By Yeye Omileye Achikeobi-Lewis, M.Ed, NCC, LPCA
When I was recently asked, out of the blue, by a Social Justice Leadership program to give a presentation on how to say “no”, I was stumped. Not because I could not present on such a topic, I just did not know how I was going to spend four productive hours elucidating it. After a month of contemplation my juices began to flow. As inspiration came, so too did horrible flash backs of myself as a Clinical Mental Health counselor in a high needs North Carolina school. There I witnessed acute racism towards the children and parents of color. So acute it shocked me to my very core. The school had wanted most of the children of color to go onto medication and live with diagnosis that did not reflect my findings – their behaviors were the result of poverty, hunger, hidden conditions such as dyslexia, and generational trauma. Seeing myself as an advocate, I refused to say “yes” to unethical behavior, I said “no”. But there were many places, as an advocate for the children, where I found it difficult to say “no”. I found it hard to say “no” to being overworked, doing too much, being treated badly, the sabotaging of my work, and the list goes on. My inability to say “no” led me to crash and burn. I acknowledge I was able to say “no” to my ethical values being walked all over and that is a good thing. However, there were also so many places where I said “yes” where I should have said “no”. This small experience taught me that being a Social Justice and Sacred Activist Advocate is filled with amazing feelings of accomplishments but also strain, and big pitfalls too. As I worked on my presentation I wondered if there was a way we could embrace “no” from a deep well within that nurtures and guides our lifeforce, decisions, and well-being in good ways. For me this “no” was something I have come to now look at as the Sacred No.
Apparently in the Social Justice, Sacred Activism and advocacy field saying “no” is one of the hardest things to do, but it is imperative if we are not going to crash and burn. Even though in my situation I said no to trashing my ethical values. I did not say no to having my well-being compromised, I did not say no when my case-load was increased to up to 35 counseling sessions a week, when everyone else was told their workload should be no greater than 22 counseling sessions a week. The Sacred No is about saying “no” to those things we stand for, those boundaries that are stepped over, to workloads that are too heavy, demands that are too much It is ultimately about learning to say the Sacred Yes to our emotional, physical, psychological well-being.
Research by those such as Paul Gorskin and Cher Chen, who published their study in an article aptly called, Frayed All Over: The Causes and Consequences of Activist Burnout Among Social Justice Education Activist – shows that Social Justice, Sacred Activists, and other advocates are highly susceptible to serious burnout. The symptoms of burnout include a not too pretty list of: depression, anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, feeling guilty, ill-health, problems in family life, sadness, grief, and eventually leaving the movement and cause altogether.
The reasons for our burnout are numerous and often wrapped up in what is called the Martyrdom Syndrome. WikiHow describes it as “a person with martyr syndrome puts everyone else’s needs above his or her own so that he or she can suffer for the sake of others and thus give his or her life meaning.” Our burnout is caused by vicarious trauma of being exposed and having to understand the deep suffering of the world around us. Adam Grant author of Give and Take shows it is also caused by giving in a way that is not healthy. Let’s not get it wrong, it is good to give. Grant reveals,
“Helping effectively can boost our well-being by strengthening relationships and injecting meaning into our lives, revitalizing us rather than draining us. It can make us wiser, allowing us to advance the common good without becoming martyrs. And it can free up time to be amazed by the wonders around us. “If our life’s journey is to evolve as human beings,” Arianna writes, “there’s no faster way to do it than through giving.””
However, Grant points out many of us give from the wrong place and that is not healthy. Through his research he discovered that many givers believe in three damaging myths. The Sacred No is about busting these myths once and for all:
To be a nice person I must be a giver: Grant says this is not true and most people confuse being generous with being nice. However, research shows that they’re separate qualities. Being a nice person is about courtesy: you’re friendly, polite, agreeable, and accommodating. Grant states, “when people believe they have to be nice in order to give, they fail to set boundaries, rarely say no, and become pushovers, letting others walk all over them.”
I have to be altruistic: Grant says that in the eyes of many people, giving doesn’t count unless it’s completely selfless. In reality, giving isn’t sustainable when it’s completely selfless. For example, studies reveal that people who give altruistically, with no concern for their own interests, are prone to burnout and depression. Ironically, they’re also less likely to stick with helping and volunteering over time, because they’re too exhausted to keep giving. Grant says, “successful givers secure their oxygen masks before coming to the assistance of others.” Successful also learn that giving should be energizing not draining.
