The Revolution Starts with Me Zinefiles.ctctcdn.com/f8b08519101/3cbbcefa-2b0b-49db... · This zine...

© 2012 Nicole Clark for Nicole Clark Consulting & Adaku Utah for SouLar Bliss. All rights reserved.

The Revolution Starts With Me! Promoting Self Care & Preventing Activist Burnout

Created By

Nicole Clark & Adaku Utah


Why Self Care is Important “Caring for myself is not self indulgence. It is self preservation-that is an act of political

warfare.” Audre Lorde

As women and girls of color, we’re conditioned to believe that taking care of ourselves should not be a priority. We take care of everyone else before we take care of ourselves. These learned beliefs manifest in unhealthy ways as we go out and make change in our communities. However, the most successful sister/mother/teacher/activist is the one who strikes a balance between advocating for others as well as carving out healthy spaces to take care of self, because in order to advocate for someone else, you have to be able to advocate for you first. As Audre Lorde teaches us, self care is our revolutionary act. A sacred practice of resistance that breaks the unhealthy patterns we were meant to keep. How do we practice self care in a world that does not prioritize our self care? How do we carve space for ourselves when we’re being pulled in multiple directions in order to be all things to all people? How are schools, agencies, and community organizations supporting us in prioritizing self care? How are we creating sustainable practices that not only prevent burnout but also allow self care to thrive in our lives on a consistent basis? Luckily, we are fearless creators, wise magicians, prolific prophets in motion, constantly fashioning new ways of existing in this world. This zine is an exploration of the power we have to take care of ourselves, and serves as a space to reflect on the issues that get in the way. We hope that one or many of the offerings in this zine will speak to you, walk with you, stand by you, and laugh with you as we dance our way to wholeness. Love, Nicole Clark & Adaku Utah


About the Creators

Nicole Clark is a social worker, consultant, and health activist who has been in the sexual and reproductive justice field for over 8 years. Nicole lends her expertise as a consultant with nonprofits and community groups who want to improve their approach to developing culturally relevant and youth and/or gender-positive programming, campaigns, and initiatives. Nicole works primarily with women and girls of color (Black, Latina, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Native American/Indigenous) to help improve their health and lives through thought-provoking and fun workshops, speaking events and research. Check out Nicole’s website at www.nicole-clark.com

Adaku Utah is an activist, healer, teacher, and performance artist committed to nurturing authentic expression within folks and transformative and healing community spaces. She is a proud social justice co- conspirator, committed love warrior, and ever-evolving mover and shaker. She is the founder of SouLar Bliss (www.soularbliss.com) a community space to share, create, discuss recipes, remedies, rituals and resources for healing ourselves and communities whole. She currently works with Project SAFE as a project facilitator, training and supporting youth and adults in educating and organizing around sexual health and reproductive justice issues. Her social justice work is coupled with her inspiring performance art. Her artistry is inspired by love, constructive rage, storytellers, acts of resistance, healing, nature, Nigeria and bridge building.


Self Care: What is it, and How Can You Include More Self

Care Into Your Life?

Self care is our birthright. It is giving ourselves space to name our physical, emotional and spiritual needs and engage in healthy practices that allow our needs to manifest in the best ways for us. Self care is giving ourselves permission to express our most authentic selves without judgment. It allows us to balance ourselves and our political work with integrity, care, healing and love. Burn out occurs when self care is not present. It is a consistent and prolonged state of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual exhaustion caused by constant exposure to stressful demands. It is the result of persistent stress over a long period of time. Here are some tips to incorporate more self care into your life: • Reflect on your attitudes, beliefs, motives and self-talk • Recognize and respect feelings of sadness and despair • Think about the relationship between who you are and what you do, and

what your expectations for are for yourself • Seek support, ether form your community, family, friends or professionals • Connect or reconnect with your form of spirituality. Think about what gives

the world intrinsic value • Become a specialist and use your specific talents in the movement • Prioritize your role(s) as an activist. Reduce certain commitments and do less

activities/projects but do them better • Let things go: trust that others in the movement will do a good job, and/or let

specific actions or events fail gracefully • Get enough sleep, eat well, and exercise • Assess whether your use of drugs, alcohol, caffeine and other altering

substances is helping or hindering you • Be involved in activities and communities outside of your political work • Prioritize time to have fun, relax and laugh • Think about what rejuvenates and centers you, and prioritize it • Create a weekly “Here’s What I Love” Day: It’s fine and perfectly OK to not

care about a cause/activity for one day. Begin by choosing one day a week (it doesn’t have to be the same day each week) and spend that day devoted to other things besides whatever causes you’re participating in at the


moment. Sometimes stepping away brings not only a sense of relief but also a sense of clarity. In this zine, you will create your own “Here’s What I Love” list.

