Working for social justice in today’s times can be extremely difficult; individuals have to navigate cultural norms and expectations, systems of oppression and marginalization, and hierarchies of power and agency as prerequisites to even “starting” the counter-oppressive mission! Such hurdles can raise a multitude of valid emotional responses, responses that drive our thinking about and action towards social justice work - but only if we make an active effort to process and “unpack” those emotional responses.

When we don’t, we “sit on” these emotional responses, stuck with the enormity of the problem and no understanding of what “to do” to move forward. This creates a feedback cycle, and presents a slippery slope to that feeling of “blah” or nihilism that might be familiar to social justice practitioners - the condition that we label as “Languishing”.