Episode 20: Burnout, Mental Health, Money and Anti-racism Activism with Nova Reid
Photo credit: Rupa Photography
“In order to be our best we need to rest as well, and not feel guilty about resting”
Nova Reid is a diversity and anti-racism campaigner who uses her professional background in mental health to focus on mindset change. She works with organisations and individuals to confront and dismantle inequality from the inside-out .
Nova is also a popular keynote speaker passionate advocate for equality and helping people be the change they want to see in the world. She regularly appears on BBC News, Sky News and BBC Radio as an expert, is a regular mentor at Women of the World (WOW) Festival and was listed as the top 100 black British women by the Black Magic Network as part of International Women's Day 2019.
Nova is also founder of multi award-winning media entity and wedding show; Nu Bride, the leading inclusive platform dedicated to diversity into the mainstream wedding industry.
In this episode:
When Nova was in between acting jobs, she trained as a sports and holistic massage therapist to provide work for herself in between acting and singing contracts
Whilst temping at a university, where there was a high number of students with mental health issues, Nova was invited to apply for a job supporting the students
She asked for mental health training, mindfulness, NLP and introductory psychotherapy and worked in student mental health for under 10 years, including conditions such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia
Her experiences at dance/drama college as only one of 3 people of colour out of 700 people
Issues with accessing health for mental health issues include lack of funding, lack of staffing, staff burnout, reactive system that prioritises people in a crisis rather than when someone is still functioning
The need for strong boundaries and being able to recognise the signs of burnout when you’re working in the field of mental health
Being an empath makes you good at your job but also makes you vulnerable to taking things on
Signs of early burnout that Nova recognises in herself include loss of appetite, anticipatory anxiety, stress, lowered immune system
Nova left working in mental health and started working for herself 4 years ago
When she became engaged, she realised the lack of wedding services that included black women, blogged about her experience and was contacted by brands
Nova created Nu Bride to celebrate diversity
She also started doing diversity and identity work
The pressure on weddings e.g looking perfect and having the perfect speech
“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare,” Audre Lorde
You can’t give when you’re empty, you can’t create when you’re empty, you can’t innovate when you’re empty
In order to be our best, we need to rest
Role-modelling hard work as a person of colour, ancestral
Negative attitudes of self-care e.g indulgence, selfishness
Black and brown women being more susceptible to mental health issues
Brené Brown says that those who are most shame-resilient have boundaries of steel
Resolving the relationship with money and realising that being paid well means being able to have more impact
Balancing the exchange of giving and receiving energy
The labour and abuse that comes with doing anti-racism work
The most insidious acts of racism is the everyday, that are committed by well-intentioned and well-meaning people
Backlash after calling people out for racism
‘Swatting’ in the USA where the police are called on those doing anti-racism work
Taking regular breaks from social media and having self-care days
Finding joy
Dealing with microaggressions (everyday slights and slurs), including taking yourself out of environments that feel unsafe
Microaggressions include being asked where you’re from, asked if someone can touch your hair, told you speak in a certain way, assumptions that you’re staff, being undermined and spoken over
We don’t always have language, but we know how they make us feel
Most microaggressions happen in the workplace
Language helps to realize it exists and it’s not in your head
It’s hard to call out microaggressions if you don’t have any allies and feel unsafe as you risk being minimised or receiving more abuse
Educating yourself about white privilege and racism.
Reni Eddo-Lodge ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race’
Generational healing
Complex feelings around the recent royal wedding and even receiving microaggressions as an expert voice
Resources:
Websites: Nova Reid and Nu Bride
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