Sustaining Our Spirits; Mental Health Tips for Peacebuilders

Peacebuilding is not easy. It can be physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually taxing work. Although the rhythm and schedule of the work can resemble a typical 9 to 5 job, often, many of us are “on call” at odd hours of the night managing crises in different time zones or are bringing our work with us back home. Empathy and compassion are part and parcel of the work, and they can exact their own tolls. 

Religious actors are often at the forefront of peacebuilding, shouldering the heavy responsibility of being both spiritual and communal leaders during times of profound crisis. As faith leaders, they are expected to provide guidance, hope, and comfort to individuals and communities shattered by violence, displacement, and trauma. In this capacity, they often manage practical peacebuilding tasks while also nurturing the spiritual and psychological well-being of others.

Yet, in dedicating themselves to this vital work, many religious leaders risk becoming overextended and depleted. They often struggle to offer themselves the same grace, compassion, and care they extend to others, making it challenging to prioritize their own mental health and spiritual rejuvenation. The weight of constantly holding others’ pain can leave them vulnerable to burnout, especially when the needs of their communities seem never-ending.

The UNDP Summary Report on Integrating Mental Health and Psychosocial Support into Peacebuilding has “highlighted self-care as a precondition for frontline humanitarian workers doing MHPSS and peacebuilding work to protect personnel from becoming emotionally exhausted or affected in a way that reduces their compassion for those with whom they are working.” However, self-care is often easier said than done. For many around the world, access to mental health care can feel like an unaffordable luxury; in some cultures, it is even stigmatized, discouraging those in need from seeking help.

So, what can peacebuilders do? I don’t presume to have all the answers, but I would like to humbly share some things that I’ve come to learn while working in the fields of peacebuilding and faith-led conflict resolution, in the hopes that it may serve a fellow peacebuilder well. 

1. Exhaustion should not be a badge of honor. 

Our job is not to be martyrs. Sometimes we may end up glorifying or romanticizing being overworked, the fatigue, and the burnout that can come with it. Maybe we do this because it makes us feel more empowered and in control, a way of rationalizing our situation. However, not only is this an unhealthy practice that harms oneself, it can set a destructive example for your team members as well. Let’s see what exhaustion for what it really is—exhaustion, a sign that somebody is in dire need of rest, and a signal for help. It is not something to be applauded or emulated.

2. Know the signs, and don’t get stuck in denial. 

My wife has an acute sense of when my exhaustion level is reaching a burnout stage, and she’s quick to point it out. She says that I disassociate, that I feel distant, that “I’m in the room, but not really here,” and that I become particularly irritable. When she makes these observations, my first response is, obviously, to deny it. But I know that she’s right. Once I get over my defensiveness and acknowledge what she sees to be accurate — that I am, in that moment, a worn down, grumpier, less pleasant version of myself — I can then begin to address it.

Oftentimes, those around us can pick up on our degrading mental health quicker than we can, but we shouldn’t perpetually delegate that responsibility and work on others. It’s not easy to admit that we’re in such a state, and maybe we even convince ourselves that we’re in such a down state for a noble cause, but the reality is that if we let it persist, we end up not only hurting ourselves, but those around us as well. So, when others in our lives are able to point out the signs for us, let’s respond in gratitude and appreciation, and begin to look out for those signs ourselves as well.

3. Play. It’s not just for kids. 

Play is therapeutic, and healing. Find something fun to do, and play. It can be a sport, dance, a game, good old “tag,” or some other engaging way to stimulate your imagination. Whatever it is, find a way to play again. Bring some joy and laughter back into your life. We are embodied creatures, and we underestimate the connectedness between our body and spirit to our own detriment.

4. Make rest a part of your rhythm. 

We’re so good at finding another great reason to put off our vacation or rest. One more task. One more report. One more workshop. The list is never-ending. Instead of trying to carve out an unrealistically large chunk of time to get all of our much needed rest at once, what if we tried to break it up into smaller pieces? This also includes treating weekends like actual weekends, but in addition, taking days off periodically in a more dispersed manner can help us create a healthier rhythm. One of the reasons I love gardening and farming is because the seasons create a rhythm of life and work, reminding us that there is both a time for productivity and a time for rest and patient waiting. My faith tradition — Christianity — also happens to have a helpful religious practice (that is shared with Judaism) called the sabbath. It’s a helpful reminder that even God takes the time to rest occasionally.

5. Seek to be more mindful, however that looks like. 

Most of us in this line of work feel an enormous sense of responsibility that may sometimes devolve into a savior complex. We can often mislead ourselves into thinking that every task before us is the most important task ever, and that everything will fall apart if we don’t finish it. In reality, there are very few things in this world that completely rely on our capabilities alone. Some of us may also feel constantly guilty if we’re not “being productive,” unable to ever fully disconnect from work because of that nagging guilt. Whatever our burden is, it’s important to try and figure out why it is that we feel that way. From where do these grandiose burdens of responsibility or nagging guilt stem? Whatever the reason may be, I think it’s important to try and learn more about this part of ourselves, because therein may lie the answers to creating a healthier life.

As a final reminder, I want to leave you with this: You deserve to be a well-rested, non-stressed, healthy version of yourself. You are not doing anyone else or yourself any favors by not being well-rested, non-stressed, and healthy, least of all the very communities and individuals we think we are trying to support. We need each of us to be our whole selves, not just a shell of ourselves. 

For those of us who are practitioners of a faith tradition, let us all mine the deep riches of our respective traditions for wisdom, guidance, and spiritual rejuvenation. For those of us who do not follow any particular creed or religion, we can look to the goodness of human life and the dignity of human labor to remind ourselves that a healthy work-life balance is not just a political ideal or a savvy strategy used by employers to get the most out of their workforce. 

Whatever our moral foundations, let us care for ourselves as well as we work to care for others.