Self-Care in the Midst of Political Unrest (and Why Therapy Is Never Neutral)
It can be hard to relax when the world feels loud, volatile, and uncertain. Political unrest doesn’t just live on the news or in our phones, it shows up in our bodies. Tight chest, shorter tempers, diassociation, and exhaustion that no amount of sleep helps. Many people say that they feel guilty for needing rest when so much feels at stake, or ashamed for being overwhelmed when others have it worse. The truth is, your nervous system doesn’t care about politics. It cares about safety. And right now, a lot of people don’t feel safe.
Therapy doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The systems shaping our lives (laws, social narratives, and power structures) shape mental health, access to care, identity, and safety. Pretending therapy is neutral often means defaulting to the status quo. When policies threaten bodily autonomy, LGBTQ+ safety, racial equality, or religious freedom, those impacts walk directly into the therapy room. Anxiety, grief, rage, numbness, and hypervigilance are normal responses to chronic uncertainty and perceived threat, not personal failures. Acknowledging this is about being honest about the water we’re all swimming in.
Self-care in times like this isn’t bubble baths and checking out forever (even though rest is still crucial). It’s intentional nervous system care while still engaging with reality. Here are a few grounding reframes that can be helpful right now:
Limit exposure without disengaging entirely! Staying informed doesn’t require nervous system flooding. Choose specific times to check the news. Mute keywords and block creators or accounts that feel triggering. Be in tune with your body and step away when it feels like overload.
Let anger exist without it eating you alive. Anger can be mobilizing, but can become harmful when it turns inward or never stops burning. Therapy can help differentiate useful anger versus chronic stress activation.
Find embodied safety, not just intellectual reassurance. No amount of logic can calm a dysregulated nervous system. Walking, stretching, temperature changes, deep pressure, and breath work often do more than positive thinking ever could!
Release the pressure to be productive in your coping. You don’t need to always optimize your grief, fear, or exhaustion. Sometimes the most radical act is letting yourself be human (within community) without fixing it.
Stay connected! Isolation can amplify distress. Community requires presence, and offers a space where you don’t need the right words to benefit from safe connection.
If everything feels heavier lately, that makes sense. You are not alone. You are responding to a world that feels unsafe for you and your community. You are valid in your outrage and desire to live in a place that supports you instead of attacking your existence. Self-care is not selfish in moments like this. It’s how you stay connected to yourself, your values, and your community without burning out or shutting down. Therapy is one place where you don’t have to pretend any of this is okay or acceptable.
If political stress, uncertainty, or grief is showing up in your body, relationships, or sense of self, you don’t need to figure it out or deal with it alone. Please reach out for support!
See below for more resources:
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988, 24/7 support)
Trans Lifeline (877-565-8860)
The Trevor Project (866-488-7386 or text START to 678678)
abortionfinder.org
RAICES (free and low-cost immigration legal services and emergency support)
True Colors United (214-461-4401)
National Immigrant Justice Center (312-660-1370)
Rainbow Railroad (rainbowrailroad.org)
Oasis Legal Services (oasislegalservices.org/get-help