Psychosocial security


A video designed for humanitarian aid workers on psychosocial security. While it discusses slightly different contexts from ours, the core principles still apply.

Security can be exhausting. If you are a member of or working with vulnerable communities, you might be used to frequently looking over your shoulder or trying to figure out if you can trust the people you meet. This can be tense and stressful, and it's important to find healthy ways of resting and dealing with this stress.

As activists, we are especially vulnerable to backlash and burnout in our line of work. Psychosocial security is important to protect our psychological and mental health. We can rest and decompress more easily when we feel safe and protected. But this is not always easy to do.

Digital security practices also integrate effectively with psychosocial safety and security. If we feel more confident online, are less worried about break-ins, and can use the appropriate tools and techniques to limit our exposure to hateful and denigrating content, we will often feel calmer.

Sometimes, exposure to stressful or denigrating content is inevitable or necessary, especially if we choose to be visibly queer in our online personas. In the first cohort of the fellowship, PLUHO invited Dr X to speak on the topic of psychosocial security. In the above situation, Dr X gave these few points to consider: 

  • Consider who you are speaking to: It is not your responsibility to engage with negative comments online. You are free to choose whether or not to respond, keeping in mind that you cannot change a person’s mind if they are not ready to listen. Instead, consider the ‘silent onlookers’ - others in your feed who might be open to what you have to say. Direct your messages to them.

  • Rest and decompression is part of the job: To paraphrase Dr X’s example, you cannot pour from an empty cup. Recognize that change involves many parties and processes and takes time. Activism is a marathon, not a sprint. It is better - for yourself and for the greater cause - to take regular breaks from work, than to burn out entirely and leave for good. 

  • Connections in the offline world are important: In online spaces, critical voices are amplified and we may feel as if there are more negative critics than there actually are. Logging off and spending time with hobbies, friends, and loved ones helps us reconnect with feelings of love, hope, and trust.

  • Don't operate from reactivity: Keep the work rooted in love and your personal convictions.

  • Our responsibilities end with what we can do: You are not responsible for saving the world or solving systemic issues like poverty and the evils of capitalism. Be realistic about what you as one individual can achieve. Recognize that you are not acting alone, but a part of a greater movement.

Additionally, consider minimizing exposure to things that cause stress as much as possible and actively making time to rest and recover.

  • Minimizing exposure to stress means finding ways to engage less with content that could be traumatic. If for example you receive a lot of harassment on social media, consider asking a close, trusted friend to scroll through your feed and delete it for you—it's usually less stressful to read through harassment targeted at somebody else than at yourself. You can then return the favor and do the same for your friend. Similarly, if your work or activism requires you to deal with a lot of sad or trauma-inducing content, take frequent breaks and only look at the content at specified times of the day. You can also cover up the most trauma-inducing content, for example with a piece of paper stuck on your screen, so that you only look at it when absolutely necessary.

  • It can be hard to find time to rest and recover, but doing so is absolutely crucial. Many activists can struggle with the idea of stepping away from their work, since this might mean that they cannot help others, but do not forget that if you do not take care of yourself, then you might be so overwhelmed with stress that you cannot be there for others, either. Figure out how your body tells you that you need to rest. Some people sleep too little when stressed or overwhelmed, others sleep too much. Some have nightmares or a sense of being paralyzed. Some eat too little, others too much. Spend some time reflecting on what signs your body sends you and how to tell when you need to take some rest and maybe step away from activist work for a moment to do something that relaxes you. Relaxation also varies from person to person: some need to be around people, others want to go for solitary walks. One thing that’s important is not to abuse drugs or alcohol whenever you start to feel stress: this will generally make things worse in the long run.

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Last modified: Wednesday, 4 February 2026, 5:19 AM