• Agree to no activist talk while you’re relaxing with your activist friends: You and some of your activist friends make plans to hang out, and what starts off as a lighthearted conversation turns into the deconstruction of race, gender, and class and how it relates to the latest cause you’re working on. Sometimes it’s hard to step out of that activist role, but try discussing other topics besides activism. You might learn something new about your friends.

• Think about self care as an investment. When you invest in self care, the people you’re advocating for can see how important your physical and mental wellness are to you, and in turn it can encourage them to invest in themselves as well. The more you invest your own self care, the more authentic your activism can be.

• Encourage self care among your activists friends: Have your friends create their own

• Create “Here’s What I Love” lists with your loved ones. Share it and collectively choose an activity to do as a group (and don’t forget to leave the activist talk at the door!)

• Say NO, and say it often: As tempting as that new campaign sounds, and as excited as you may be for being asked to lead it, sometimes saying no can bring you more peace of mind. Saying no can be uncomfortable, especially if you know it’s going to disappoint the other person. Sometimes as activists, we feel that saying no is a big no-no. But here’s the thing: saying yes too often can often lead to anxiety, feeling annoyed, and frustration. If saying no means that you’re more rested to take on another campaign at another time, then it’s worth it.


Here’s What I Love

Adapted from singer-songwriter, Christine Kane, this activity represents sights, sounds, and experiences that simply delight you. Choose experiences that make you happy and make you feel like your most authentic self, and list them below. Traveling, baking cookies, taking a long bath, watching your dog chase its tail, exercise, a child’s laughter, spending time with loved ones, listening to music, the scent of lavender, or reading a novel (or watching reality TV…whichever you prefer) are great choices. Start by choosing one thing to add as self care throughout your week. As you go, feel free to add more self care experiences into your week. Continue to add more experiences as you go. ________________________________________________________________

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My Self Care Practice Looks Like This

Define what self care means to you. What are the essential ingredients?

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These People Support Me

Who is in your support system? Who can you go to for support?

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Expressing Gratitude

A huge part of self care is being able to be thankful for what we have in our lives. Thinking more about the things/people/and experiences we have in our lives brings about a calm peace in the midst of running all over the place. Also, it keeps you thinking on the positive. Here are some ways to get started: • 5 Grateful Things: Every night, list 5 things you are grateful for. Sometimes

these five things will be basic: your home, your health, etc. Sometimes, you'll be so full of other observations, the gratitude will fill up the entire page and then some.

• Unexpected Surprises: List any unexpected awesome things that happened in your day: money, phone calls, refunds, new opportunities, etc.

• Baby Steps: List in successes (big or small) in which you’re proud of. Examples include having a difficult conversation without being triggered, making a request rather than complaining, etc.

What Comes to Mind When You Think of Gratitude?

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Here’s What I’m Grateful For

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Learning How to Say NO

Saying no can be uncomfortable, especially if you know it’s going to disappoint someone else. At times, it can be hard to say no, especially when it comes to our parents, teachers, partners, bosses, and to the many commitments we have in our lives. Why We Find it Hard to Say No To learn how to say no, we first need to identify why saying no is hard for us. Below are some common reasons why we may find it hard to say no: • We feel the need to explain ourselves if we do say no- When we decide to say

no, we may feel that we have to campaign to win over the person with our no. “I can’t do this because….ABC..which is why…XYZ” Instead of letting the person know why we’re unable to say yes, we over-explain, feel bad and prioritize the other person's feelings over our own.

• We don’t want to be rude- Sometimes we feel that by saying no, especially to people who are older than us or who are in positions of power, we are being rude.

• Fear of rejection- Sometimes we say no because we do want to have the person become upset with us and avoid asking for our assistance in the future.

• Fear of missed opportunities- It can be tempting to say yes to everything, especially when you feel that what you’re saying yes to can potentially help you in the long-run.

It’s important to remember that you’ll always be presented with amazing opportunities to expand your knowledge, talents, and skills. Saying no to an opportunity that you don’t want means you’re being more open to something more amazing. Most importantly it means you are saying yes to yourself. Ways To Say NO Here are some ways to say no in a way that makes you clear about your choices and frees up your time: • Let me think about it, and I’ll get back to you.” • “Now is not a good time for me to do this. How about we talk more at a later

time?” • “I can’t commit at this time. I have other opportunities that I’m really

enjoying and I want to devote all of my energy toward doing a good job with my current commitments.”

