Special Series (Part 2) - The Room We’re In: Unpacking the Systems That Shape Us
PART 2: The System Is Making Us Sick: Cycles of Violence, Extraction, and Oppression
Have you ever felt like no matter how hard you work or how much you care, it’s never enough? That exhaustion, burnout, and disconnection are just the price you pay for trying to make a difference? These feelings aren’t just personal—they’re symptoms of a system that thrives on cycles of harm. The dominant ontology we live within is built on exploitation—of labour, land, and people—and it perpetuates violence while blaming individuals for the suffering it creates.
This system didn’t emerge by accident. It’s the result of colonial and capitalist structures that value extraction and control over care and connection. Understanding how these cycles work is the first step toward breaking free from them and imagining a different way of being.
A System Built on Extraction
At the heart of the dominant ontology is the logic of extraction. Whether it’s the exploitation of natural resources, the commodification of human labour, or the erasure of cultural practices, the system operates by taking as much as possible while giving little in return.
In helping professions like education, aid work, and social justice advocacy, this extraction often takes the form of emotional labour. Professionals are expected to give endlessly—time, energy, compassion—without adequate support or acknowledgement. Burnout becomes inevitable because the system is designed to deplete, not sustain.
This logic isn’t confined to individuals; it also impacts communities and ecosystems. Environmental degradation, intergenerational trauma, and systemic inequities are all symptoms of a system that prioritizes profit and efficiency over relationships and care.
Who Pays the Price?
The cycles of harm perpetuated by the dominant ontology disproportionately affect marginalized groups. Colonial axes of power—such as race, class, gender, and ability—determine who benefits from the system and who bears the brunt of its violence.
For example:
Indigenous Communities: Endure ongoing genocide, land dispossession, and systemic oppression, while standing as vital land defenders resisting environmental destruction and advocating for relational ways of being.
Racialized Communities: Face systemic barriers that exacerbate intergenerational trauma and limit access to healing resources.
Women and Caregivers: Are often undervalued and overburdened with unpaid or underpaid emotional and physical labor.
LGBTQ2+ Communities: Navigate pervasive discrimination, erasure, and systemic inequities, leading to increased mental health challenges and barriers to access care and support.
Disabled and Neurodiverse People: Navigate systems designed to exclude and devalue them, facing pervasive barriers to accessibility, systemic ableism, and dismissal of their unique ways of knowing and being.
The system’s design is inherently violent, forcing those already marginalized to carry the heaviest burdens while blaming them for their struggles.
A Cycle of Disconnection
One of the most insidious effects of this system is how it disconnects us—from ourselves, from each other, and from the Earth. By isolating us in our suffering and framing it as a personal failing, the system keeps us from recognizing the collective nature of our struggles.
When we’re too exhausted or ashamed to challenge the status quo, the cycle continues. Disconnection becomes both a symptom and a tool of oppression, preventing us from building the relationships and communities needed to create change.
An Invitation
What if your burnout, exhaustion, and frustration weren’t personal failures but signs of a system that is fundamentally broken? What if, instead of blaming yourself, you began to see your struggles as part of a larger pattern of systemic harm?
I invite you to reflect on how cycles of extraction and oppression have shaped your life and work. What would it look like to shift your focus from individual solutions to collective healing and systemic change? Together, we can challenge the system that makes us sick and imagine a world rooted in care, connection, and justice.
