Caring for your wellbeing when advocating for system change

Ways to look after yourself

Are you thinking of using your voice to advocate for a better law or policy, or to take a stand against a new one that is being introduced? You might be thinking of writing or presenting a submission on a Bill, writing to a government minister or MP, sharing your thoughts online, or advocating for change in some other way. If you are, that’s wonderful news!  

Sharing your thoughts and feelings for change through a submission, letter, or other advocacy action is an incredibly important and brave thing to do. The changes you recommend could help shape Aotearoa New Zealand’s mental health system, services, and society for the better.  

At the same time, sharing your views may feel triggering or overwhelming, because the policy, law, service or change you might be advocating for has impacted you personally in some way. You may be reminded of distressing experiences or situations you, your loved ones or colleagues have experienced.  

Equally, you may feel very grateful for aspects of your journey, and any support or access you received. You may want to share these positive experiences, to show what aspects worked for you and could work for other New Zealanders in the future. 

However you feel, know that your feelings are valid and true for you. Other people may also have strong, differing emotions – it's important to remember their emotions are valid for them, too.  

Regardless of how you feel, it's always a good idea to take care of yourself when thinking about or engaging in mental health advocacy. We recommend reading this guide , before you start your advocacy work – whatever that work may look like.  

Our step-by-step guide below is designed to help support your wellbeing during the advocacy process, and beyond.  

Our step-by-step process to care for your wellbeing

Thinking or talking about mental health-related laws, policies and services can bring up big feelings or emotions. Are you feeling strong, safe and supported? Do you feel ready to talk about distressing experiences or situations you, your loved ones or colleagues may have experienced? Even if your experiences were positive, they may remind you of other situations that were not as positive.  

Before preparing a submission, letter, or other advocacy action, it’s important to decide whether this is the right time to engage in this kaupapa/subject, for you.  

Check-in on yourself throughout each step of the process – you can always take a break from your advocacy mahi/work, or return to earlier steps if you need to take some time out. 

We all need someone to lean on. Consider who you would like your emotional support person or people to be as you prepare your submission, letter, or other advocacy activity – they could be a friend, whānau member, mental health professional, partner or colleague, or a mix of a few of these groups.   

Whoever your support person or people are, ensure you feel you can trust them and talk with them openly, about both positive and negative experiences.  

Another way to feel supported as you share your recommendations for change– and support others, too – is by setting up a ‘solidarity chat group’. This is where you add a group of people you feel comfortable sharing your thoughts and feelings with on a private messaging platform of your choice (such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger). The people in this group may also be preparing a submission or advocating in other ways, and want to rant, share silly memes and check-in with one another too!   

We can always benefit from a wellbeing boost. To help ready your mind before engaging in mental health advocacy, we recommend finding a quiet place that feels safe for you and practising one of the activities below.  

You could try:  

  • Practising mindfulness or reciting prayer. Mindfulness can help you let go of troubling thoughts and ground you in the here and now. Watch this guide to mindfulness resource or try to start and end each day with a prayer that soothes you.  

  • Box breathing. Box breathing is breathing in the shape of a box. This practice can help you achieve a feeling of calm in any time and place. To start, breathe in for up to five seconds, then hold your breath for up to five seconds, then exhale for up to five seconds, and then end by holding your breath for up to five seconds again. You can repeat these steps as many times as you like. Watch this video for a demonstration.  

  • Writing your worries down. It’s normal to feel worried or anxious about ideas or experiences beyond our immediate control. Writing about or drawing your worries can help you work through how you’re feeling and get you out of the rabbit hole of negativity. Writing down what you’re grateful for can also give you some balance and perspective.  

  • Using progressive muscle relaxation exercises. When we feel worried, anxious or unsafe, our body tenses up. Progressive muscle relaxation (or PMR) is a technique that can help us de-stress our bodies by tensing and relaxing our muscles one at a time. You can do this by:   
    1. inhaling deeply and slowly, and then  
    2. tensing a muscle group (such as your fists or forehead), and then  
    3. holding that tense for five seconds, and then   
    4. releasing it.  

Afterwards, you’ll feel the muscle group relax. It can really make a difference! You can find out more about progressive muscle relaxation here.  

Influencing changes to New Zealand’s mental health-related laws, policies and services may require you to think about your own, personal experiences. These experiences may be positive, or they might be triggering or heavy. Whether positive or negative, recounting your experiences might inspire big emotions that need working through before you feel ready to begin.  

There are ways to reflect on your personal experiences that can feel less jarring than simply thinking through them alone. For example, you could:  

  • Talk about your experiences with your whānau, friends, peer support workers or mental health professionals. Talking through your experiences with people you trust can help to provide perspective. Connecting through kōrero can help us arrive at truths we can’t always arrive at alone.  

