Among effective altruists, there’s a particular pattern of mental health problems related to feeling guilty about not doing enough to help the world: feeling guilty setting personal boundaries, or worrying that you’re not smart enough to make a difference, or thinking that what you’re doing is good but just not “good enough” to matter. Desperation Hamster Wheels is a great description of one EA’s experience with this, Helen Toner’s sustainable motivation talk is good, and the Replacing Guilt series on Minding Our Way seems to be particularly valuable in helping find a healthy balance to these thoughts so that you actually make progress toward your goals.
If you want more resources, Scott Alexander’s new psychiatry practice has a growing database of mental-health-related resources. Ewelina Tur, an EA therapist, has a list of mental health resources here, including workbooks, mental health apps, and audiobooks. The EA Mental Health Navigator website has a list of virtual mental health resources here.
Lynette Bye’s post on Resources On Mental Health And Finding A Therapist, which you link in the first footnote, also includes links out to several resources:
ah, great flag, thank you! i’ve watched Helen’s talk before and found it helpful, but forgot to put it in, so i’ll add that in now.
also adding a section for resources that i haven’t personally viewed, for posterity. very much appreciate this!