Staying Positive Amid Adversity
Before shifting my focus to mental health, my area of practice was environmental law. Specifically, I worked in public interest environmental law, arguing for better environmental standards. As you can imagine, today’s SCOTUS ruling is frustrating for environmental advocates like myself. And that is certainly not the only ruling that the High Court handed down recently that created potential anxiety and adversity.
Where you fall on these issues isn’t the focus of today’s post. Plenty of other people have spilled plenty of ink analyzing and dissecting all of these major cases. What I want to talk about today is self-care in the face of adversity.
Because millions of individuals who have made their careers on environmental law and reproductive rights, just saw the Court push those movements back. Some might be feeling discouraged, having to address things they thought long settled. Sadly, regardless of the circumstances, major setbacks happen in both our personal and professional lives. So, how do we maintain our self-care practices, how do we stay positive amid adversity.
First, take care of yourself. Adversity and the stress that comes with it want to knock us down and knock us out. And if we don’t take care of ourselves, don’t get the sleep we need or the nutrition we need, that becomes all the more easier.
Second, find a supportive network of people to connect with. They say misery loves company, but I think this is a mistake. Misery hates company. We are a social species and our social support network can help lift us up when times get hard.
Third, learn from the experience. Hardship is how we learn. It is how we grow, both personally and professionally. Doing this can allow a negative to become a positive, motivating factor in your life.
And last, but certainly note least, know that help is available. Reach out to a therapist or peer counselor. Here at the LegalMind Society, we have monthly support groups and individual sessions are available twice a week. And if we can’t help, we can recommend resources that can. Know that you don’t have to tackle mental illness alone and you don’t have to tackle adversity alone.