Leaving Facebook

I realized a couple of days before I planned to publish this, that I was writing about something I'd done to preserve my mental health just in time for #lismentalhealth week. How fortuitous! So what did I do to help my peace of mind? I quit Facebook.

It all started when I read about yet another data breech shortly after reading about how their policies aid the disinformation efforts of foreign governments. I had been spending less and less time there, but that pushed me over into actually leaving. The policies and selling my information and targeted ads and everything, including the smarmy face of Zuckerberg, were finally too much. (I deleted my Instagram forever ago and never had WhatsApp, so I really am Facebook-free.)

I know this is going to come across as deluded or hypocritical, considering I haven't left Tumblr or Twitter or Google. I'm realistic and know I can't completely disengage. I also know that with a mini-computer in my pocket which tracks my whereabouts whether I have the GPS on or not, I'll never be completely off the grid.  Also, I know there is no such thing as ethical consumerism, but I'm trying to be thoughtful and to pick my battles. In my mind, since Twitter is where I connect most with my friends and colleagues, I'm going to fight for it. As for Tumblr, it used to be a safe haven for queer youth and sex workers, so I'm going to fight for that as well. It's just that I have only so much fight in me, and I feel like it would be better served elsewhere. I really do think Facebook is important for some people, but I'm going to have to leave the fight to restore it to what it could be to others.

I did this to protect a little of my sanity, and I don't regret it at all.

It's been about a month now, and I've only had the twinge a few times other than every Tuesday and Thursday when I - for years and years - posted new blog entries to three social media sites. I've got to tell you, though, my hits haven't gone down noticeably and I don't miss the morass that was Facebook.

How about you? Are you still on Facebook?

LIS Mental Health Week: Palliative Cute Edition

In the past, my contribution to LIS Mental Health Week was deep and important feeling. I talked about emotional labor and I still know that is an important topic, but this year I decided to go in a very different direction - palliative cute. The world is a nightmare right now, but there is still so much beauty in it, and I just want to remind you of that.

Let's start out with a long time favorite of mine - an ibex who wins an argument about politics:



And next, an arctic fox thief:

http://librarychair.tumblr.com/post/170176030614/mmephala-my-hole-my-fish-this-is-my-fish-in

How about a globe trotting chicken?

A post shared by Guirec Soudée & Monique (@guirecsoudeeadventure) on Jun 1, 2016 at 8:48am PDT

And let's finish it with the best picture on the internet:

If you ever need more cute to bolster yourself, remember that I have a semi-curated collection of cute things over on my pinboard account. (Semi-curated in this instance means that I try to label what the animals are so if you don't find snakes adorable, you won't get any nasty surprises.)

Hope this cute therapy helps.

Finding Hope

This week is LIS Mental Health week. There's so much I want to say, and could discuss. There's the specter of a completely unqualified candidate for Education Secretary and the reality of the Gaslighter in Chief and his unconstitutional executive orders. We also have the same problems as before, working in a field that is chronically undervalued and underfunded. And then there's the ish of being in the Northern Hemisphere and getting less sunlight than we need this time of year. Basically, this is a recipe for hopelessness. The best way to fight that is to make sure you take care of yourselves. This is too important a time, and we need every single one of you.

I really hope this doesn't come across as preachy, by the way. I know I need self-care reminders, so I'm sharing. Here are things we all need to do. Also, I fully acknowledge that I've covered some of these topics before...

Sleep. You are not going to do anyone any good, least of all yourself, if you are running on empty. And if you are having problems sleeping, talk to a medical professional.

Have a life. You can't just protest and worry about the fate of the world. You can't just work. You can't just any one thing. Spend 5 minutes a day with Duolingo learning a new language. Send a text to a friend.

Try to limit the junk food. This is one where I have problems. I know m&ms are going to make me feel like crap, but I still eat them. Instead, try to eat peanuts or an apple.

Get outside at least once a day. And don't just pass through it. Actually stop and look around. Say hello to the squirrel who is yelling at you as you park your car, or notice the exact color of the sky.

Laugh and cry. You need these releases. I cannot not laugh when watching Death at a Funeral (British version for me, thanks) and I cannot not cry when watching Lilo & Stitch (that scene at the end where he explains his family guts me every time), so when I need a release I'll watch these.

Take care of yourself medically. Don't ignore a persistent cough or a part of your body being sore. If your hopelessness (or anxiety, or mental numbness) gets away from you, go to the doctor - there is no shame in needing medicine.

Try to be self-aware. This can be extremely difficult, I know, so I recommend the tool I use - it's a checklist titled "Everything Is Awful and I'm Not Okay: Questions to Ask Before Giving Up on Yourself."

And most importantly, pay attention to your victories. Small victories like bringing your lunch from home or emptying the dishwasher. Big victories like speaking up for yourself or supporting a protest. Write them down and cherish them like the jewels they are. They're your best weapon against the dark.

Emotional Labor & Mental Health in the Library

This post is part of LIS Mental Health Week 2016, an event that is being organized by Cecily Walker and Kelly McElroy. Feel free to join the conversation in the comments here, on Twitter (using the hashtag #lismentalhealth), or in any of the other ways suggested in the post I linked at the beginning of this paragraph.

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I know I've touched on the idea of emotional labor on here in the past, but I wanted to talk about it in more detail for this post. The first thing you need to know about it is that emotional labor is exactly what it sounds like: it is work that involves your emotions. We're talking about putting a smile on your face and keeping it there whether you're happy or not. It's about showing a pre-approved range of emotions while working with patrons/customers/students. There are times when being in a good mood publicly is easy enough, but there are also times when it's really REALLY hard work. More important, though, is that for a lot of people in higher ed and in libraries, this is 100% of their job.

This concept was identified a long while ago, and has even been discussed in light of libraries and higher ed for decades, but I first encountered the idea early last year. That first article (I have to admit I can't remember which was the first. I've read so many since then.) was like a cool breeze. Suddenly things made sense! How I could sit all day and still be exhausted made sense. I was glad to have the science to describe something I'd known for a long time: working with the public is exhausting for reasons beyond the physical.

After I recovered from that immense sense of relief, I starting thinking about my staff. People who staff our circulation desk have duties beyond that service point, but that service point is still the primary job of every library associate. Good service is crucial in any library, but with our large proportion of first generation college students and our need to make our community as comfortable as possible, it's the top priority at my library. And all of this means that emotional labor is central to the job our library associates do.

Because it is central to their job, I need to support my staff as much as I can. I have instituted a required professional development policy - everyone must spend at least an hour each week, undisturbed and on the clock, learning. But I leave the topic up to them. Self-paced learning on a topic of their own choosing is part of the support, but more important still is the guaranteed time away from the public eye.

Emotional labor is no doubt hard work, but I think it's hard because it's so necessary. And since it's so necessary, I - as the boss - need to support the people doing the hard work. I - as the boss - need to support the mental health of my staff. This is just a small thing I've started doing, but I know I need to do more. I need to develop a safety valve for when things aren't smooth: a method for staff to experience emotions that aren't in line with those pre-approved emotions I mentioned at the beginning of this post.

My support of staff mental health is definitely a work in progress, but I wanted to share what I've done so far. I hope it inspires other administrators to institute similar programs for similar reasons.