Mental Health Survival Guide for the Trumpocalypse
10 Ways to Protect Your Well-Being While America Loses its Mind
I had posted about my struggle to stomach political news and over 400 of you shared how you were coping. I had summarized the comments in my last few articles. It is very apparent that many of you feel emotional distress and seek ways to cope. So it occurred to me to turn to the experts to share with you advice on things you can start doing now, if you aren’t already, to best protect yourself. Below are 10 practical actions to help you stay psychological steady while remaining engaged. Following these steps will not only help you, but also enable you to stay strong to fight and help others as well.
1. Set Boundaries Around News Consumption
“I only check the news once in the morning and once before bed. Otherwise, I spiral.”
Limit your attention to news to one or two times a day. Try to avoid social media feeds, sensational headlines and posts, and doomscrolling. Focus instead on a few trusted, curated sources of information to stay atop of the news. My personal favourites on Substack are Heather Cox Richardson and Aaron Parnas. Also consider “media fasts” when needed or on a weekly basis. Taking a day or two off will not make you less informed but it may help your resilience.
2. Ground Yourself in Daily Routines
“My morning walks with the dog keep me sane—it’s a small ritual that reminds me the world still turns.”
Develop simple physical routines, such as morning walks, cooking, or stretching to help anchor your nervous system. Even when things feel unstable, it’s also important to maintain sleep, meal and movement routines.
3. Get Physical
“I started using the Calm app. Just ten minutes of breathing makes the chaos more bearable.”
It may help to develop a practice of relaxation that comes from deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, stretching or meditation. I have personally enjoyed the Headspace app which often runs free programs. You might also try the apps Balance, Calm or Breethe, which have free programs as well. And don't forget Youtube. You could try Gentle Stretch for Senior Beginners for example or the extremely popular Yoga With Adriene. Or Gentle Stretching & Breaking Exercises by Luba.
Likewise you may find substantial anxiety or low mood improvement with taking up more vigorous exercise. Research shows it can be as effective as talk therapy. Maybe you can walk more and download the free app called Pedometer++ to track your steps. If safe for you to do so, start running if you don’t already. I have used the free Just Run Zero to 5k to go from nothing to running 5k in 8 weeks.
4. Turn Anxiety Into Action
“I send postcards to voters every week. It helps me feel like I’m doing something useful.”
As I’ve mentioned many times before, it is critical to find ways to reduce your sense of helplessness and inability to control the chaos you are witnessing. It will be very helpful to step away from your screens and look for ways to take control through action. You cannot do everything, so it is advised that each person pick ONE ISSUE or ONE GROUP to focus on.
Actions might include making financial donations or volunteering your time to one of many worthy efforts that are fighting the administration or supporting the most vulnerable who are impacted by drastic policy changes. Get involved in organizing efforts within your community. You may find it useful to check out local options at the websites of 50501 or Mobilize. Call and write your reps, encourage people to register to vote or to get their passports. It’s small actions but they all matter. And any action you take will help your well-being.
5. Stay Connected
“Honestly, texting with my sister about the latest insanity is what keeps me grounded.”
Talk to others who understand, even if just to say “this is awful.” Connection is protection. We absolutely need social connection during emotionally challenging times, and when it comes to political chaos, you need to be around people who share your viewpoint.
Ideally that connection is through in-person conversation or group chats. You might find likeminded people by volunteering in ways noted under #4. But in the interim, hopefully you find some camaraderie at Canada Resists.
6. Consume Stories of Resistance and Survival
“Reading about how people hid Jews in WWII reminds me that ordinary people can be brave.”
The experience for many Americans right now is sadly way too familiar in history. But it has been well documented. It may help you to read about how people have effectively resisted authoritarian regimes in the past. It may also give you perspective and a sense of hope.
Three memoirs that I would recommend from your local library are the following: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E Frankl (4.37/5 on Goodreads), The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee (4.43/5 on Goodreads), and The Return: Fathers, Sons & the Land in Between by Hisham Matar (4.16/5 on Goodreads).
Although not memoirs, I also strongly encourage everyone to read Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny, which provides 20 lessons for combating authoritarianism, as well as Gene Sharp’s From Dictatorship to Democracy which outlines 198 methods of nonviolent resistance.
