Self Care as Active Resistance

An intimate healing workshop on self-care for activists in the spirit of Audre Lorde presented with NYC's own Callen-Lorde.

Now more than ever we have to prioritize our self-care practice. As activists, the world needs you rested with a healthy mind, body, and spirit. Somewhere along the way, we were told that rest is a sign of weakness, and that taking care of ourselves before others is selfish. We will debunk these myths and look at ways that you can become the best version of yourself and be more effective through a transformative self-care practice. We will discuss compassion fatigue, burnout, and vicarious trauma. But most importantly you will be given tools to develop your very own self-care tool kit so that you can incorporate it into your day to day life. There will opportunities to share experiences but also time to be still and self-reflect on what you need, through exercises provided by the speaker. This workshop is for everyone regardless of where you are in your self-care journey.

The speaker, Esther Blanchard has worked as a nurse at the LBGT health center, Callen-Lorde Community Health Center for nearly 8 years. Early on in her career, she started to notice people all around her, herself included, were rapidly burning out which subsequently was taking a major toll on their personal lives. As very few resources were available to her she sought out self-care as a way to continue doing the work she loved. This workshop is her labor of love to all those who have ever felt guilty for needing to take time for themselves. Esther has a podcast on Spotify and Apple podcasts: Self-care with Esther and a blog: www.selfcareforcaregivers.blog