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.
The Difference Between Coping and Healing
You’ve done the hard work of surviving. This might have looked like long nights, silent days, and uncertainty about what life looks like after everything has changed. You’ve read all the books, listened to all the podcasts, and tried shifting your routines, and maybe outwardly it appears as though you’ve got it all together. But sometimes, even after all the effort, you notice that you still feel stuck. You’re not falling apart, but you’re not free and thriving either. That’s the quiet in-between space where many people find themselves: where coping has done it’s job, but healing hasn’t begun yet.
Feyre, Nesta, and the Spectrum of Trauma Responses: An ACOTAR Deep Dive
If you’ve read the A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas series, you understand that the emotions in these stories runs deep: love, grief, rage, sisterhood, family, and the weight of survival. Beneath the battles and mates, there is something all of us can relate to on a human level: how trauma shows up. And as the story tells, Feyre, Nesta, and Elain all experience their trauma in a different kind of way.