The social change sector is struggling. Increased demand, polarisation, lack of funding, post-pandemic burnout, institutional harms and shame enhancing systems have all taken their toll. We do more with less, often at the expense of our own mental health. We become martyrs, whilst trying to navigate our own social traumas and harms. When those of us who work for change find ourselves unable to make it, and indeed, sometimes working within systems that are causing harm, we experience a moral injury. We become burnt out, cynical, unable to imagine or to dream of anything better. We switch off to protect ourselves. We become defensive, competitive, passive/agressive to each other.
This vicarious trauma harms us and it harms those we work with. It stops us from passing the baton on, and it tells the next generation that burnout is normal.
How often have you said or felt that if you don’t do it, no one will? How often have you felt the weight of what you do? Of your own experience? Of the experience of those you are working with? This work is hard. It is emotional. It is complex.
We’ll be launching a new series of workshops on vicarious trauma/vicarious resilience in the autumn, exploring together what a dysregulated sector and system looks like and how we can collectively draw on growth and resilience. If you’re interested in finding out more, join our mailing list for updates.