I must refuse help: Grant points out that many givers do not believe they should seek help. They think to do so is selfish rather than selfless. They have learned to keep on giving but not how to receive help. He reveals that the clearest distinction between failed and successful givers is the willingness to seek and accept help, “the productively generous recognize the difference between taking and receiving. Taking is using others solely for personal gain. Receiving is accepting help when you need it, and maintaining a willingness to pay it back or forward.” To make his point further he shares an interesting quote from Agapi Stassinopoulos author of Unbinding the Heart, “Giving and receiving arise from the same free and generous source.”
I believe there is a fourth secret factor to our giving style and that is how we bonded or did not bond with a parent. Some of us merged with a parent, where we wanted to take their suffering away from them, thus turning us into an over-giver. Some of us experienced a broken bond with parent and even rejected a parent which makes our giving come from a place of deep need to be loved, liked, acknowledged, cared for, recognized and the likes. I realized my giving came from a place of the need to get acknowledgement for my achievements. It was a deep hidden factor which came from childhood issues and revealed its true face in one of my deepest moments of contemplation. To look it in the face was difficult, but it was the most liberating thing I did. I have now realized that to give, is not to give to the point of exhaustion, sickness, but to give is to give in ways where I am caring for myself too. Also remember, we live in societies that often tell us that our self-worth is measurable by our success and achievement in life. Givers often feel they must give to be worthy.
To build the Sacred No into our Social Justice, Sacred Activism and Advocacy work we must get rid of the myths Grant spoke of. We can do so by beginning to lay our work on more solid ground which I call the Sacred Pillars of the Sacred No. But what are these Sacred Pillars and How do we begin the process of making them a constant in our lives?
Sacred Pillar One, Listen to Your Heart: Our heart speaks to us all the time. It knows our deepest needs, desires and wants. It also often knows what is good for us. Slowing down for a moment is the quickest way to hear what is really on our heart. When we hear the messages from our heart we can give and live in more healthy ways. A no fuss way to tune into what our heart is saying is by doing the Quick Heart Coherence Technique from the Heart Math Institute. I love it because it is so simple to do. 1. Put your hand on your heart, 2. Feel yourself breathing in and out through your heart, 3. Sense all the sensations in your heart. What do you sense in your body? what are those sensations telling you?, 4. Ask your heart a question and listen to the answer.
Sacred Pillar Two: Take a Mindful Pause
We often say “yes” without thinking about it. Our yeses are often motivated from the needs embedded in our subconscious mind. Before you say “yes” to anything take a mindful pause and just listen to your thoughts and body sensations. Let everything just float on by. As things float on by do the Quick Heart Coherence Technique to tune in even deeper with what your mind, body and soul are telling you. Mindful pauses can also be gained by not saying “yes” straight away, but telling someone or yourself you will have an answer in a few days.
Sacred Pillar Three: Discover Where Your Yes Originates From: If you have an inability to say “no” to things there is a reason why. To discover the source of this inability, do a deep breathing technique where you inhale to the count of 4, pause and then exhale to the count of 4. Once you are sufficiently relaxed put your hand on your heart and do the Quick Heart Coherence Technique and ask your heart a question like, “why do I give to the point of exhaustion?” Then listen to the answer.
Sacred Pillar Four: Affirm Your Worth: We are worthy whether we give or not. We can affirm our worthiness through positive statements we say to ourself. We can find what I call our power statement from deep within. This is the statement that allows us to give from a place of power and energy rather than lack. Simply breath deeply, do the Quick Heart Coherence Technique and then ask your heart to give you a statement that you need. Many people hear back statements such as, “I am love”, “I am worthy” etc.
Sacred Pillar Five, Restore Your Elements: Ancient cultures believe that our soul and Self is made up of Elemental Essence. Scientist agree that we are Mother Water, Earth, Fire, Air and Space (the place we rest within). When we feel tired, fatigued, shocked, depressed, and anxious etc– it is often because somehow our Mother Elements have become dispersed, imbalanced and disappeared. As givers, we are often depleting our Mother Element Essence. So, what to do about it? We can stroll by water to restore the Mother Water Element, sit and lie on the Earth to restore Mother Earth Element, catch some sun to restore Mother Fire Element, go out and feel the breeze to restore Mother Air Element, go into a spacious space to restore Mother Space Element. We can also bring these Mother Elements into our lives through crystals, water fountains, wind chimes, calming pictures, candles, music etc. Just to prove the point a little further we often say things such as, “it felt like the ground shock under my feet”, “it feels like all the air got sucked out of my body,” “I feel no fire of passion anymore”, “I feel like I am drowning”, “I feel all dried out inside”, “I am burning up with anger”, “I feel not feel grounded”.
