Back in my high school days, when I didn’t pay for the roof over my head, didn’t have four different medications to get out of my house, and had ample time and energy to go out and wreak havoc on Melbourne’s CBD, I was a very active protester. I went to everything, made signs, yelled the chants until I lost my voice, and once had the side of my head plastered on the front page of the Herald Sun.

But these days there are many restrictions preventing me from being as active and outspoken in my activism; physical constraints, monetary constraints, sensory issues, and fear of losing family connections all prevent me from being the outspoken activist that I want to be.

Although this means I’ve had to accept that I cannot protest to the extremes that I once did, it has also given me a handy toolkit for taking part in activism without debilitating yourself in the process.

Before you continue on, please note that protesting and activism, while it is a human right and a global responsibility, is also a privilege for those with the ability to. While we also need to raise attention to important global matters, it is also important for you individually to eat, and sleep, and work, and finish your degree. Finding a balance between these things ensures you can participate in activism in a healthy manner.

Don’t go to every protest

While I used to be the first person at every march, nowadays, protesting takes a large physical and mental toll for me. I have to spend days recovering from the long standing times, physical exertion and overstimulating environment that comes with the standard protest. That’s why I don’t go to most protests. I usually pick and choose based on their publicised accessibility information, my current physical and mental capacity to protest, the expected size and level of physical exertion.

This helped me learn a vital hard truth: I don’t have to protest if I don’t want to.

You can also leave a protest at any point, if you feel like it’s going to jeopardise your health, cause you harm, or if you feel unsafe. So sometimes I might go to a protest, stay for 30 minutes, and go back home. No one can stop you, and there is nothing to be ashamed about.

If I won’t be able to attend a protest I really care about, I usually share the important safe-protesting information that is publicised prior to that event with the people I know will be attending. I can make signs for my friends, I can talk about the issues surrounding that protest with the people around me, and I can put my hand up to be a trusted emergency contact if things go awry.

As an accessible alternative, sit-in or study-in protests can be a great way to get involved in the cause of your choice while minimising harm in the process. They usually have very small numbers, are quiet and have places to sit and rest, and can give you time to connect with important organisations or learn more about important issues.  

Don’t post everything on social media

You don’t have to post everything you see to your social media, especially if it will cause additional harm or if you’re not in a space where you feel comfortable to do so. In my personal experience, posting publicly about certain issues could cause me to lose family friends or connections I have to my late parents, so for years I only posted about them to my close friends’ stories or engaged in conversations regarding the issues in private. I didn’t have the confidence or the energy to deal with the messages I could get from ‘concerned’ family friends or risk losing that connection to my family, even if I didn’t agree with those people’s views on certain topics.

Additionally, a lot of content posted on social media can be extremely distressing or overwhelming, and although we should be aware of the horrors happening around us in order to fight for justice, having them be overcirculated without positive steps to action can be harmful for some people or some communities. Overexposure can lead to depression, anxiety, or compulsive/intrusive thoughts, which is not helping you formulate action on your cause of choice! Therefore, if you can’t post or over-engross yourself in these distressing posts, make limits to the amount of time you spend on social media, or focus on posting information that focuses on actionable steps you or those around you can make, such as posts about safe protesting for upcoming events, or charities known to aid in your cause of choice.

Don’t donate to every cause

A lot of content circulating on social media, or at protests, asks for donations. While it is important to donate what you can in order to help causes and communities in need, you also need to feed yourself and pay your rent. Therefore, setting limits to the amount you can donate can be very helpful in budgeting your expenses as a university student while also giving what you can. It can also help with any guilt you may feel when you can’t afford to donate to every person/organisation in need. One person I saw on social media a few years ago advised to set a limit (e.g. $10-20) per week that you can comfortably donate, and give what you can until you reach that limit. This means you don’t need to choose between a whole host of in-need organisations/communities, you just donate in small amounts to each organisation that asks until you run out of your allotted budget.

Boycott (what you can)

A very effective method of activism is boycotting brands or products where the profits are being used to cause significant harm or the brand has been engaging in harmful practices. Cutting off the revenue stream is very effective in sending a message to that company or organisation, and can help minimise the harm that organisation is causing. However, if there are little to know other options to get a needed service or product, or if other options are out of your price range, it is okay to not take part in that boycott. For example, if a certain food chain is the only affordable option in your area, or the only option that can cater to your dietary needs, you can choose that specific food chain. The burden shouldn’t be on one university student’s shoulders if there isn’t reasonably priced food or food that caters to a diverse range of dietary needs in an area. Doing what you can and being generally consistent in what you can manage is far more helpful in participating in a boycott than giving up entirely or not getting the products or services you need because one brand has a monopoly.

Take a step back if you need to

If you’ve gotten in over your head, feeling too overwhelmed, or if your attempts at activism are causing you harm, you can take a step back from it. Activism can be overwhelming, and you can sometimes feel guilty for not doing enough compared to others around you. It is perfectly acceptable to take some time to regroup with yourself, ensure that you are safe and grounded, before taking part in activism. It will still be there when you go back to it. It’s much better to take a time-out in order to safely protest than to over exhaust yourself, making you unable to help at all. If you feel comfortable, have a chat with a trusted friend or family member about how you’ve been feeling, take some time to do an activity that makes you feel happy and safe, have something to eat, or go for a walk around your area.

In short, protesting isn’t something that everyone can do all the time. Taking the time to participate in a way that also keeps you safe and maintains a healthy balance is a fundamental part in protesting long-term. While some people may be able to go to every action that gets called, can donate gargantuan amounts of money, and have no issues sharing every image that surrounds a global issue, it isn’t sustainable for everyone. Activism needs people able to be active, and keeping yourself balanced and healthy is vitally important to achieve that.