You cannot pour from an empty cup.
Due to the potential for disappointments and the difficult emotions that advocacy can bring up, you may sometimes start to feel burnt out as an advocate.
 Burnout is a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. 1
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Common signs of burnout:
- Feeling like your energy is depleted or exhausted
- Physical symptoms like back aches, headaches, poor sleep or loss of appetite
- Feeling mentally distant, negative, or cynical about your advocacy
- Feeling less effective and confident as an advocate
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It’s important to take care of yourself so that you don’t become burnt out when advocating.
One big way to take care of yourself is to keep boundaries around your advocacy work, as discussed in the
Setting Boundaries section.
In addition to having healthy boundaries, there are lots of ways that to practice self-care:
- Rest and take breaks
- Do things you enjoy
- Laugh and make time for having fun
- Get outdoors and enjoy the fresh air
- Journal and write affirmations
- Express gratitude for one thing each day
- Meditate or do breathing exercises
- Take care of your body by sleeping, exercising, and wearing clothing or accessories that make you feel good
- Be creative by making art, writing, crafting, etc.
- Stay social and make time to connect with friends
When building a new self-care routine, try starting small. For the few weeks, pick one self-care practice, and try to make time for this once or twice during the week. From there, you can layer on additional ideas.
If you feel that you have reached burnout, it’s important that you not keep pushing yourself forward. Burnout is your body and mind telling you that they can’t keep going, and you need to listen. If you’re feeling burnt out:
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Take a step back: Look at your to-do list: what can you let go of immediately? Put your advocacy efforts on hold so your mind and body can have some much-needed rest.
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Let others carry the load: Reach out to your support network and ask for their help. Let them know what you need them to do so that you can take care of yourself. (For more on finding allies and asking for help, see Accessing Support and Working with Allies.)
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Access support: If you have been experiencing the symptoms of burnout for a prolonged period, you may want to get help from a health professional, such as a doctor, counsellor, social worker or therapist. Your local Canadian Mental Health Association chapter may be able to help:
https://cmha.ca/find-help/find-cmha-in-your-area/.
