When You Feel Like You're Burning Out: Self-Care
I think I speak for a lot of us when I say we put in a lot of time and effort here on 7 Cups. As a group, we are highly empathic, compassionate and we genuinely want to help. I see so many of you putting in countless hours here to make sure our community is as supportive and positive as it can be. That is so appreciated and maybe we don't say it enough, but THANK YOU. Volunteers like you are what continue to make 7 Cups a thriving, supportive and amazing place to be. Many of us are living with mental health issues or struggling with personal challenges, and to come online and see such a friendly and understanding group of people can be a bright spot on a dark day.
That being said, we do not take for granted that you are volunteers and here because you want to be (and hopefully because you enjoy being here). Many of us have other jobs, families, volunteer work, school and responsibilities that we need to attend to offline. We encourage you to focus on those other areas of your life when you need to and also recognize that all of us need personal time to self-care. We never want you to feel like you cannot take a break and step back if you feel like you are burning out, working too hard, or need to take time to focus on yourself or other responsibilities. We want you to WANT to be here and for it to be enjoyable and helpful for you to be part of our community.
If you feel like you're reaching that place of burn out, step back and take a break. Your badges, roles and friends will all be here for you when you get back. Communicate with your team leaders about what you need. Let them know when you need a break and when you expect to come back. Post in this thread [L] or this thread to let us know you need self-care (we worry about you if you just disappear).
This goes for leaders too. Just because you are a leader on this site, does not mean that you are not deserving of self-care too. We will find you back-up and support for your roles. Taking self-care or time for yourself will never be held against you. If you are concerned about not meeting requirements, losing badges or privileges, let us know. We don't want stress about losing badges or roles to deter you from taking time for yourself when you need it.
So go take a trip, read a book, paint your nails, hang out with family or friends. We will be here for you when you get back. 
[L] indicates listeners only thread
[MonBon edited post to indicate listeners only thread and provide public counterpart]
@Laura
This a fabulous post and very true! Thanks for posting!
@Kate Thank you for sharing this insightful post! Its so easy to get wrapped up in helping everyone around here, but overextending yourself is unjust to all parties involved.
@Kate Excellent self-care reminder.
@Kate Lovely post. I agree with you. Few months ago, I was going through a rough time. When members connect with me to talk about their issues, I was hitting a lot of trigger points and couldn't handle it. One of the listeners on 7cups encouraged me to take a break and that I should not feel bad about it. I took his advice and it helped me immensely. I came back with a fresh mind and started doing better than before.
@Kate
So true! Thank you Kate.
@Kate Wonderful post, I agree with what you said.
Very good post 😬
@Kate
Thanks for this reminder Kate, well appreciated.
@Kate thanks Kate! Those reminders are really important!
@Kate
‘Just because you are a leader on this site, does not mean that you are not deserving of self-care too. We will find you back-up and support for your roles.
Im curious where that back up and support has been for whats left of the trauma team? Remaining members of the team are spending hour upon hour responding to members in an effort to minimise the impact on them. Support sessions have been cancelled, discussions too, daily check ins have become twice weekly, new threads started by members or existing threads being commented on are going unanswered. And why? Because half the trauma leadership team are on enforced ‘self care, or banned in any other language. So instead of hollow words about back up and support, when are you actually going to provide it?
@BestIcanbe
I can't lie, I'm pretty exhausted right now. I'm not actually sure who is on 'self care' and who isn't. We have a system of notifying each other on the forum threads so we all know where the holes are that need plugging, but right now I feel like I'm playing whack-a-mole and hoping for the best. Yesterday water came though my ceiling, amongst other offline issues and I was running back an forth to the check in threads in between emptying buckets and praying my ceiling didn't fall on me!
I was really hoping for some communication, like who is gone, how long and who can I go to if we need help. Can't fault my team mates though, they are in the same boat and have been awesome. Hopefully Team Leads will be back soon and Laura will provide a response to the points made about the reasoning behind all this so we can get back to normal.
Though Kate's post did make me wonder, we have had a resourse issue for some time in the trauma sub com, I mean it's really hard going volenteering support, and I was wondering what the channels of communication were on a normal day to day basis when additional support is needed, let alone back filling when people are away. For example in May nearly all of the newsletter team were on self care and I spent 40 + hours of my own time creating the newsletter!
@LifeIsMyCanvas I agree that burnout is terrible and difficult. I wish knew how to keep my energy.
