TAKING CARE OF OUR MENTAL HEALTH
The dire crisis rippling through America because of the Trumpocalypse is affecting my mental health.
I have to concentrate with all my might to keep from feeling demoralized. This is true even though my own mental health has always been very good, in part thanks to the many years of great psychotherapy I have benefited from.
It’s also true that I am relatively immune so far from its literal consequences. For me, there has been no job loss, no hike in health insurance premiums, no immigrants among family members.
But I tremble and grieve to imagine how it’s affecting our collective mental health.
The Mental Health Crisis Under the Trumpocalypse: Living Through America’s Unraveling
There is an acute quality to the suffering millions of Americans are experiencing right now: a grinding, relentless anxiety that comes not from a single catastrophic event but from watching the systematic dismantling of institutions and protections we have taken for granted.
Donald Trump’s main advisor and enforcer in perpetrating the flood of atrocities is a vicious bully named Russell Vought. He is the architect of Project 2025 and is implementing it with cruel glee. Vought serves as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. From this perch, he has been deconstructing federal agencies and spending programs piece by piece.
With demented malice, Trump posted an AI video in which he portrayed Russell Vought as the mythical Grim Reaper wielding his scythe of death. See it here: https://tinyurl.com/VoughtReaper
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Trump’s team includes many other horrible people, as well. The psychological toll of watching them wreak their swath of destruction is staggering.
The crisis we’re feeling isn’t a personal failing. It’s a rational response to an unprecedented assault on American civic life.
Many of us are experiencing depression and anxiety as we try to move forward without a road map, feeling increasingly powerless and helpless as institutions capitulate to administration demands.
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The Scope of the Disaster
For a full list of all the ways the Trump Administration is waging war against America, go here: https://tinyurl.com/TrumpWarAgainstAmerica
In the face of this terrifying onslaught, the Trump administration has dismantled 30 years of federal mental health and substance use leadership by eliminating SAMHSA (the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) and gutting more than 40 different mental health and substance use programs.
The administration’s budget proposals show SAMHSA zeroed out entirely, ending critical services including crisis care, programs serving children and families, tribes, unhoused individuals, those in criminal justice systems, and pregnant and postpartum women.
Think about the cruelty of that timing: Americans are experiencing record levels of depression and anxiety, and the response is to eliminate the agencies designed to help them.
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The Compounding Trauma
Trump has signed an executive order allowing police to arrest and forcibly institutionalize poor Americans who are unhoused, deemed mentally ill, or struggling with addiction, incarcerating them indefinitely with no provisions to protect people from abuse or the political misuse of psychiatric labels.
The order raises profound worries about risks to LGBTQ youth and other vulnerable groups, particularly given the administration’s targeting of transgender people and others with disabilities.
For marginalized communities, the psychological burden is exponentially heavier. Many are experiencing heightened fears around issues such as mass deportations and limitations to gender-affirming care, creating a sense of persistent uncertainty and unpredictability.
The Psychological Mechanism of Authoritarian Stress
What makes this moment even more psychologically poisonous is the deliberate nature of the chaos.
For months in the run-up to the 2024 election, trump denied he planned to draw from the horrific Project 2025 agenda to destroy America. Any sensible person knew he was lying, and now his lies are laid bare: The chief architect of Project 2025, Russell Vought , is dictating trump’s every move.
Vought has “referred to a ‘post-constitutional’ era” and has “bragged about wanting to traumatize” federal workers. For him and his thuggish cronies, the cruelty is the point. They thrive on perpetrating brutality, inflicting pain, and propelling waves of terror through the American collective psyche.
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For Those More Directly Impacted
Consider the federal workers who have dedicated their careers to public service, now facing mass termination. Vought has explicitly stated his intention to paint federal workers as “villains” and “put them in trauma.”
Imagine showing up to work every day not knowing if today is the day you lose your livelihood, if your expertise will be dismissed, if your life’s work will be erased.
Consider immigrants and their families, living under the constant threat of deportation raids. Consider people struggling with addiction who relied on programs that no longer exist. Consider young people trying to build lives in a country that seems determined to eliminate their futures.
Practicing Self-Care in a Dire Moment
The self-care advice typically offered—limit news consumption, practice mindfulness, focus on what you can control—can feel insultingly inadequate when democracy is under assault and we feel the bullies’ hatred in our blood and bones.
But there are practices that can help us maintain our humanity and equilibrium.
1. Acknowledge the reality without being consumed by it. Find healthy ways to reduce stress rather than denying or ignoring our feelings. Allow people to grieve the loss of dreams and change expectations for the future rather than staying stuck in anger.
The grief is real. The anger is justified. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
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2. Manage the Firehose of Fear. Set boundaries with news. Doomscrolling feeds anxiety. Choose when and how long you’ll engage with political updates.
