Episode Details

This is a link post.

An adventure through burnout, guilt, and moral obligation

I am re-posting this from my Substack in the lead-up to EAG San Francisco this weekend. It can be hard to find mental health resources from EAs who "get it". I want to help. Feel free to reach out for light support, or just to chat!

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In the winter of 2023, I burned out from animal activism. I had been involved in high-stakes criminal cases against corporate animal abusers and had a front-row seat to legal wins that were covered in national media outlets like The New York Times. I felt on top of the world. But unbeknownst to me, I was about to come crashing to the ground. I quit my job, exhausted and burnt out, and solo traveled the world for a year before returning to animal advocacy.

This is a story of how that happened. It's a story of how we can sometimes do activism for the wrong reasons: in my case, out of moral guilt, and an effort to feel a sense of self-worth that I struggled to find outside of my work.

It's a journey through the wounds that drive [...]

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Outline:

(00:12) An adventure through burnout, guilt, and moral obligation

(01:47) A drowning stranger

(06:08) A burnout-turned-world adventure

(08:59) A turn within

(11:02) A return home

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First published:
February 9th, 2026

Source:
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/xxLLoSbREDwyP5Hbz/the-philosophy-paper-that-haunted-me

Linkpost URL:
https://urbananimal.substack.com/p/the-philosophy-paper-that-haunted

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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