There’s a huge stigma around talking about mental health, but it’s a massive influence on our lives, our choices and our careers. Ultimately, our ability to be effective and efficient doing this work comes down to good self-care.

What does Ebola actually mean for the office, for home and for day-to-day life in West Africa at the moment? First of all, it’s important to know and understand your risk level and to take precautions accordingly. Second, it’s important to manage your self-care so that you can keep a handle on your stress.

Unless we are experiencing large-scale stress or trauma, most of us don’t pay much attention to maintaining emotional health. I think that’s a big mistake, and in the industry there are signs that this is changing.

Most of the time, self-care is about mindfulness, about being patient with yourself and willing to adjust course. All that’s required for change is the energy to initiate new patterns. We are much more powerful and capable of change than we think we are.

I’m telling you this because, to live out here, so transient, doing the work we’re doing, we can’t ignore that we’re giving up physical proximity to the ones we love. That hurts.

The sad fact of the matter is, though, that as a global changemaker, you’re likely a workaholic, and no one is ever going to tell you. If you don’t believe me, take my simple quiz below. I’ll bet you, or someone close to you, literally doesn’t have a personal life.

Well-being and satisfaction are two very important feelings to have about your work. After all, we’re after health and happiness, and it’s important to feel motivated about your aid career and pleased with your life.

I’ve heard stories from my clients about all kinds of bad bosses in aid work and international development. I think there are a lot of reasons that someone in our line of work would be a stressful supervisor.

Most of us don’t talk or think a lot about stress, which is odd, because it’s big determinant of physical and mental health. Mental stress you’re likely familiar with, but what does physical stress look like? Chances are you’re holding onto some just now, so I’ll show you.

Especially in emergencies and post-conflict environments, taking care of our emotional health and wellbeing safeguards us from acting out in ways that can quickly and irreversibly damage our international careers.

The feeling that we can impact these environments and “help these people” can be a slippery one, easily intertwined with ego and an over-investment in outcomes. However many years you deny and sacrifice yourself for the sake of your work, the outcomes of that work are not up to you.

When we look at global poverty, climate change and the multitude of challenges facing us, it can be hard not to react from a position of fear and scarcity. I’m committed to envisioning, together, a way for us to move through these challenges with vision and purpose; and I’m committed to working together to be of service where we are needed most.

When we are open and responsive to the people around us, we encourage openness and generosity to take root in our lives. The more we give our presence, the more grounded and resourced we become.

Whether or not you’re facing political unrest in the country you’re living in, preparedness is always a good idea. Take what you like and leave the rest.

Our vision of the future is a positive, multi-faceted one. We know it will take work and likely, luck, to get us there.

This is for aid workers and changemakers who believe that there can be positive, visionary change in the way we live and work together on this planet as a human community.