Sacred Pillar Six, Have a Wellness Routine: Let’s do things in our day that help us to feel better such as meditation, go for a mindful walk, knit, sew, gulf, get our nails done paint etc. We are also important on our path to activism. If we have no energy how can you give of ourselves to others. Here I really want to emphasize meditation. Science has shown that meditation helps us to tap into our wise mind and calm our stress responses. Just 5 minutes of meditation can re-wire the brain. Some people refer to bringing healthy wellness habits into our lives, as building a Coping Bank.
Sacred Pillar Seven, indulge in the Giving Breath, Tonglen: There are many ways to give. Giving does not always have to be physical. Let me explain, you can give through meditation and visualization. Tonglen is one of those meditative ways we can take the pain and give back the love etc. It is a Buddhist meditation technique which means “taking and sending”:
Step 1: Breath out feelings of heat and heaviness and breath out coolness and lightness.
Step 2: Breath in your pain or issue you are working with and breath out the solution such as love and peace.
Step 3: Now extend out your circle of compassion to those who are suffering from the same issue you chose. Breath in the issue and breath out the solution.
Sacred Pillar Eight, Connect with a Community: Connect with a community, don’t matter how big or small. One where you can express your feelings and express yourself freely. Research has shown that connecting with community can help alleviate depression, burnout and create a sense of wellbeing.
Sacred Pillar Nine, Practice Self Compassion: Dr Kristin Neff, explains in her Tedx talk, The Space Between Self-Esteem and Self Compassion, that there is a difference between Self-Compassion and Self-Esteem. The latter relies on comparison and being better than someone or something. While the former relies on learning to be a friend to yourself and knowing we all have imperfections and that is what makes us human. Embracing self-compassion can help us to thrive, as opposed to merely survive because we include ourselves in the circle of love. According to a website called Self-Compassion.org “self compassion is a radically new way to relate to ourselves.” We can practice self-compassion by mindfully observing our negative thoughts and letting them float on by. Eventually those thoughts have no hold over us. We can also practice treating ourselves as we would a best friend and mindfully embracing each moment with kindness and compassion. As Thich Nhat Hahn said, “mindfulness is like the mother embracing suffering without judgement.”
Sacred Pillar Ten, Find an Area of Activism That is Fun: Seems obvious, right? Maybe. Many of us do our activism work out of feelings of obligation, but done from this place we become easily drained. Find something that really drives your passion and keeps the fires burning.
Sacred Pillar Eleven, Stick to Your Core Values: Make a list of principles you believe are important to you. Now stick that list on your wall. When you have a list of core values and principles you are more able to say that Sacred No much easier in the heat of the moment. Your core values and principles are like a road map that keeps you on the path to your destiny. Maybe put on your list some of these things Grant suggested. They will go a long way to busting those Three Myths of Giving he spoke of: 1. I know that nice people finish last, good people finish first. 2. Whereas the selfless give until it hurts them, and the selfish give only when it helps them, the sustainably generous give when it helps others but doesn’t hurt them. 3. Receiving is necessary to giving.
On a final note, I want to share a quote by Maya Angelou’s “If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?”
Reference:
Adam Grant. Give and Take, Penguin 1994
Paul Gorskin and Cher Chen. Frayed All Over: The Causes and Consequences of Activist Burnout Among Social Justice Education Activist, Journal of Human Rights Practice 7, no. 3 (2015): 366-390. DOI:10.1093/jhuman/huv011.