7. Make an Exit or Emergency Plan
“I’ve got copies of my passport, pet records, and a go bag by the door. I hope I never need it.”
As I have written prior, having an exit plan and/or an emergency plan is critical. While you may never have to use it, creating it can build your sense of resilience, and lower your anxiety by increasing your sense of control and clarifying your “worse case” scenario. Think of things such as where you might relocate, obtaining or renewing your passport, a go-bag, necessary documents, a support network. Sadly my readers probably do not see making such a plan as outlandish…but if you do, just think of the unimaginable things the Trump administration has already done, how he has failed to miss a step in the pathway of past authoritarians.
I will be writing in the near future on preparing for an emergency as well as advice on knowing when it is time to enact it.
8. Get Outside & Close to Nature
“I go out to my garden every morning, even if just to touch the soil. It reminds me that I’m still there..”
There is a strong body of research showing that spending time in nature significantly benefits mental and emotional health. Even 10 min doses of nature provide measurable benefits, on anxiety, depression and mood and 120 minutes in nature per week ins lined to better mental health and overall well being. Nature where you find it, doesn’t change very fast (attempts at National forest sell off aside). Days, weeks, months and years of political turmoil, and the trees continue to grow, the squirrels keep collecting nuts, and the moose are still doing moose things. They do not know of nor care about Washington DC, and you can temporarily join them. It reminds you that the world is much bigger and more sacred than the temporary whims of a psychopathic leader.
9. Be Present & Make Space for Joy
“Every day I take 15 minutes to watch the birds outside.”
Is this where my moose memes and Hugo the dog against despair fits? Don’t feel guilty for feeling joy or enjoying the small things: from animals, to music, laughter to art. They are worthy of preservation and critical to our well-being. They keep us human, separate us from all the crap, and help our resilience. When you think of it, try to be in the moment and seek out those small everyday joys to sustain your sanity and remind you why you’re fighting.
10. Seek Mental Health Support
“My therapist says I have ‘political trauma.’ Naming it actually helped a lot.”
Political trauma is real. Therapists, especially trauma-informed or activist-aware ones, can help. Many offer sliding scale prices or virtual sessions now. You might look at 7cups which provides both free emotional support listeners 24/7 as well as low cost therapy. You can also go to this government website (while it’s still offered!) to find mental health support that takes your insurance or that offers a sliding scale (click on that option under payment assistance available on the left hand side): https://findtreatment.gov/locator
If you feel you or someone you know is in mental health crisis, please call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org, a 24/7 confidential Crisis line.
Final Words
These are challenging times for many and you are not in this alone. Do not let Trump, the Heritage Foundation, or MAGA win by allowing them to live rent free in your head. You can fight back and sustain your mental and emotional well-being by cultivating some healthy new practices. It doesn’t mean you can avoid the ill feelings that will come and go, but it will build your resilience, help you live your life and give you strength to keep resisting.
Thank you for reading!
Canada Resists
Thank you for this post. As a white Americans who donated to Democrats in the 2024 election, do we need to prepare to leave our home and seek refuge (asylum) elsewhere? I hope you were only referring to natural disasters such as tornados, hurricanes, floods, wildfires. When we lived in Marin County, California we had evacuation drills for wildfires. Mill Valley, where we lived, was heavily wooded with narrow winding roads going up and down the hills. We’re thinking of all the people in Canada who have been evacuated. Also the horrible, ongoing tragedy with the Texas floods. And, there is a wildfire in the Grand Canyon.
We get our news from my son, such as the bombing of Tehran. Never would we want news about the regime in DC before sleep.
Thank you for book recommendations! I visit British Columbia many times
and find it very friendly with far less problems than most of the US. About
knocking down MAGA, I’m amazed at how uninformed most Americans are.
However, speaking of postcards, every down ballot election I sent out post-
cards for, we won. We will overcome by getting more Democrats who will
resist into office. ONE MORE THING, I don’t understand why blue states, especially my California, aren’t simply forging close relationships with both Canada and Mexico. I’m trying to get this across in California politics.