Every week it seems there is something new to protest about. If we are now in the Anthropocene age – where human effects on the globe take precedence over nature – we are also in the age of activism, one of protesting against our damaging impact on the world. This dissent has moved beyond the fringes of political engagement to packing our streets with people and placards bearing slogans that range from seeking to stave off climate change to stopping Donald Trump and staying in the EU. Protests are increasingly taking in wider age ranges and demographics, too, but for those grassroots organisers for whom this is a long-term mission, the toll of such responsibility can be a heavy one.

Activism comes with all the stresses of any job – long hours, “office” politics and overflowing inboxes. Couple this with the fact that activism is in a sense defined by its marginality and the job sits firmly between a rock and a hard place. How, then, do activists stay motivated when the odds are against them?

Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

Spend time outside

Bill McKibben, environmentalist and author

“Try to spend a little time outdoors, whether it is in a city park or out in the woods or mountains. One of the things we are fighting for is a world where nature still has some place and so it’s good to get out and remind ourselves of that. I try to get outside every day, just for a few minutes. If I can just see the sky, that’s good; sometimes I only want to see the stars for a few minutes and that makes me feel worthwhile.”

Photograph: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

Seek out pleasure

Eve Ensler, playwright and feminist activist

“It is important to realise that the struggle is long, so you have to take care of your body. You have to have pleasure, joy and humour in your life, otherwise you just become bitter and full of sadness. Nature is critical, dance is critical, sex is critical.

“Pleasure is what fuels us. Sometimes when we are doing this work, it can feel like we are not allowed to feel anything but pain, yet having done this work for a long time, if you want to keep going you need to have joy, as that’s what will keep you motivated to go back.”

Photograph: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images

Exercise for distraction

Bisi Alimi, LGBT activist

“I can get a lot of online abuse for the work that I do, as well as often seeing a lot of trauma from fellow LGBT people who reach out to me. That used to give me very intense anxiety. I have started going to the gym regularly for my mental health and sometimes, when I am really angry, I will go to a boxing class, which helps me get it out of my system. This allows me to see whatever has upset me less personally. I go to the gym five times a week and I also run at least twice a week, so every day I am doing something active that allows me to disconnect.”

Stay angry

Harry Gay, campaigns manager at the Outside Project

“Anger is an important motivator and it is important we don’t shy away from it as a driver for change. It is natural to be angry about the state of the world and at the things we see that are unjust. We’re often told that anger is a negative emotion and that we should shy away from it; perhaps interpersonally that is true, but on a structural level it is important to not get sad about what is happening around you but to get angry and then to channel it in the right way, through action. That is what keeps us going and fighting for migrant rights and for all those who are discriminated against; we cannot get despondent.”

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Get some therapy

Patrisse Cullors, founder of Black Lives Matter

“I’m a big proponent of therapy and always tell activists and organisers that they should be seeing a therapist to get them through. We are on the frontlines hearing so many painful stories from so many people that we become therapists ourselves, but we are not trained, so it creates an unfortunate environment for burnout.

“I have been doing activism since I was 16 years old, but I soon found out that it was triggering difficult memories from my childhood and was having an impact on how I saw myself – I couldn’t separate myself from the people I was organising. I have been doing this for 20 years now and the only reason I have been able to do it for so long is because I have been relying on other people’s skill sets to help me take care of myself and be a better person.

“People forget that activists are human beings and that there is a lot at stake for us. Often we do this work because it’s what we have experienced ourselves.”

Don’t be afraid to cry

Gina Miller, anti-Brexit campaigner and lobbyist

“What can stop me in my tracks are those who attack my family and do it premeditatively, those who rant to my children, put it in an envelope and send it to my address. To get a letter which says, ‘We know where your children are, we’ll be taking them today,’ is truly shocking.

“When that happens, I have to cry and let it out because you can’t hold it all in. There is a temptation that as activists we have to be strong all the time, but in private you have to look after yourself and let your emotions come out when they arise. I will cry it out, I will hug my family and then refocus on what I am doing and get ready to keep going again. I will take the negative energy and redirect it into something positive.”

Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

Understand your history

Miqdaad Versi, anti-Islamophobia campaigner

“My parents sacrificed so much as immigrants coming to this country and working all hours to send me to a private school, which they thought would give me the best chance in life. While I might not agree with private schools as an institution, I understand how important it was for my parents that I succeed in life, so I have a responsibility to them to not only do well but to stand up for others like them and to make society a better place for everyone.

“I have been lucky that my parents worked so hard for me and that means I can and should take the time to continue my activism. Knowing what they went through pales in comparison to my struggles and that keeps me going.”

Photograph: John Keeble/Getty Images

Remember the wider movement

Owen Jones, Guardian columnist and activist

“It is important to feel that you are part of a broader movement for justice and that you are not just some isolated individual in fear. I spend a lot of time with LGBT activists, socialists, feminists and anti-racism activists, and this reminds me that I am part of a collective struggle. The attacks I receive aren’t personal and I am not the only person who gets them – these people just hate the things we are fighting for and believe in. It should never become background noise but, equally, I wouldn’t want to be intimidated by it because that would be giving them a victory they don’t deserve. We have to maintain our solidarity in the face of the far right.”