  • Express your experiences in a creative way. Creatively depicting our experiences can help us gain distance from difficult memories, and reveal new ways of looking at the world. You might find it’s easier to express your experiences through poetry, creative writing, painting, drawing, music, videography or dancing, for example, rather than just thinking about them.   

  • Journalling your feelings. Writing your emotions down on a piece of paper can help to distance all kinds of emotions you may feel around your experiences. By labelling our emotions, we can see them more objectively.  

Take time out    

How are you feeling? If you’re feeling triggered or overwhelmed, spending time away from the kaupapa can help recharge your batteries and give you some perspective. To take time out, you could connect with whānau, for example by watching a movie together or cooking dinner for one another; actively take notice of the world around you, for example by going for a walk; or practise one of the wellbeing boosters in step three.  

Preparing a submission or influencing change in another way usually involves making recommendations for change. It’s important to know what the advocacy opportunity is and learn more about the topic if you need to.  

We would recommend against simply Googling the law or policy online, as some information may be misleading. If you do Google it, ensure the information provided is from a reputable source, such as an established mental health organisation or government department like the Ministry of Health.

If you come across an article that talks about people affected by the law,  policy or service in a negative way and you feel triggered by it, do reach out to talk your feelings through with someone you trust. There are many negative stereotypes about all kinds of groups of people – it's important to remember these stereotypes aren’t true and often result from a lack of understanding on the part of the people writing them.  

 

If you want to go ahead with preparing a submission or writing a letter, mīharo! Well done on making it to this stage, and for taking the next step.  

If you don’t want to make a submission, that’s completely understandable too. You may decide you’d like to take another advocacy action, or you may not want to take any action at all. Whatever you decide, know that it’s the best decision for you.   

Some other actions you could take to advocate for change include:  

  • Joining a lived experience or peer support group, to be a part of their advocacy. Peer support or lived experience groups can be great forums to bounce ideas around, share opportunities for change, and/or find support at the same time. If you’re not part of a community or peer support group, you can find one here.  

  • Publicly sharing your lived experience story. Sharing our mental distress experiences with others can be cathartic or healing, and help change the way some people might think about those of us with mental health challenges. You might want to share your story with your loved ones, on social media or in the news media. Before you share your story, think carefully about what you’d like to share. Do all of your loved ones know your story? Does your story contain information you may not want some people to find, both now and into the future? Have you told your story publicly before? Sharing your lived experience story publicly can be an emotional process — do you have a support person you can lean on after sharing it?  You can find more guidance on sharing your lived experience story publicly here.  

  • Sharing a creative piece around your experiences. You may find that going through the process of thinking about your personal experiences has inspired an artistic venture, and you’ve created something beautiful in the process. You might want to share this piece of art – writing, painting, or dance for example - with others, or you may want to keep it for your own enjoyment.  

 Remember, if any of the advocacy steps above feel too much, you can always return back to steps one to three, to help you feel grounded again and boost your wellbeing.   

Congratulations! If you’ve made a submission or engaged in another form of advocacy, tau kē! Your voice and your experiences matter, and your courage will help contribute to change.   

If you haven’t taken an action, that’s okay too. It’s important that you’ve made it this far. The most important thing is your wellbeing, and we’re glad you’ve prioritised that.  

However you feel, whether you’ve taken an action or not, know that it’s okay. You might feel elated and proud, or sad, angry or disappointed. It’s okay to feel however you do. Sit with your feelings. Let them come so they can go.    

During times like these, practising radical acceptance can help. Radical acceptance is the practice of fully acknowledging and embracing the present moment, including its difficulties and discomforts, without trying to change or control it. You can learn more about radical acceptance here and practise radical acceptance in this context by acknowledging:  

  • you have done what you felt you needed or wanted to do to contribute to changing the law, policy or service 
  • you have done your best  - what happens to the law,policy or service, and all that means, is now out of your hands.  

To help move your mood, you can re-connect with your solidarity chat group or support person/people, and practice one of our wellbeing boosters in step three. 

Need some extra support?

If you or someone you know has immediate safety concerns, please dial 111 or contact your local mental health crisis assessment team.    

There’s no shame in needing something more than a kōrero or resource. Remember, you can free-call or text 1737 any time of the day or night for confidential support. More specific helplines are available too.   

Helplines and local mental health services

A list of helplines and support organisations to connect communities with support

Share this page

There is no health without mental health

Help ensure everyone in Aotearoa has the tools to enjoy positive mental health and wellbeing.

Donate now

Was this page useful?

We use cookies to improve your experience, analyse site traffic, and personalise content. By clicking "Accept", you agree to our use of cookies.