Updated March 18, 2025
(Things you can do right now instead of being avoidant and tuning out.)
HEY. You are NOT alone and powerless.
If you live in the US and you’re scared of what’s going on, no matter how you voted, there are things you CAN do.
Completely tuning out and being avoidant is not the answer — and it’s what people abusing power want you to do. Eeek. Please don’t do that.
It’s about BUILDING CAPACITY and STAYING ENGAGED by using self leadership tools to stay in the game. It’s a practice! Don’t give up.
Figure out the balance of engagement/disengagement that works for your capacity level. And work on building your capacity.
I compiled this list for myself and am sharing it here for you.
💪 Call your reps in congress! 5calls.org helps with this if you don’t know what to say. I understand it’s one of the most effective ways to affect policy right now. They make it so easy!
💪 Educate yourself and seek out balanced journalism. My sister told me about @tangle.news — a great resource for balanced news. It’s so important to support helpful journalism right now!! https://www.instagram.com/emilyinyourphone/ is also a great resource. Check out the Media Bias Chart here – to understand where media bias might lay with a particular outlet.
💪 Consider not supporting companies that have abandoned DEI practices — and find better resources for the things you need. It may take a bit to wean off and that’s ok. Do what you can. I believe it’s best to go local (as long as they don’t support Rump, that is.) Here’s a list of companies you may want to avoid.
💪 Take good care of yourself! Use your emotional regulation tools and use them regularly! Cry it out, go for a walk, talk with a trusted friend, seek support, move the emotion through your body.
💪 Experience and cultivate joy and pleasure! Fasc!sm relies on people being miserable and in fear. (Look at how angry Rump’s base is. He uses their fear skillfully.)
💪 Work your mindset! Fuck fear – journal it out! This is the biggest tool for me. I lay out all my fears in my journal and reframe them. I list what I’m thankful for and what I want. I allow myself to dream BIG even while scary shit is going down. I feel soooo much lighter after I journal all my shitty thoughts out. I’m back in my empowered state. Soooo important right now to use tools that help you feel empowered.
💪 Show up for a protest to not feel alone.
💪 Plan trips and fun things!
💪 Read books to help your perspective. One that comes to mind is “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl – about someone who lived through the holocaust. It was a super impactful read for me and something I think about when things get hard. Very much about mind over matter.
💪 Have brave, open conversations with people you know who voted different than you, to try to understand them. It’s a practice and you aren’t going to change their mind, but you can at least have understanding. (Honestly this one I’m not entirely ready for but eventually I’ll build my capacity for it through taking care of myself.)
💪 Get in community with other supportive people. Know that it may get worse before it gets better. And prep for that by taking the best care of yourself and being around other people that help your mindset. Join an IRL club or event. Connect with people.