• “Thank you so much for inviting me, but I have another commitment.”


Measure Your Burnout

Here’s a great scale from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to see where you currently stand when it comes to burnout. Do you know the warning signs before you become burned out? Think over the past 3 months and score the following questions according to how often you have experienced these symptoms. 0 = Never 1 = Very rarely 2 = Rarely 3 = Sometimes 4 = Often 5 = Very often Adding up your total score will give you some indications whether you are likely to burn out or not. 1. Do you feel fatigued in a way that rest or sleep does not relieve? 2. Do you feel more cynical, pessimistic or disillusioned about things you used to feel positive about? 3. Do you feel a sadness or emptiness inside? 4. Do you have physical symptoms of stress, e.g. insomnia, stomach pains, headaches, migraines? 5. Is your memory unreliable? 6. Are you irritable or emotional with a short fuse? 7. Have you been more susceptible to illness lately, e.g. colds, 'flu, food allergies, hay fever? 8. Do you feel like isolating yourself from colleagues, friends or family? 9. Is it hard to enjoy yourself, have fun, relax and experience joy in your life? 10. Do you feel that you are accomplishing less in your work? Scoring: 0 - 15 You are doing well. 16 - 25 Some attention needed, you may be a candidate. 26 - 35 You are on the road to burnout. Make changes now. 36 - 50 You need to take action immediately - your health and well-being are threatened.


Recipes, Remedies, and Rituals How to Deal with Burnout

Check out these recipes, remedies, and rituals to help you push through feeling burned out: Recipes and Remedies

• Use clary sage and lavender essential oils over a prolonged period of time. You can apply it on your body or burn it on an aromatherapy vessel.

• Daily doses of the flower remedy Walnut has been shown to decrease stress and in turn help heal burnout

• Ingesting Siberian ginseng in tablet form or tincture form • Acupressure and acupuncture • Use reflexology to locate major points on the hands and feet that support

relaxation and stress reduction • Healing baths with Epson salt and lavender • Relaxing breathing exercises • Sleep at least 6-8 hours a day • Take yourself out on a healing date • “Just say ‘no’. Setting boundaries early with others should not be

considered walls, but paths to your sanity.” • Adopt healthy eating habits

If you are in a job that has high burnout factor, here are some helpful tips from the ACLU: • Balance task focus with process and relationship / maintenance focus – in

meetings, in daily work, in planning, and in evaluation • Provide workshops / training in stress management and burnout

prevention – can be as part of conferences, gatherings or ongoing training / orientation.

• Use regular planning and evaluation as a tool to reduce stress • Build stress level checks into reviews and evaluations – how stressed do

people feel? What is contributing? What do we need to do about these? • Put stress prevention strategies on the agenda for meetings. • Allow people to express feelings of distress, grief and loss and frustration –

regard them as normal and healthy responses to unhealthy situations and state of the world.

• Provide individual or group debriefing after critical incidents or high stress campaigns. Keep an eye open for vulnerable individuals and see intervention as valid.

• Create support structures, e.g. supervision, mentoring, support / affinity groups, large group workshops.

• Put value on socializing, fun, humor, and relaxation time as a group.


Recipes, Remedies, and Rituals How to Deal with Burnout

Rituals • Begin and end your day with relaxing breathing exercises and meditation. • Write down positive affirmations for yourself and place them in spaces where

you will see them on a regular basis. • Create a vision board that clearly defines what you want your life to look like. • Do a letting go ritual to release anything in your life that is causing you

burnout. • Connect or reconnect with a spiritual practice that nourishes you.

What are some of your own recipes, remedies, and rituals?

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Affirmations

Write down positive statements about who you are and what you appreciate about yourself.

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Creating Your Self Care Plan

Your self care plan can be developed by: • Continuing to do those things that you are already doing that rejuvenate

you and positively contribute to your health and quality of life. • Start doing new activities or accessing services that will enable you to

recharge and achieve better balance in your life. • Stop doing those things which are optional and add to your current

responsibilities and stresses, and/or those things for which you can enlist the help of others to lighten your load. Using the table below (adapted from MS Society of Canada), take a few minutes and identify activities and lifestyle choices that can help you improve your emotional, spiritual, physical, social and intellectual aspects of life. Also note those responsibilities and stresses which you can stop doing on your own or altogether. Continue Doing Start Doing Stop Doing Emotional

Physical

Spiritual

Social

Intellectual

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