Kristin Neff. The Space Between Self-Esteem and Self Compassion, Ted X. Retrieved on June 4th from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvtZBUSplr4
Grass Roots Organizing. Burnout in Social Justice and Human Rights Activists. Retrieved on June 4th from http://www.geo.coop/content/burnout-social-justice-and-human-rights-activists
Victor Narro. Let’s End Burnout in the Movement. Huffington Post, October 2015. Retrieved on June 4th from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/victor-narro/lets-end-burnout-in-the-m_b_8260260.html
When I was recently asked, out of the blue, by a Social Justice Leadership program to give a presentation on how to say “no”, I was stumped. Not because I could not present on such a topic, I just did not know how I was going to spend four productive hours elucidating it. After a month of contemplation my juices began to flow. As inspiration came, so too did horrible flash backs of myself as a Clinical Mental Health counselor in a high needs North Carolina school. There I witnessed acute racism towards the children and parents of color. So acute it shocked me to my very core. The school had wanted most of the children of color to go onto medication and live with diagnosis that did not reflect my findings – their behaviors were the result of poverty, hunger, hidden conditions such as dyslexia, and generational trauma. Seeing myself as an advocate, I refused to say “yes” to unethical behavior, I said “no”. But there were many places, as an advocate for the children, where I found it difficult to say “no”. I found it hard to say “no” to being overworked, doing too much, being treated badly, the sabotaging of my work, and the list goes on. My inability to say “no” led me to crash and burn. I acknowledge I was able to say “no” to my ethical values being walked all over and that is a good thing. However, there were also so many places where I said “yes” where I should have said “no”. This small experience taught me that being a Social Justice and Sacred Activist Advocate is filled with amazing feelings of accomplishments but also strain, and big pitfalls too. As I worked on my presentation I wondered if there was a way we could embrace “no” from a deep well within that nurtures and guides our lifeforce, decisions, and well-being in good ways. For me this “no” was something I have come to now look at as the Sacred No.
Apparently in the Social Justice, Sacred Activism and advocacy field saying “no” is one of the hardest things to do, but it is imperative if we are not going to crash and burn. Even though in my situation I said no to trashing my ethical values. I did not say no to having my well-being compromised, I did not say no when my case-load was increased to up to 35 counseling sessions a week, when everyone else was told their workload should be no greater than 22 counseling sessions a week. The Sacred No is about saying “no” to those things we stand for, those boundaries that are stepped over, to workloads that are too heavy, demands that are too much It is ultimately about learning to say the Sacred Yes to our emotional, physical, psychological well-being.
Research by those such as Paul Gorskin and Cher Chen, who published their study in an article aptly called, Frayed All Over: The Causes and Consequences of Activist Burnout Among Social Justice Education Activist – shows that Social Justice, Sacred Activists, and other advocates are highly susceptible to serious burnout. The symptoms of burnout include a not too pretty list of: depression, anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, feeling guilty, ill-health, problems in family life, sadness, grief, and eventually leaving the movement and cause altogether.
The reasons for our burnout are numerous and often wrapped up in what is called the Martyrdom Syndrome. WikiHow describes it as “a person with martyr syndrome puts everyone else’s needs above his or her own so that he or she can suffer for the sake of others and thus give his or her life meaning.” Our burnout is caused by vicarious trauma of being exposed and having to understand the deep suffering of the world around us. Adam Grant author of Give and Take shows it is also caused by giving in a way that is not healthy. Let’s not get it wrong, it is good to give. Grant reveals,
“Helping effectively can boost our well-being by strengthening relationships and injecting meaning into our lives, revitalizing us rather than draining us. It can make us wiser, allowing us to advance the common good without becoming martyrs. And it can free up time to be amazed by the wonders around us. “If our life’s journey is to evolve as human beings,” Arianna writes, “there’s no faster way to do it than through giving.””
However, Grant points out many of us give from the wrong place and that is not healthy. Through his research he discovered that many givers believe in three damaging myths. The Sacred No is about busting these myths once and for all:
To be a nice person I must be a giver: Grant says this is not true and most people confuse being generous with being nice. However, research shows that they’re separate qualities. Being a nice person is about courtesy: you’re friendly, polite, agreeable, and accommodating. Grant states, “when people believe they have to be nice in order to give, they fail to set boundaries, rarely say no, and become pushovers, letting others walk all over them.”
I have to be altruistic: Grant says that in the eyes of many people, giving doesn’t count unless it’s completely selfless. In reality, giving isn’t sustainable when it’s completely selfless. For example, studies reveal that people who give altruistically, with no concern for their own interests, are prone to burnout and depression. Ironically, they’re also less likely to stick with helping and volunteering over time, because they’re too exhausted to keep giving. Grant says, “successful givers secure their oxygen masks before coming to the assistance of others.” Successful also learn that giving should be energizing not draining.
