The Importance of Taking a Break
By Alex Badila
A coffee cup and three cookies stacked on a wooden table. There are also sheets of paper and a pen.
It was the day when my political reading group usually met, and I hadn’t done any of the readings. I decided to binge them all throughout the day. Over four and a half hours, I learned about specific injustices certain groups of people suffered.
It was a lot.
At first, I felt angry, but when that dissipated, I became emotionally drained. I did not realize the toll this would take on my mental health. However, I pushed on, thinking that this was important, and that these groups of people don’t get a break, so why should I?
This was made worse when the group met, and the consensus among us was that we couldn’t do much about it. One wise group member said, “If there was an easy solution for this, we would’ve already done it.”
So much work, and it seemed to all have been for nothing.
The next day, I decided finally to take a break from politics. Well… mostly. I did a bit of reading, but only for half an hour so as not to overwhelm myself again.
I read some more relaxing, positive articles, along with some fiction. I watched anime and worked on my web development course. I meditated, went out for a walk, and went driving with my dad.
By the end of the day, I felt rejuvenated. New life had been breathed into me. Things did not look so bleak anymore.
Looking back, I certainly bit off more than I could chew. A subject like that takes a lot more time to process than the amount of time I gave it. Therefore, when I looked at the daunting list of next week’s readings, I decided to space them out over three days.
Whether it’s work, school, or political activism, we all need to take a break sometimes. And that’s okay. It’s important to take regular breaks so as not to burn yourself out, like I did. It makes you both happier and more efficient.
It’s important to realize that hard work is both mentally and emotionally taxing, especially if you’re doing stuff like activism. Be mindful of when you start getting overwhelmed. Notice the physical changes in your body. Does your breathing become shallow? Does your heart rate quicken? Do you start involuntarily shaking?
That is when it’s time to take a break and practice self-care, whatever that looks like for you. Listen to your body, for it always communicates with you whenever something’s wrong.