Volume 3, Issue 18: On Burnout and Individual Responsibility

This is a public issue of Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice. Feel free to share it!

Hi friends! This week is an essay issue that I have decided to make public (i.e., free!). Normally these every-other-week posts are behind the paywall but I have the urge to make today’s post available to everyone.

In my day job I have signed up to be a mentor through an organization-wide program and recently I’ve been meeting with many potential mentees. During one of these meetings last week I was asked, “How do you solve burnout?” I don’t think they expected my answer.

Because my answer was to laugh. I laughed and laughed and laughed and said, “I don’t!”

I then clarified that I used to think that burnout was something that we as individuals can fix. I’ve probably even posted something to that effect in this newsletter. I’ve definitely recommended Burnout by Emily Nagoski, Ph.D. and Amelia Nagoski, DMA more than once, which has strategies that can help mitigate the effects of burnout. But I have since revised my understanding and views.

I don’t think that burnout is something we can truly solve as individuals because burnout is caused by systemic issues. Capitalism causes burnout. White supremacy causes burnout. Patriarchy causes burnout. We are not going to spa day or yoga retreat our way out of capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchy. We are not going to self-care our way out of this.

Are there ways we can mitigate the effects? Absolutely. Burnout has suggestions. You can always find recommendations through the archives of this newsletter. You can Google “How to cure burnout” and get all kinds of jazzy, clickbait-y articles and lists. Sometimes it all feels very much like sticking band-aids over bullet holes, especially as the systemic problems persist.

I have discovered, however, one thing that has actually alleviated my stress levels a bit and that is what I have mentioned above: accepting that I cannot, on my own, as an individual, fix stress and burnout due to systemic problems. When I accepted that, I stopped beating myself up over not curing my burnout. I would blame myself for still feeling like shit because I’m not “taking enough walks” or “doing enough breathing exercises'' or I’m not “doing the right things during my days off” or “cultivating enough gratitude.” My fault, my fault, my fault. But it’s not. I’m not going to say recognizing that it’s not my fault has “set me free” because that sounds extreme but it does help me sleep a little better.

My wife pointed out that this sounds a bit like the Serenity Prayer, a bit “grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” And maybe it is. But maybe, too, it’s freeing some of that pressure of individual responsibility so that I can concentrate on things that address the root issues.

So yes, please keep doing the things that make you feel good and keep your head above water. Keep hydrated, log off frequently, find joy where you can, etc. Self-care, specifically as used by Audre Lorde, is incredibly important (but it is not the cure) and I’m looking directly at my fellow BIPOCs. Most of all, be gentle with yourselves. Sometimes the best thing we can do is to survive it while we figure out ways we can collectively solve <gestures broadly> all of this.

That’s it for this week! You can shop any books I’ve mentioned in this newsletter at my affiliate shop, The Infophile’s Bookshop, and support independent bookstores. If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481. If you are a paid subscriber and would like for me to send you some happy mail, feel free to give me your address.

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