Building Resilience While Marginalized (Insight From an Inclusive Naturopathic Doctor in Toronto)

As an LGBTQ2SIA+ affirming naturopathic doctor in Toronto, I work with many people who experience chronic stress from microaggressions and systemic oppression - and it affects their health.

As a naturopathic doctor, I was always taught to “treat the root cause”. But when the root cause is systemic inequality, how do you get through the day, heal your burnout, and feel as ok as it’s possible to in a sick society?

Because at the end of the day, you do need to keep getting up every day, caring for yourself and your people, and doing your part to make this world a better place.

Which means you need to have the ability to respond and recover in the face of oppression.

That’s resilience.

Strong resilience can be the difference between someone intentionally using the wrong name for you ruining your day or just making you mad for a few minutes. It can be the difference between being refused treatment by your doctor and giving up, or booking another appointment to advocate for yourself. Or it can just be the difference between dreading going back to work on Monday and feeling refreshed and ready after your weekend.

So how do you develop resilience? Well, start with the foundation.

Sleep is recovery

It’s impossible to recover quickly if you’re low on sleep. Have you ever noticed that when you’re sleep deprived, you’re more emotional, more sluggish, and find it harder to handle stress? That’s the opposite of resilience.

Unfortunately, the stress and anxiety of Living In This World can sometimes make it hard to sleep, causing a vicious cycle.

If sleep is a struggle for you, you may want to see a naturopathic doctor like me to really analyze why you’re having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or feeling rested in the morning. But before seeing a professional, you can make some really impactful changes on your own - get my guide here.

Herbal support for stress from an affirming naturopathic doctor

If you’re really worked up, it can be hard to calm down and bounce back, even if you do all of the things I suggest in my sleep guide. Sometimes, we just need a little outside help.

For this, I love to turn to our plant friends, which can help bring your nervous system into a more restful state. A simple tea like chamomile or lemon balm can soothe you when stress is tying your stomach into knots, and works almost immediately.

If you need more consistent daily support, an adaptogen like ashwagandha, rhodiola, Siberian ginseng, or licorice might be what you need.

I often recommend tailored teas and herbal blends for my patients - and even folks who don’t see my in-person in Toronto can get their herbal formulas sent to them anywhere in Ontario.

Photo by Liat Aharoni

Nutrition strategies to support stress resilience

Nourishing yourself in a way that gives you the energy to recover, the stability to stay level-headed, and the motivation to get at it again can be a game-changer.

But I understand that cooking fancy healthy meals is the last thing on your mind when you come home from a long day of dealing with people’s nonsense. Unfortunately, eating toast for dinner won’t help you recover from the day, leading to another day that wears you down even more, leaving you with only the energy to make toast. And so the cycle continues.

But it doesn’t have to!

Get my guide to 30+ nourishing and delicious meals that can be made when you have exactly zero motivation to cook.

Mental health support and therapy for resilience

Beyond the slow campaign for social equality, and our exhausting individual efforts of self-advocacy, there’s only so much we can do to change how we are treated by the world.

Which leaves one, more immediate factor within our control: how we respond to that treatment.

Challenging internalized beliefs about ourselves, healing trauma, and reframing our responses to poor treatment are all ways that we can prevent small slights from snowballing into issues that take up way too much time and energy.

Far from denying the reality of our external experience, these mindset shifts can instead put us in charge of our internal experience, allowing us to choose not to let injustice take more from us than it already has.

My favourite ways to work on mindset are meditation and therapy.

Community care as burnout prevention

Humans aren’t meant to deal with life alone. Especially if you’re experiencing a lot of stress because you belong to a marginalized community, it can help a lot to connect with other people who have had similar experiences, whether to get advice, get help, or just vent to someone who understands.

If you feel like you don’t have people in your life who can support you in all the areas that you need help with, check out my blog post on community care, which takes you through how to identify gaps and find community to fill them.

Photo by Chona Kasinger for Disabled And Here

Burnout doesn’t happen in a vacuum. When you’re navigating oppression, microaggressions, or healthcare spaces that don’t feel safe, your nervous system is carrying more than most people realize.

Resilience strategies matter, but so does having care that recognizes the context you’re living in. Inclusive, affirming healthcare reduces the extra load your body is forced to carry and gives you a place where you don’t have to brace yourself just to ask for help.

If you’re feeling worn down and want support that takes your lived experience seriously, you don’t have to figure this out alone. If you’re based in Ontario, you can book a discovery call with me to see if working together feels like a good fit.