Thanks for the shout-out, Rey! And ugh…packing burnout as a representation of life burnout - so damn relatable.
In my pre-disabled life, I was a big muckety-muck at a medium-sized non-profit. I made a thousand decisions a day, it felt like. Then I’d go to a restaurant on a weekend and get so completely overwhelmed by the menu, I’d get whiney. I just could not make another decision! Packing is one of those things that involves a gazillion micro-decisions. That’s a sure recipe for burnout. I am glad you’re heading out on vacation ☀️
Thanks for sharing, Amy! That's a great point that decisions can get so tiring and packing requires many many decisions. I appreciate your good wishes!
Long covid being more prevalent in trans people makes sense to me. The article you linked is interesting, but not at all surprising because virtually all chronic health conditions are more likely to afflict people whose immune systems are suppressed by high stress and burnout. Burnout, whether mental, physical, or both, is logically going to be more prevalent for any demographic that is marginalized, because marginalization, by its very nature, adds stressors to its targets' lived experience that aren't present otherwise. It would be funny if it weren't so sad, that we - as a culture - are so extraordinarily obtuse about the fact that those with less access to resources required for well-being are less likely to be well. The tricky part of this is that we have to be careful not to apply it as a binary. Being marginalized does not doom one to a life of hardship and illness, and an assumption that it does can have harmful impact in and of itself. That being said, I think it is important for both dominant culture and us as individuals, if we are members of marginalized demographics, to recognize the extra burden that marginalization adds to the myriad challenges and obstacles that are part of life. It's a delicate balance, I think, learning to honor the ways in which we are more vulnerable to a variety of hardships, without giving in or surrendering to lack. There is a strength that can be present even in the midst of burnout or illness, and our challenge, I think, is to find it without denying that it exists in tandem with a need to honor and recognize our limitations without shame.
Thanks so much for sharing, LC! That makes a lot of sense that our society causes many marginalized people to be more stressed, physically and mentally. Acknowledging this is important I think, without applying it to every single person. Thanks for your insights as always - I appreciate learning from you!
Yeah - I think the best way to acknowledge this whilst ensuring that we honor people's strength and resilience is to focus on the extra burden it creates for folks targeted by systemic oppression, and how that creates a much greater potential for harm/injury due to both the oppressive actions themselves, and the extra, accumulated workload of protecting oneself from systemic hostilities and inequities. It's important to note that when oppression fails to break its targets, that failure is almost certainly going to be because the target of that oppression has community to draw on. Community is the key.
Yes, community is so important! Hopefully we are all contributing to lessening that workload of stress and self protection by helping to protect each other. Thanks!
So relatable, I think you suffer from “overchoice” as far as what to do with all the stuff; should it stay or should it go (or one of the other 100 options)😫? But also when to reply to people, the choice of what words or tone to use. It can be really paralysing..🧡
Thanks for the shout-out, Rey! And ugh…packing burnout as a representation of life burnout - so damn relatable.
In my pre-disabled life, I was a big muckety-muck at a medium-sized non-profit. I made a thousand decisions a day, it felt like. Then I’d go to a restaurant on a weekend and get so completely overwhelmed by the menu, I’d get whiney. I just could not make another decision! Packing is one of those things that involves a gazillion micro-decisions. That’s a sure recipe for burnout. I am glad you’re heading out on vacation ☀️
Thanks for sharing, Amy! That's a great point that decisions can get so tiring and packing requires many many decisions. I appreciate your good wishes!
Long covid being more prevalent in trans people makes sense to me. The article you linked is interesting, but not at all surprising because virtually all chronic health conditions are more likely to afflict people whose immune systems are suppressed by high stress and burnout. Burnout, whether mental, physical, or both, is logically going to be more prevalent for any demographic that is marginalized, because marginalization, by its very nature, adds stressors to its targets' lived experience that aren't present otherwise. It would be funny if it weren't so sad, that we - as a culture - are so extraordinarily obtuse about the fact that those with less access to resources required for well-being are less likely to be well. The tricky part of this is that we have to be careful not to apply it as a binary. Being marginalized does not doom one to a life of hardship and illness, and an assumption that it does can have harmful impact in and of itself. That being said, I think it is important for both dominant culture and us as individuals, if we are members of marginalized demographics, to recognize the extra burden that marginalization adds to the myriad challenges and obstacles that are part of life. It's a delicate balance, I think, learning to honor the ways in which we are more vulnerable to a variety of hardships, without giving in or surrendering to lack. There is a strength that can be present even in the midst of burnout or illness, and our challenge, I think, is to find it without denying that it exists in tandem with a need to honor and recognize our limitations without shame.
Thanks so much for sharing, LC! That makes a lot of sense that our society causes many marginalized people to be more stressed, physically and mentally. Acknowledging this is important I think, without applying it to every single person. Thanks for your insights as always - I appreciate learning from you!
Yeah - I think the best way to acknowledge this whilst ensuring that we honor people's strength and resilience is to focus on the extra burden it creates for folks targeted by systemic oppression, and how that creates a much greater potential for harm/injury due to both the oppressive actions themselves, and the extra, accumulated workload of protecting oneself from systemic hostilities and inequities. It's important to note that when oppression fails to break its targets, that failure is almost certainly going to be because the target of that oppression has community to draw on. Community is the key.
Yes, community is so important! Hopefully we are all contributing to lessening that workload of stress and self protection by helping to protect each other. Thanks!
So relatable, I think you suffer from “overchoice” as far as what to do with all the stuff; should it stay or should it go (or one of the other 100 options)😫? But also when to reply to people, the choice of what words or tone to use. It can be really paralysing..🧡
That makes a lot of sense, suffering from overchoice is a great way of putting it. Really relatable. Thanks for sharing!