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, it was 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.

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 a social justice warrior 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 and happy life in the process.

Firstly, I already said that social justice warriors’ job is never done and people should continue to fight for what they believe is right. However, I urge them not to overly 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 views that are superior to others (such as killing is bad), but holding on to these beliefs no matter what everyone else is doing is a sure way to get depression.

In this way, while we should still fight for what we believe in, we should also understand that things don’t just change overnight just because we want them to change. Social change takes time, and this 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.

Additionally, even if overnight one fight will be addressed, there are many other issues that we need to address, and other issues are certain to come to replace them, as in a world where few things are just perfect, we can spend endless time fighting for changes to come.

Moreover, we should not overextend ourselves by trying to win every fight, as I’ve met more than enough people who have an issue with everything wrong in the world. In this way, unless your job is to have an overall picture of all the issues there are (as I can imagine it to be a legitimate job), I don’t recommend people try to have their hands in all the jars as it is the fastest and surest 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, adding negativity we personally have to deal with inside our minds.

In this way, it is my personal opinion that social justice warriors should only have one or two big issues they pour their hearts into, trusting that someone else will pick up a good fight somewhere else.

For example, I chose to focus on making people happier, as science confirms that happier people earn more money, waste less time to feel better, have better relationships, are more capable, motivated, creative, proactive, altruistic, productive, and overall better human beings. In fact, the cumulative effects of positivity over negativity are so great that just making people on average happier can alone 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 streets and beaches from garbage, recycle, fight for equality, and people’s rights, or following a strict vegan diet. However, I’m not actively promoting these other fights because they are not my fights.

Still, we should all become social justice warriors, trying to make a change in the world, but focus on issues that best resonate with us, by choosing one or two causes we support, as it is just the right thing to do. And if everyone does it, the world is certain to become a better place for all of us to live in.

So the only last question that remains is: what social issues do you support? Please write it down in the comments!

And if you are interested to learn more about how to be happy, you are in the right place, as this blog and its many programs are designed to make people as happy as they can be – their ideal selves, so to say. So if you are interested in having a bit more happiness in your life, continue reading this blog and exploring our other offerings.

Stay happy and carry on the good fight!