Let's Talk Burn Out - And How It's Linked To Consumption Culture (Storytelling Part 1)

Thank you to Adrian Lopera-Valle for sending me down this rabbit hole with the question, "How can we better utilize storytelling to encourage circular behavior change?" This may not answer that question, but it felt like a valuable stream of consciousness regardless.

When we strategize around behavior change, some of the hardest things to plan for are subconscious. In capitalism, consumption is everything. It's how we supply our families' needs. It's how we take part in hobbies. It's how we support our parents as they age. It's how we receive validation. It's how we gauge our worth. It's where our traumas are rooted, and by extension, all of our coping mechanisms.

The wide variety of modern addictions are evidence of this - Shopping, social media, gambling. We want things, and we want people to know we have them. It gives us control, to own things. It ensures that we belong.

When I get stressed or burnt out, I start to do more (yes, that is counterproductive. Thank you for asking). To me, productivity is equivalent to safety. I struggled with this immensely when I was in more acute stages of my disabilities - I couldn't work, so I couldn't earn, so I couldn't take part. I couldn't attend events, or go out to eat. I couldn't achieve anything. I was without resources. And in my mind, I became nothing. I had to find new ways of valuing myself, and this took a huge amount of therapy. I work in circular economy, and it still took a huge life derailment for me to truly understand the benefits - and personal liability - of being someone who doesn't rely on their purchasing power for opportunities. To clarify: No, I'm not saying I purchased opportunities... But I did the things we're "supposed" to: I owned my home, I owned my car, I went to school... My purchasing power gave me stability in life. I was a low-risk demographic because of the things I owned.

Millennials are consistently labeled as lazy and entitled because they can't afford to own property. Those who use food banks - Saving thousands of pounds of food waste from ending up in our landfills - are thought of as not working hard enough, or not being educated enough. Modern marketing tells us that we aren't deserving of love unless we own certain products, or maintain a certain aesthetic. We're told that newer is always better, that phones shouldn't last more than a year or two, that clothes are disposable, and that food expires even if it shows no signs of decomposition. Our society judges others as "less than," if we choose to share, reuse, repair or reduce - Or alternatively, if we are put in situations where we have to. "New" and "lots" have become synonymous with "contributing," and "productive."

At holidays, expectations are placed on us to buy - And most of these products generate huge amounts of waste. Chocolates that rarely get eaten entirely separated by layers of plastic and foil, stuffed animals made with synthetic materials that go to landfill when they're tired of or outgrown, even gift wrap - many wrapping papers and gift bags are not recyclable or compostable. Jewelry, makeup, spice mixes, most of these are sold in packaging made of plastic, or layers of composites that can't be recycled. Clothing and shoes make up 20,000 tonnes of our landfill waste each year.  (Metro Vancouver) 85% of electronics are sent to landfill - A number that has tripled in Canada in the last 20 years. (University of Waterloo) But if we don't consume these items on behalf of our loved ones, we're told we "don't care," or are "thoughtless." If we're on the receiving end and ask for less, or nothing, we're labeled as "ungrateful," or simply believed to be lying... Because how could anyone be happy without wanting more?

I recently attended an event, and heard myself respond to someone's greeting with, "Honestly, I'm so tired I want to cry. But I'm great! How are you?" Later on, a colleague expressed a similar sentiment. In a follow-up meeting, another said they drowning. I think this should be expected, when we have built a world where even self-care takes money and new things! Stanley cups, candles, bath products, video games, junk food. It is impossible for us to stop working for more.

Our communities are burnt out from housing costs, yet we continue to demolish 3000 homes annually while permitting times to build new continue to increase, and take a "not in my backyard," approach to reused dwellings. Why? Because new must be better, of course! We deserve new things, don't we? Homes as young as 30 years are now labeled as fixer uppers in real estate ads, but the average home could remain in use for well over 100 years. We continue to allow demolition to be a faster option over reuse of buildings, despite knowing that building new afterwards will take longer than those reuse alternatives. And in the meantime, Provincial leaders pass down consequences for these building delays and our dwindling housing supply, caused by their own lack of guidance, resources and foresight. Recent updates by the Province based around permitting times make it harder for municipalities to implement demolition and building alternatives, despite these having potential to positively impact all 3 BC crises: housing supply, affordability and climate action.

Our communities are burnt out from food costs, yet 40% of landfill waste in BC is food and organics. We go so far as to refuse to sell food that is imperfect looking, even if it is perfectly nutritious. Aesthetics have taken priority over an affordable, reliable supply of fresh produce - A food category that is coincidentally often the most lacking in food banks. Because produce can generally be eaten cooked or uncooked, it is also one of the more accessible food options. I've also noticed recently that other accessibility and equity "features" of fresh fruits and vegetables are now being mitigated in the opposite direction. There are many grocery store items that can be easily regrown at home, but my last few of these came with the roots cut off - A new development in their manufacturing that means people have to continue to repurchase, packaging and all, rather than propagating at home.

Others still are burnt out from climate anxiety, and yet how are they to know what to do about it? There are no regulations on packaging or warranties that even allow anyone to purchase necessities like toilet paper, feminine products or appliances without contributing further to the problem.

Regulations look at the bare minimum of appearing helpful. We have demolition bylaws that include "salvage," but we don't enforce a hierarchy of highest and best use. We have programming that requires food assets in new buildings, but we don't require those assets to be nutrient dense, contribute to food security, or to be renewable. We refuse to provide adequate guidance out of fear of being "restrictive," but end up restricting people anyways through a lack of wellness-based, sustainable and accessible options. We tell our people to just keep trying harder, so they can afford better, rather than holding legislators and corporations accountable for prioritizing the best options to them as a default.

"Productive," is a good word, inherently tied to earning money. "Rest," is associated with guilt. "Repair," is so that things can be given second hand, to those "less fortunate." We're taught that consumption is how we succeed, and this is reinforced through our education system, our economic model, and our day-to-day survival needs. How can we ask people to consume less, when this is inherently tied to their worth in our society? How can we ask people to change deeply rooted behaviors when they're already in survival mode?