Advocacy can be exhausting. It’s hard to push for change, and even harder when two hard-won steps forward are followed by one step back.
We’re here because we care deeply. But caring deeply without caring for yourself is not sustainable.
I learned this from the session on “Self-care, Burnout, and Managing Stress in Advocacy” led by Ahmad Nisar and Rachael Burns at Women Deliver 2026. Tools and reflections, especially relevant to young advocates, were shared to help us navigate emotionally demanding work, and here are the most useful ones.
1. Start with your body (1 minute)
Stress lives in your body before your brain names it. Acknowledging it is the first step to managing it.
So, close your eyes. Scan slowly from head to toe. Don’t change anything, just notice. Where do you feel tight? Hot? Empty?
2. Name your stress without blaming yourself
Simply write down what triggered those feelings: tight deadlines, late emails, group chat fights, feeling like you must respond to everything.
When we name the situation, not our weakness, we move from shame to problem-solving.
3. Swap your “burnout lens”
Sometimes, we are our own harshest judges. We tend to see exhaustion through a moral lens (It’s my fault) or a medical lens (I’m broken).
This time, try the human rights lens instead:
“I am capable. I have dignity. What support do I deserve?”
That small shift gives you power back.
4. Stop accepting “just don’t burn out”.
When someone says that, they’re often putting all the responsibility on you. Instead, ask real, helpful questions, such as:
• What additional support would help right now?
• What can wait until tomorrow?
• What boring task can I do for you? (Email, dishes, calendar invite, etc.)
• Do you need more time?
These questions turn vague worry into actual help.
5. Make choices, and own them.
You have the right to make your own choices about your time, boundaries, and energy—even if others disagree. Even if there’s risk. Even if it looks “lazy” to someone else.
Try making one small choice today about your rest or pace that only you understand.
6. Use art to release stress (badly)
Creativity is a universal language. It releases what words can’t. And it reminds you to have fun, which is actually part of advocacy.
You don’t need to be an artist. Draw a scribble. Sing one line of an old song. Dance for 30 seconds.
7. Give yourself the grace you give everyone else
“You’re working for the community. But you are the community.”
– Ahmad Nisar, Facilitator, Orygen Global Youth Mental Health Advocacy Fellowship
You would never call a fellow advocate weak for resting. So don’t say it to yourself.
Give grace to yourself, just like you give grace to everyone.
One last thing
Change does not come from comfort. But discomfort doesn’t have to mean destruction. You can be “comfortably uncomfortable”—held by your values, your tools, and your people.
We do the work. Then we rest, recover, and return.
That is part of the work too.