Eyes on the Prize: Overcoming Overwhelm in Pursuit of a Healthier Future

Dear HEFN Community, 

Don’t get distracted! Keep your eyes on the prize. Here’s how:

The news is rough out there and can feel overwhelming. But now, more than ever, is the time to keep steady on your North Star and a commitment to grantees working for healthier futures for all. Researchers have found that Gen Xers (my generation) are projected to see higher cancer rates than Boomers due in part to pollutants like the forever chemicals PFAS. In an eerie nod to the genesis story of The Handmaid’s Tale, the rate of infertility rates linked to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are rising; up to10% of all children will be born through IVF in some parts of the world. The Supreme Court has issued a number of decisions that may make it harder to fight trends like these and achieve environmental health and justice grantmaking goals. Project 2025 aims to undermine the regulatory infrastructure designed to keep us healthy. These things are true.

Sowing chaos is part of a strategy to prevent a resilient, united environmental health and justice movement. It’s easy to become overwhelmed when the promise of profits distracts people from what’s really important - our health, wellbeing, and connection. I don’t make my best decisions when I’m overwhelmed, and I’m guessing you’re probably not that different. But we have a choice in how we respond to the chaos and address the overwhelm. I’ve found this article, 20 Suggestions for Dealing with Overwhelm by Vessantara, incredibly helpful for dealing with moments like these (BTW, if you look deeply, most moments are like these). Here are a few tips:

1. Be aware of how much you take in of what is disturbing 

This doesn’t mean stick your head in the sand and pretend the disturbing stuff isn’t happening, rather: choose wisely what content you expose yourself to. Social media is great at uplifting the extremes for the purpose of getting views. It’s motivating, for sure. And you feel like you’re informed. Make sure you’re balancing the hard news, the minute-by-minute commentary on Supreme Court decisions, with discussions with informed insiders who can provide concrete solutions and actions you can take. And don’t forget to take breaks and embrace some joy to balance things out and allow you to take action with a settled mind.

2. Let your heart ‘break’

There really is suffering in the world, and we can’t ignore that. Let yourself feel that pain. For me, reading the news that our generation will have more cancer brings to mind loved ones I have recently lost to cancer and some that have just been diagnosed. These news stories aren’t just numbers on the page, they are real people that we know and love. It may even be us. That is incredibly painful. Let that pain be the song of compassion to open the door to what’s next. It brings clarity about the best action to take. Not the REaction that comes when you are trying to avoid the pain, but the action that will actually SOLVE the real, underlying problem.

3. Being part of a community, and having spiritual friends, is crucial

Vessantara writes, “Feeling isolated with a problem or issue that we find overwhelming is a recipe for deeper overwhelm. In difficult times, we need to reach out to people who will understand.” HEFN is committed to providing that community. If you have read this far, you are likely a fellow traveler on the road to a healthier future for all. Funders come to HEFN to make authentic connections and deepen their knowledge of environmental health and justice issues. HEFN is where funders can feel at home, knowing they are with others who care as deeply as they do and are committed to the betterment of all.

See the upcoming program offerings below. If there’s a topic we haven’t covered yet that you would like to learn about or strategize with others, let us know by reaching out to our Director of Programs Kalila Booker-Cassano (kbc@hefn.org). 

By the end of October this year, the chaotic noise will likely be even louder. What better way to spend that time than with your community at the HEFN Annual Meeting in Durham, NC? Register here. 

Take a deep breath and keep your eyes on the prize. I’m looking forward to seeing you in person in October, and on Zoom in the meantime.

Adelante, 

Ansje Miller

HEFN Executive Director