Mental Health for Social Justice Warriors

Despite its recent negative connotation, the term Social Justice Warriors (SJW) was not originally used in a negative and pejorative way, instead being seen as something positive or neutral. Only recently did people start using it in a derogatory way trying to bring down people who are for standing up to something positive and necessary — social change.

In a way, social justice warriors are speaking out against injustices that other people would rather avoid and forget, facing social issues directly, even if it hurts them personally, socially, physically, and psychologically.

And while the world is full of injustices that we shouldn’t stand for, the bottom line is that there will always be something that we will be less than happy about, meaning that even if we can address one or several major injustices, there will always be something else wrong with the world. In other words, the work of social justice warriors is never complete, and while this is not an excuse to stop fighting, it is also not a good reason to destroy our mental health over it in the process.

This is why I hope to give social justice warriors certain mental health tips so they can continue doing their Godly work while having a good life in the process.

Firstly, I already said that social justice warriors’ job is never done and people should continue to fight, but not over-extend themselves, since the fight is never truly done.

Additionally, clinical psychologist and author of Radical Honesty, Brad Blanton states that our value system should not be completely fixed. Yes, there are certain points of view that are superior to others (such as killing is bad), but holding on to these beliefs no matter what everyone else is doing is the surest way to depression. In this way, while we should still fight for what we believe in, we should understand that things don’t just change overnight just because we want them to change. Certain changes take time and the change has to happen on several levels before the compound effect tilts over towards the desired side, and even then the problem may not be completely fixed.

Moreover, we should not overextend ourselves by trying to win every fight. I’ve met more than enough people who have an issue with everything wrong in the world. It is the wrong way to do things, and again, it is the fastest way towards depression, which won’t help anyone. Our depression won’t contribute to social change and will only make us less capable of dealing with social issues, just adding negativity we personally have to deal with inside our minds.

In this way, social justice warriors should only choose one or two big issues they pour their hearts into, trusting that someone else will pick up a good fight on a different front. Furthermore, we should all become social justice warriors, trying to make a change in the world, but only focusing on issues that best resonate with us.

For example, I chose to focus on making people happier, as I believe that happier people are more capable, altruistic, and productive members in our society. There are many more advantages to positive thinking, almost to a point that happiness alone can transform our world, automatically addressing many social issues that we have today.

This is my fight, but unfortunately, I often have to pass on opportunities to join other people's fights, as if I overextend, I won’t achieve anything of substance in my field. Sure enough, I still try to do my part when it comes to some social problems, like whenever I can clean the streets and beaches from garbage or follow a strict vegan diet. However, I’m not actively promoting these other fights because they are not my fights.

Still, it is still my belief that everyone should choose one or two causes they support, as it is just the right thing to do, and if everyone does it, the world will become a better place for all of us to live in.

The only question that remains is: what is the social issue you are supporting or going to support? You should choose at least one and if you don’t have one right now, well, the best time to choose one is right now, even if you are going to change your answer in the future. So what is it? Please write it down in the comments!