I must refuse help: Grant points out that many givers do not believe they should seek help. They think to do so is selfish rather than selfless. They have learned to keep on giving but not how to receive help. He reveals that the clearest distinction between failed and successful givers is the willingness to seek and accept help, “the productively generous recognize the difference between taking and receiving. Taking is using others solely for personal gain. Receiving is accepting help when you need it, and maintaining a willingness to pay it back or forward.” To make his point further he shares an interesting quote from Agapi Stassinopoulos author of Unbinding the Heart, “Giving and receiving arise from the same free and generous source.”
I believe there is a fourth secret factor to our giving style and that is how we bonded or did not bond with a parent. Some of us merged with a parent, where we wanted to take their suffering away from them, thus turning us into an over-giver. Some of us experienced a broken bond with parent and even rejected a parent which makes our giving come from a place of deep need to be loved, liked, acknowledged, cared for, recognized and the likes. I realized my giving came from a place of the need to get acknowledgement for my achievements. It was a deep hidden factor which came from childhood issues and revealed its true face in one of my deepest moments of contemplation. To look it in the face was difficult, but it was the most liberating thing I did. I have now realized that to give, is not to give to the point of exhaustion, sickness, but to give is to give in ways where I am caring for myself too. Also remember, we live in societies that often tell us that our self-worth is measurable by our success and achievement in life. Givers often feel they must give to be worthy.
To build the Sacred No into our Social Justice, Sacred Activism and Advocacy work we must get rid of the myths Grant spoke of. We can do so by beginning to lay our work on more solid ground which I call the Sacred Pillars of the Sacred No. But what are these Sacred Pillars and How do we begin the process of making them a constant in our lives?
Sacred Pillar One, Listen to Your Heart: Our heart speaks to us all the time. It knows our deepest needs, desires and wants. It also often knows what is good for us. Slowing down for a moment is the quickest way to hear what is really on our heart. When we hear the messages from our heart we can give and live in more healthy ways. A no fuss way to tune into what our heart is saying is by doing the Quick Heart Coherence Technique from the Heart Math Institute. I love it because it is so simple to do. 1. Put your hand on your heart, 2. Feel yourself breathing in and out through your heart, 3. Sense all the sensations in your heart. What do you sense in your body? what are those sensations telling you?, 4. Ask your heart a question and listen to the answer.
Sacred Pillar Two: Take a Mindful Pause
We often say “yes” without thinking about it. Our yeses are often motivated from the needs embedded in our subconscious mind. Before you say “yes” to anything take a mindful pause and just listen to your thoughts and body sensations. Let everything just float on by. As things float on by do the Quick Heart Coherence Technique to tune in even deeper with what your mind, body and soul are telling you. Mindful pauses can also be gained by not saying “yes” straight away, but telling someone or yourself you will have an answer in a few days.
Sacred Pillar Three: Discover Where Your Yes Originates From: If you have an inability to say “no” to things there is a reason why. To discover the source of this inability, do a deep breathing technique where you inhale to the count of 4, pause and then exhale to the count of 4. Once you are sufficiently relaxed put your hand on your heart and do the Quick Heart Coherence Technique and ask your heart a question like, “why do I give to the point of exhaustion?” Then listen to the answer.
Sacred Pillar Four: Affirm Your Worth: We are worthy whether we give or not. We can affirm our worthiness through positive statements we say to ourself. We can find what I call our power statement from deep within. This is the statement that allows us to give from a place of power and energy rather than lack. Simply breath deeply, do the Quick Heart Coherence Technique and then ask your heart to give you a statement that you need. Many people hear back statements such as, “I am love”, “I am worthy” etc.
Sacred Pillar Five, Restore Your Elements: Ancient cultures believe that our soul and Self is made up of Elemental Essence. Scientist agree that we are Mother Water, Earth, Fire, Air and Space (the place we rest within). When we feel tired, fatigued, shocked, depressed, and anxious etc– it is often because somehow our Mother Elements have become dispersed, imbalanced and disappeared. As givers, we are often depleting our Mother Element Essence. So, what to do about it? We can stroll by water to restore the Mother Water Element, sit and lie on the Earth to restore Mother Earth Element, catch some sun to restore Mother Fire Element, go out and feel the breeze to restore Mother Air Element, go into a spacious space to restore Mother Space Element. We can also bring these Mother Elements into our lives through crystals, water fountains, wind chimes, calming pictures, candles, music etc. Just to prove the point a little further we often say things such as, “it felt like the ground shock under my feet”, “it feels like all the air got sucked out of my body,” “I feel no fire of passion anymore”, “I feel like I am drowning”, “I feel all dried out inside”, “I am burning up with anger”, “I feel not feel grounded”.