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3. Don’t just read grim news. Make it a point to expose yourself to music, art, nature, comedy, and stories of resistance and triumph. It retrains the nervous system to remember joy.
Many people out there right now are passionately devoted to creating beauty and wonders and miracles. To keep track of them, I highly suggest you check in regularly with three compendiums of very good news:
David Byrne’s REASON TO BE CHEERFUL: https://reasonstobecheerful.world/
THE GOOD NEWS NETWORK: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/
FIX THE NEWS: https://tinyurl.com/FixTheNews
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4. Ground the Body, Calm the Nerves. Breathe low and slow. Place your hand on your belly; inhale to a count of four, exhale to six. Signal safety to your body.
Move. Walk, stretch, dance. Physical release metabolizes stress hormones.
Ritualize rest. Create a nightly wind-down. Dim lights, turn off screens, read or journal. Protect sleep like a sacred right.
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5. Find Each Other. Mutual aid beats solitary despair. Join or start a support circle, whether political, spiritual, or artistic.
Talk feelings, not just facts. Fear dissolves faster when named aloud in trusted company.
Humor and play are medicine. Laughter is rebellion; joy is resistance.
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6. Reclaim Agency in Small, Fierce Acts. Pick one cause. Trying to save everything burns you out; focus sharpens hope.
Do something tactile. Write postcards, attend a rally, cook for neighbors. Schedule regular check-ins with friends. Physical actions counter helplessness.
Celebrate wins, however small. Each petition signed or friend consoled is proof you are not powerless.
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7. Protect the Vulnerable, Protect Yourself. Check in on at-risk friends. LGBTQ+ youth, immigrants, disabled folks. Sometimes a single supportive text can make a difference.
Share resources. Crisis hotlines, local clinics, therapy funds: Circulate them. Remember your limits. Compassion fatigue is real. You’re not betraying anyone if you take breaks.
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8. Protect your capacity for sustained resistance. This won’t be over quickly.
Burning out serves no one. Know your own limits and boundaries. Being compassionate with yourself reduces hesitation to speak up and helps daily functioning.
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9. Seek Help Without Shame. Therapy, support groups, and hotlines exist for crises like this. Use them.
If you can’t access professional care, lean into peer counseling, clergy, trusted elders, or healing practices rooted in your culture.
Asking for help is an act of solidarity, not weakness.
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10. Document what is happening. Write down what you’re witnessing. The gaslighting will be intense. Your own records will help you trust your perceptions.
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11. Anchor in Meaning and Values. Define your compass. Ask: What do I refuse to surrender, no matter what the tyrannical regime dismantles?
Hold onto the future. Imagine the society we are still capable of building. Visualization is a psychological shield against despair.
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Join the national NO KINGS Protest on October 18: https://www.nokings.org/
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The Bottom Line
Here’s what the sickos can’t take from us: our ability to see clearly, to care for each other, to remember what we’re fighting for. Our shivers and sobs are not weakness. They’re evidence of our humanity in an inhumane time. We must hold onto that. We will need it for what comes next.
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Links to all my other stuff: linktr.ee/robbrezsny
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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
Week of October 9
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libra architect Christopher Alexander developed a sixth sense about why some spaces feel comfortable while others are alienating. What was the source of his genius? He avoided abstract principles and studied how people actually used spaces. His best architecture soulfully coordinated the relationships between indoor and outdoor areas, private and public zones, and individual needs and community functions. The “quality without a name” was the term he used to identify the profound aliveness, wholeness, and harmony of spaces where people love to be. In the coming weeks, Libra, I hope you access your own natural gift for curating relationships and cultivating balance. Your solutions should serve multiple needs. Elegant approaches will arise as you focus on connections rather than isolated parts.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Some medieval mystics claimed that angels spoke in paradoxes because the truth was too rich for simple logic. These days, I believe you Scorpios are extra fluent in paradox. You are raw yet powerful, aching and grateful, confounded but utterly clear. You are both dying and being reborn. My advice: Don’t try to resolve the contradictions. Immerse yourself in them, bask in them, and allow them to teach you all they have to teach. This may entail you sitting with your sadness as you laugh and letting your desire and doubt interweave. The contradictions you face with open-heartedness will gift you with sublime potency and authority.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The ancient city of Petra, built in sandstone cliffs in what’s now Jordan, was mostly hidden from the outside world for centuries. In 1812, Sagittarian Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt rediscovered it by disguising himself as a pilgrim. He trained extensively in the Arabic language, Islamic culture, and local customs so he could travel incognito. You Sagittarians can benefit from a similar strategy in the coming weeks. Life will conspire to bring you wonders if you thoroughly educate yourself about the people and situations you would like to influence. I invite you to hike your empathy up to a higher octave, cultivate respect for what’s unfamiliar, and make yourself extra available for exotic and inspiring treasures.