and fun to talk to people about little personal projects that they are super passionate about.
Remember that you aren’t alone in any of this
Sometimes it can feel like you are the only activist in the world. That it really is just one person trying to make a difference. But it is never just you. Yes, it may be just you in your immediate group who care about climate change, but there will be groups of people in the next town over who are also very passionate about this. The joy of the internet these days is that it does help to connect people and there are hundreds of online communities you can join for whatever hobby or cause that is important to you. For example, I am a member of a local vegan food group where people just share their meals or new food finds, and it is so lovely to see so many people engaging with the group on a daily basis. Even in my own little circle, I am always so relieved when someone at work brings in a new vegan sweet that they found because they thought I would enjoy it. Or when my friend tells me that she’s going to try a meat free product because she watched a video about pigs and can’t face eating one again. it reminds me that all of these processes – whether rightly or wrongly – are slow processes and I need to be patient with it all. Of course we can do as much as we can, but it has to be a set of actions that are sustainable and manageable for the longterm.
Taylor Talks Vegan 