My Personal Journey: How have I cared for my Mental Health during my time as a Humanitarian Worker?

I had the opportunity to be a humanitarian worker in various countries such as North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, working in more than eight Refugee and Immigrant camps. This is a very profound experience where you learn a lot, not only professionally but also personally. But working in the mental health field in this context of constant emergencies can also be detrimental to your own mental health, leading to burnout if you don't take care of it. Here are four things that were extremely important to me:

Nature: During my breaks, I traveled to escape the environment I was in; of course, that place was always nature. This was my greatest ally, since my work always involved people in very deep trauma. This can make you lose sight of the fact that life, even though it's very hard, also has a beautiful and hopeful side. A humanitarian worker is often limited in their ability to help, and this can make you feel powerless and lose confidence in life. That's why, for me, being in nature was not only a respite but also a way to rediscover this hope.

Not Underestimating My Own Problems: In this job, you have to deal with very difficult problems and sad situations that human beings shouldn't have to experience. This can cause you to start underestimating your own problems, thinking you need to be strong because there are other beings who may be truly suffering at this moment. I had to learn to understand that caring for myself and giving due attention to my own problems is important. That every human being deserves to be cared for and attended to, regardless of the context they are living in.

Avoiding Being Abducted by the Hero Complex: You often think that if you are a humanitarian worker, life has put you there because you have a mission, and you begin to believe that you are the hero who saves people's lives. As I mentioned, contrary to what it may seem, a humanitarian worker generally cannot help people as they should, and this is due to many reasons, one of them being bureaucracy, politics, etc. This often leads you to want to go beyond what you should, and you often break the rules. This can be good, but it can also be detrimental to your mental health, because you think you're the hero. But when you suffer your first burnout, you realize that in reality, all you were doing was forgetting about yourself in your desire to help. I learned that I'm not a heroine; that my job is to help, and to do my best within my power.

Always have a clear definition of your limits: Because the humanitarian system in the immigration sector is a failure, what we experience in the camps is a climate of great frustration, and we are the ones who will be held responsible for this first, not the organizations in charge of implementing it. I've learned to understand that this frustration I vent about isn't real, it's directed at this system. Often, you have to make difficult decisions and give difficult answers, not the ones you'd like to give, and when this happens, it's important to be clear about this so your mental health isn't affected.

Yoga and Baking: Yoga and baking are my hobbies. It's important to keep doing something you enjoy as a hobby, something that keeps you connected to yourself, helps you rest, and relieves stress. Being in constant contact with disaster situations can make you lose the joy of everyday life, and practicing my hobbies helped me a lot to not lose it. Especially if you can do them in a community, because that way you can connect with other people and talk about things other than work. Usually, humanitarian workers bring their work with them when they meet. I often remember skipping these meetings only when necessary because I knew we'd always be talking about the same thing, and this didn't help me rest.

How do you take care of your mental health, whether you're a humanitarian worker or not? I hope this experience can help others. If you have friends who work in this field, please share it. Thanks for reading the full post!