Needing a Break From Advocacy

It has been ten years since I first started my psoriasis advocacy. I am always eager to be involved in anything that will help educate people about psoriasis. Whether it is conferences or advisory boards, I have attended my share.

As it stands now, I have a potential conference to attend as well as an advisory board to attend in August. I am excited. My being at the advisory board comes with a nice payday which is always good. No matter whether you are new to advocacy or a seasoned veteran like me there are times when you feel you just need a break. However, with that feeling of stepping away there is a ton of guilt that comes with that also. You need it but your afraid if you take that break you will not be remembered.

My first break

I was so excited about making a difference when I started. Anything that would bring awareness I had to be involved in. There were no thoughts of burnout or needing a break. Pile on anything. The National Psoriasis Foundation’s Advocacy Coordinator knew that if there was something I could get involved in all she had to do was call me. It was not in me to say no!

However, I did finally reach that limit where I felt like I needed to take a step back. Mind you this was probably about five years into my psoriasis advocacy. Not only was I doing what the Psoriasis Foundation asked of me, but I was also trying to put on fundraisers in my city. I was tired. Nothing was coming easy to me anymore. I felt like I needed a break. How could I do that? I had agreed to do all this.

After much soul searching and talking to some of my support system, I made the decision to take a much-needed break. I could not keep going at the pace I was going. The toll it was taking on my mental health was not good. However, I felt like I had not done enough no matter how hard I tried. I said as much to one friend. Her reply was that she was surprised that I had not hit burnout long before now. She is always straight forward with me. Burnout? Was there such a thing? That was my thought. I’m here to tell you it is real. It is important you know the signs of burnout and that it is okay to need a break.

My second break

My second break came when my mother passed away unexpectedly. There was so much grief. At times it was overwhelming. I had no choice. Something had to give so I chose again to walk away from my advocacy. Being the oldest everything fell on me to handle when it came to settling my mom’s estate.

It literally took me a year to settle everything. Once the final pieces were put in the puzzle, I started thinking about getting involved in my advocacy again. What was strange and unexpected was that I had that fire back. It’s hard to explain. All I can say is that I am happy with my decision to take a break but then come back to my advocacy.

Getting back into it

Those breaks did me good. I needed those. Turns out I am still just as relevant as I ever was. My best piece of advice I can give you is that if you feel you need a break then please take one. Yes, you might feel guilty about it for a time, but I think you will find out like I did that you needed it. There is no way we can give our best when we have gone at advocacy so hard that we feel like we hit a wall. Give your mind that reset that it needs. I think you will find the fire you felt from the beginning if you do!!