Photograph: @LucyGavaghan/Twitter

Keep your perspective and stay in school

Lucy Gavaghan, 17, environmental campaigner

“You have to realise that, as one person, you can’t change everything and do it all. If you start feeling guilty that you are not doing all the right things it can really set you back and mean that you are not making progress. You need to give yourself time to step back from your cause and what you are fighting for because then, when you go back to it, you are ready and not exhausted.

“In a way, school work can be a good way to step back and it doesn’t become too pressurised if I stay on top of it. Through the campaigning I can keep a wider perspective on changing the world and through school I can also focus on my own future.”

Photograph: @samjknights/Twitter

Keep talking

Sam Knights, Extinction Rebellion

“Finding people to talk to and support you is incredibly important. I cannot describe the huge emotional weight that was lifted for me when I first felt comfortable talking about the climate crisis and how that was affecting my mental health. It’s easy to feel like we are alone but there are thousands of people who feel like this and they want to talk to you, too. So please, as a first step, start talking to people about it.”

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Look after your dogs

Ryan Hart, domestic abuse campaigner

“My brother Luke and I campaign against domestic abuse because our mother and sister Charlotte were killed by our father. That means that we spend all day speaking about our trauma. It gets very emotional. However, the dogs that we share have really helped us. They have shown us how to live in the moment and they are always happy as long as we are there. Luke and I were at university for most of the dogs’ early years and Mum and Charlotte were the ones who raised them. The dogs have mannerisms which remind me of them and it keeps their memory alive.”

Photograph: Andrew Hayes-Watkins/BBC

Take a cold shower

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, cook and environmental campaigner

“I have a cold shower every morning to wake me up and get me going. I have a blast of cold water for a minute or two and that is a real shock to the system when you first start, but it helps you go through the day with a spring in your step. It’s almost like the worst thing that could happen to you all day has already happened. It’s never a pleasant feeling when that cold water comes down, but you always feel so much better for having done it. No matter how hard things have been in the days before, that cold water is a ‘reset’; it means each day starts anew.”

Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Guardian

Keep your (Twitter) agency

Ash Sarkar, journalist and activist

“I quite enjoy that feeling of sparring with someone online. It is a reclamation of your agency. Twitter is also a little crucible for comedy; it trains the bit of your brain that puts together things that are incongruous or funny.

“It is important to remember that a lot of activists aren’t at the sharp end of this politics. We are leading relatively comfortable and protected lives and the people who are on the frontlines live in fear and can’t speak up for themselves. The thing that makes me feel a great sense of purpose and political will is that these people have never stopped fighting or organising because they don’t have the luxury of giving up – it is a fight for survival. If they can do it, so can I – even on Twitter.”

Photograph: Peter Marshall/Alamy

Celebrate small victories

Aderonke Apata, LGBT activist, founder of African Rainbow Family

“Each time we think we have tackled an issue, another one rears its ugly head. There is no way that I or any other activist in the world can solve all of its problems, but we have to keep sight of the small victories; those are the ones that keep us going.

“If any of the people we work with get granted asylum, it is a huge victory for me and shows us that we are doing good. Although there is a lot that we still need to change, it gives me satisfaction that we are moving in the right direction. We need to remember to celebrate that small step towards disrupting the whole system.”

Photograph: Richard Saker/The Guardian

Learn from online comments

Farhana Yamin, human rights lawyer and environmentalist

“I didn’t watch the Channel 4 report on me getting arrested for gluing my hands outside the Shell building for weeks, until my daughter said it had got more than 1m views. I started reading the comments online and the majority were positive, but there were lots that were very offensive and rude. However, it did make me realise that for every nasty comment, there are many more constructive ones, supporting the cause and pushing me to do better. Even though there is never enough time to read and respond to everything, I want to make the conscious choice to engage as much as possible as that is the only way to keep going. We need to encourage discussion within the movement – and with the public who might be against us.”

Photograph: Ali Smith/The Guardian

Pick your battles

Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement

“Our work as activists can be incredibly challenging and personal; you have enormous responsibilities to speak up for those who have been victimised and abused. Yet, of course you can’t speak for everyone and all causes, and that can make you feel incredibly guilty. It is important, then, to remember that the arc of progress is long and that we have to pick our battles, to stand up for what we believe in and who we speak for. If you try to do everything at once, you just won’t be able to succeed.”

Photograph: Mediapunch/Rex/Shutterstock

Remain active

Robin Morgan, poet and radical feminist

“I look around me to stay motivated. People need to do something active and positive, however small. Write a letter, send an email. Picket, march, protest, sign a petition, sit in. Join a group and multiply your effect. Run for office. Say what you actually think. You can’t wring your hands and roll up your sleeves at the same time, so do something – and right away you will feel better. So will the world.”