Sacred Pillar Six, Have a Wellness Routine: Let’s do things in our day that help us to feel better such as meditation, go for a mindful walk, knit, sew, gulf, get our nails done paint etc. We are also important on our path to activism. If we have no energy how can you give of ourselves to others. Here I really want to emphasize meditation. Science has shown that meditation helps us to tap into our wise mind and calm our stress responses. Just 5 minutes of meditation can re-wire the brain. Some people refer to bringing healthy wellness habits into our lives, as building a Coping Bank.
Sacred Pillar Seven, indulge in the Giving Breath, Tonglen: There are many ways to give. Giving does not always have to be physical. Let me explain, you can give through meditation and visualization. Tonglen is one of those meditative ways we can take the pain and give back the love etc. It is a Buddhist meditation technique which means “taking and sending”:
Step 1: Breath out feelings of heat and heaviness and breath out coolness and lightness.
Step 2: Breath in your pain or issue you are working with and breath out the solution such as love and peace.
Step 3: Now extend out your circle of compassion to those who are suffering from the same issue you chose. Breath in the issue and breath out the solution.
Sacred Pillar Eight, Connect with a Community: Connect with a community, don’t matter how big or small. One where you can express your feelings and express yourself freely. Research has shown that connecting with community can help alleviate depression, burnout and create a sense of wellbeing.
Sacred Pillar Nine, Practice Self Compassion: Dr Kristin Neff, explains in her Tedx talk, The Space Between Self-Esteem and Self Compassion, that there is a difference between Self-Compassion and Self-Esteem. The latter relies on comparison and being better than someone or something. While the former relies on learning to be a friend to yourself and knowing we all have imperfections and that is what makes us human. Embracing self-compassion can help us to thrive, as opposed to merely survive because we include ourselves in the circle of love. According to a website called Self-Compassion.org “self compassion is a radically new way to relate to ourselves.” We can practice self-compassion by mindfully observing our negative thoughts and letting them float on by. Eventually those thoughts have no hold over us. We can also practice treating ourselves as we would a best friend and mindfully embracing each moment with kindness and compassion. As Thich Nhat Hahn said, “mindfulness is like the mother embracing suffering without judgement.”
Sacred Pillar Ten, Find an Area of Activism That is Fun: Seems obvious, right? Maybe. Many of us do our activism work out of feelings of obligation, but done from this place we become easily drained. Find something that really drives your passion and keeps the fires burning.
Sacred Pillar Eleven, Stick to Your Core Values: Make a list of principles you believe are important to you. Now stick that list on your wall. When you have a list of core values and principles you are more able to say that Sacred No much easier in the heat of the moment. Your core values and principles are like a road map that keeps you on the path to your destiny. Maybe put on your list some of these things Grant suggested. They will go a long way to busting those Three Myths of Giving he spoke of: 1. I know that nice people finish last, good people finish first. 2. Whereas the selfless give until it hurts them, and the selfish give only when it helps them, the sustainably generous give when it helps others but doesn’t hurt them. 3. Receiving is necessary to giving.
On a final note, I want to share a quote by Maya Angelou’s “If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?”
Reference:
Adam Grant. Give and Take, Penguin 1994
Paul Gorskin and Cher Chen. Frayed All Over: The Causes and Consequences of Activist Burnout Among Social Justice Education Activist, Journal of Human Rights Practice 7, no. 3 (2015): 366-390. DOI:10.1093/jhuman/huv011.
Kristin Neff. The Space Between Self-Esteem and Self Compassion, Ted X. Retrieved on June 4th from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvtZBUSplr4
Grass Roots Organizing. Burnout in Social Justice and Human Rights Activists. Retrieved on June 4th from http://www.geo.coop/content/burnout-social-justice-and-human-rights-activists
Victor Narro. Let’s End Burnout in the Movement. Huffington Post, October 2015. Retrieved on June 4th from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/victor-narro/lets-end-burnout-in-the-m_b_8260260.html
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