Why we should not abandon burnout altogether: A response to a critique of activist burnout

Despite active conversations around activist burnout, Domonkos Sik argues that burnout is a misinterpretation of the problem underlying activists’ loss of motivation, as it shifts our attention to a group of symptoms and therapy while ignoring the structural and existential dimensions of activism. This paper argues that this critique only loosely grasps burnout through the mainstream direction of framing and solving burnout, and misrepresents activist burnout research. While Sik argues that burnout is unfit to offer critical reflections on the toll activists face in struggling for emancipation, this paper argues that this is not the case. Instead, activist burnout has been approached from various perspectives, offering insights for interventions beyond therapy.