Holding Rights Steady When Capacity Fluctuates
For many people, experiencing mental ill-health isn’t just a single moment or a constant state. It can change over time, and on some days, decisions seem manageable, while on others, they can feel overwhelming.
Systems aren’t built with that kind of movement in mind; they rely on clarity at fixed points.
They require decisions to be made within set timeframes, responses to be consistent, and for information to be understood and acted on quickly. When someone’s capacity to engage fluctuates, even slightly, the gap between how systems operate and how life is experienced can widen fast.
Systems struggle with this nuance, and this is where people experiencing mental ill-health can hit the point of overwhelm, not because they lack a willingness to engage.
In advocacy work, we see how this plays out in quiet, everyday ways across different systems and life circumstances.
- What happens when a letter arrives that feels difficult to understand?
- What about a meeting that moves quickly, leaving little room to pause or ask questions?
- What happens when a person needs time to reflect on a decision that is framed as urgent?
As a sample, these considerations can make people feel that their involvement is conditional on keeping up. Rights-based advocacy matters in these moments because it creates safety and support for participation.
Advocacy is not about stepping in because someone can’t decide. It is about ensuring people can stay involved in decisions that affect them, even when their personal circumstances are complex and changing. It recognises that rights don’t disappear when situations become harder, and that exercising those rights may require support that is steady, respectful and adapts to what is happening in someone’s life at that point in time.
Safe, rights-based advocacy operates in this space. It helps people understand what is being asked of them, what their options are, and what the possible consequences might be, without pressure to move faster than they are able or ready to do. It also helps ensure that when someone needs more time, that response is respected rather than treated as a problem to overcome.
Advocacy can help lighten the load of demands that accumulate around making decisions. Sometimes that means clarifying information so it makes sense, revisiting a conversation when things feel clearer, or ensuring a person understands they don’t have to hold everything alone. These are practical ways of keeping people connected to their rights.
Importantly, advocacy can help prevent disengagement. When people feel unheard or pressured, stepping back can feel like the safest option, but this can lead to decisions being made without them or opportunities being missed entirely. Rights-based advocacy helps maintain a line of connection, even when engagement looks different from one moment to the next.
Mental ill-health does not cancel a person’s right to be involved in decisions that affect them, but when systems are rigid, it can become fragile. Advocacy remains vital when systems and processes struggle to meet people where they are.
