FYI: CLIMATE ACTIVISM INCLUDES YOUR OWN WELLBEING
Words by Cileme Venkateswar (she/her)
Being at university can feel like you’re so close to being given the keys to the kingdom—every year arming yourself with a new awareness of what it means to exist in the world—and all you need now is to be given the opportunity to change it. Every so often, it all comes crashing down with the reminder that being a fired-up and resolutely determined university student isn’t quite enough. Not against the world’s billionaires, apathetic politicians, capitalist industries, and the ebbs and flows of fascism.
It’s hard to feel like our own self-care is justified when we’re seeing the impacts of climate change in Aotearoa before our eyes—the insane rainfall last winter, cyclones this past summer, tornados hitting the country this very week. But activist work comes from a community that you can’t help if you’re burning yourself out to the point of hopelessness and your own apathy.
When it comes to climate change anxiety and eco-anxiety, maintaining your wellbeing follows many of the same tenets as dealing with activist burnout.
Care for your body and mind (try using Te Whare Tapa Whā model to identify your needs and how they can be met).
Create healthy boundaries with your activism, scheduling time to focus on these issues so that they don’t consume your entire life, especially as a student.
Develop a balanced relationship with media and social media to avoid becoming disillusioned with your climate activism.
Remember that you are not the only person working towards your cause–you aren’t alone. Build a community to keep you motivated, and with whom you can share wins and losses.
Create the support system you need to maintain your activism, whether this includes a therapist or other spaces where you can step away from climate change work.
Keep track of the wins because they’re real, they’re happening, and they matter!
Indigenous communities have been bearing the brunt of global warming and climate change for centuries—never giving up, and never deciding it’s too late or they won’t be able to make a difference. Find the people in climate activist spaces who understand the value of patience and fortitude in creating change, and indigenous activists are always a good place to start. Look for the MPs and city councillors who are committed to these issues too. Vote for them in elections so that they have long-term opportunities to make change.
Get involved in protests, rubbish clean-ups, adjust your diet as you feel comfortable doing if it helps alleviate eco-anxiety, and commit to public transport over your own vehicle. We need large-scale institutional, economic, and political change to happen worldwide to truly make a difference to climate change. But that doesn’t mean your individual choices don’t matter, contribute, or provide you with a sense of purpose. And finally, remember that the victories are rarely reported on as much as the concerns. Find a source that updates you on the wins—one of my favourites is the Good News Network’s climate tag!
If you go away from this with anything, let it be this: you’re not alone, this fight isn’t helpless, and what you do matters, even (and especially) when it doesn’t feel like it.
Take a breath, maybe a nap, and come back to the fight tomorrow. You’ve got this.