DEALING WITH "DO-GOODER" ANXIETY

I try to do good for the world. I purchase from small sustainable businesses, recycle, donate to charities, and try to be kind to the people I meet. But is it enough? I often wonder if my impact on the world is more negative than positive. After all, I still buy single-use plastics and other unsustainably produced items, I’ve certainly been rude before (is it normal for my sister and I to call each other ‘idiots’?) and I’ve even skipped out on voting because of poor scheduling. With this in mind, I was struck by a screenshot of a Tumblr post that I saw on Instagram:

The phrase “Whose bones do I stand on?” rang in my head for days. Is the laborer who built my toaster ok? Did the Starbucks cup I threw away instead of recycling choke a turtle to death? I want to live a perfectly guilt-free life in which I purchase only slow-fashion clothing, environmentally-friendly home goods, and sustainably produced vegan food, doing charity work in my spare time and running my home on solar energy. At the same time, capitalism has gotten to me. I want nice things, I want to keep up with the Joneses, and I feel guilty about it.

In a way, guilt might be a helpful emotion - it can be a motivator that initiates positive behavioral changes meant to alleviate the guilt. Of course, guilt is not always logical. Living a perfect no-impact one-hundred-percent ethical lifestyle is unrealistic.The expense of ethical products is one major barrier. Fair trade and sustainably produced goods are often higher priced than regular consumer goods because workers are paid fair wages, the ventures are small-scale, and/or the materials and labor required for production are more expensive. Convenience is another hurdle. It’s easy to walk down to a local convenience store and buy a mass-produced product, but ethical purchasing often requires research and online purchasing, which means waiting for your order. It doesn’t sound so bad on the surface, but when you add that extra effort to the daily stresses of life, it can become overwhelming. 

This blog hopes to help with some of these barriers by doing the research for you and providing a variety of ethical products in different categories, whether it be home goods, clothing, makeup, or food, at a range of prices to find an affordable product that works for you. As for intrusive guilty thoughts about not being the perfect activist, psychology has some suggestions on how to cope.

MINDFULNESS TECHNIQUES

Mindfulness techniques are a great way to bring our thoughts back to reality when they begin to spiral out of control. Taking a moment to separate ourselves from our usual self-judgements can bring a sense of calm. Mindfulness essentially asks that we think about our thinking, potentially through short meditation sessions (Bergland, 2015) which have the potential to reduce stress and anxiety (Schreiner & Malcolm, 2008).

In meditation workshops I’ve attended, the primary focus is on sitting comfortably, breathing in through your nose, and breathing out through your mouth. It’s ok if your mind doesn’t go blank - when you notice your thoughts racing, just return your focus to your breathing and the sensation of breathing. From there, I like to focus on exploring a particular thought or goal - for instance, the guilt of being a sub-par activist. I might ask myself what purpose the guilt serves, or whether I would impose the standards I set for myself on someone else. If I start to overthink, I go back to focusing on my breathing. 



GOAL-SETTING TECHNIQUES

There are also useful techniques for goal-setting at times when I decide that I’m capable of taking further action. The first step is to make the goal something realistic and achievable. I would like to have zero environmental impact, but a more realistic goal is to cut down on my purchases of single-use plastics when I’m grocery shopping. Writing down the goal and creating a concrete plan of action helps with follow-through, and breaking the goal down into smaller, more manageable parts is helpful for a goal that seems overwhelming (Chowdhury, 2020). 

Give yourself credit for trying, even if you're starting off small. After all, many people making a small difference in this world can add up to a big difference.

Sources:

Bergland, C. (2015, April 9). Mindfulness: The Power of “Thinking About Your Thinking.” PsychologyToday.Com. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201504/mindfulness-the-power-thinking-about-your-thinking

Chowdhury, R. B. M. A. (2020, November 12). The Science & Psychology Of Goal-Setting 101. PositivePsychology.Com. https://positivepsychology.com/goal-setting-psychology/

Schreiner, I., & Malcolm, J. P. (2008). The Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation: Changes in Emotional States of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress. Behaviour Change, 25(3), 156–168. https://doi.org/10.1375/bech.25.3.156