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): During the 1800s, countless inventors chased the impossible dream of perpetual-motion machines: contraptions that would run endlessly without any fuel source. Every attempt failed; such devices bucked the fundamental laws of physics. But here’s good news, Capricorn: You are close to cracking the code on a metaphorical version of perpetual motion. You are cultivating habits and rhythms that could keep you steady and vital for a long time to come. I predict the energy you’re generating will be self-sustaining.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Octopuses have three hearts and blue blood. They taste with their skin, solve puzzles, and squeeze their entire bodies through coin-sized holes. No wonder they are referred to as the aliens of Earth, just as you Aquarians are the aliens of the zodiac. According to my analysis, now is a perfect time for you to embrace your inner octopus. I authorize you to let your strangeness lead the way. You have the right and duty to fully activate your multidimensional mind. Yes, you may be misunderstood by some. But your suppleness, radical empathy, and nonlinear genius will be exactly what’s needed. Be the one who sees escape routes and paths to freedom that no one else perceives. Make the impossible look natural.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Dear Pisces, it’s like you’re in one of those dreams when you’re exploring the attic or basement of your home and discover secret rooms you didn’t realize existed. This is good! It means you are finding uncharted frontiers in what you assumed was familiar territory. It suggests you are ready to see truths you weren’t ready for before. Congrats! Keep wandering and wondering, and you will discover what you didn’t even know you needed to know.
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ARIES (March 21-April 19): No relationship is like any other. The way we bond with another has a distinctive identity that embodies the idiosyncratic chemistry between us. So in my view, it’s wrong to compare any partnership to a supposedly ideal template. Fortunately, you Aries are in a phase when you can summon extra wisdom about this and other relaxing truths concerning togetherness. I recommend you devote your full creativity and ingenuity to helping your key bonds ripen and deepen.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Poet Rainer Maria Rilke advised, “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves.” These days, dear Taurus, that’s your power move: to stay in conversation with mystery without forcing premature answers. Not everything needs to be fixed or finalized. Your gift is to be a custodian of unfolding processes: to cherish and nourish what’s ripening. Trust that your questions are already generating the early blooms of a thorough healing.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I am a great admirer of Bart Simpson, a fictional fourth-grade student on the animated TV show *The Simpsons*. He is a constant source of unruly affirmations that we could all benefit from incorporating into our own behavior when life gets comically weird. Since I think you’re in such a phase now, Gemini, I am offering a batch of Bart-style gems. For best results, use them to free yourself from the drone of the daily routine and scramble your habitual ways of understanding the world. Now here’s Bart: 1. “I will not invent a new religion based on bubble gum.” 2. “I will not sell bottled ‘invisible water.’” 3. “I will not try to hypnotize my friends, and I will not tell co-workers they are holograms.” 4. “I will not claim to be a licensed pyrotechnician.” 5. “I will not use the Pythagorean theorem to summon demons.” 6. “I will not declare war on Thursdays.”
CANCER (June 21-July 22): During its entire life, the desert plant Welwitschia mirabilis grows just two leaves. They never wither or fall off but continually grow, twist, split, and tatter for hundreds of years. They keep thriving even as their ends are worn or shredded by wind and sand. I love how wild and vigorous they look, and I love how their wildness is the result of their unfailing persistence and resilience. Let’s make Welwitschia mirabilis your inspirational symbol in the coming weeks, Cancerian. May it motivate you to nurture the quiet, enduring power in your depths that enables you to express yourself with maximum uniqueness and authenticity.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Have you been to Morocco? I love that so many houses there are built around spacious courtyards with intricate tilework and lush gardens. Sooner or later, of course, the gorgeous mosaic-like floors need renovations. The artisans who do the work honor the previous artistry. “In rebuilding,” one told me, “our goal is to create new magnificence that remembers the old splendor.” I hope you pursue an approach like that in the coming weeks, Leo. The mending and healing you undertake should nourish the soulfulness you have cultivated, even as you polish and refine.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo novelist Agatha Christie often planned her elaborate plots while cleaning her house or washing dishes. She said such repetitive, physical tasks unlocked her creativity, allowing ideas to emerge without force. I suggest you draw inspiration from her method in the coming weeks. Seek your own form of productive distraction. Instead of wrestling with a problem in a heroic death match, lose yourself in simple, grounding actions that free your mind to wander. I am pretty sure that your most brilliant and lasting solutions will emerge when you’re not trying hard to come up with brilliant and lasting solutions.
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Thank you for acknowledging how hard this is, and for the solid resources. 💞
Instructions for life: CARE. Care about others, care for yourself. Martyrdom is ego. First, care. Love will follow 🧡