Hey y’all. If you’re carrying the weight of the seemingly endless civic unrest, you’re not alone. You are supported and we are here for you.

here* is what we’ve got this week:

• SAMHSA, the agency that works on mental illness and addiction, is shrinking. What it means for mental health aid for those who need it most.

• Clap back from Senator Chris Murphy (D) on federal budget cuts to mental health programming in schools.

• A move for burnout to be considered a form of depression.

• Tools for caring and coping in a fraying America.

Mental health and work are ever-evolving (it’s exhausting). here* is the latest.

• SAMHSA, the country’s main mental health agency, is in the process of being dissolved and experts are concerned. Read more on the potential impact here. (NPR)

• Senator Chris Murphy presses Education Secretary Linda McMahon on budget cuts to mental health programming nationwide. See what was discussed in the recent budget hearing here. (CBS)

• A CUNY Professor Emeritus wants to shift how managers and mental health providers diagnose and treat burnout by recognizing it as occupational depression. (CUNY)

There are only 24 hours in the day. here* are your weekly wellness shortcuts.

• ☎️ Want to deepen your friendships? Give this sweet TikTok trend a try. 

• 😴 Looking for a happier morning? Try these 9 things sleep experts recommend.

• 🎵 You may not always have the time or space for a sound bath so try this Spotify playlist next time you need some sound healing in your life.

Things I’m loving atm.

• 📇 These values cards I’ve been using in therapy to helped get my life in check.

• 🖍️ Coloring in these pages when the mind won’t shut the fck up

• ✊ This guy.

For those feeling the weight of this moment

This weekend brought news of ICE raids in Los Angeles and in turn a number of protesters taking to the streets. As of about 9:00pm ET the turmoil continues, with both the National Guard and Marines being deployed to the city.

This is all happening under a second Trump term already marked by democratic backsliding, targeted violence, and a deliberate erosion of norms and protections.

For those targeted, this is terror. For many others, it is despair, outrage, and exhaustion. The mind tries to stay informed. The body quietly absorbs the cost.

Living through this kind of political moment is not a neutral experience. It lands in the nervous system. It accumulates. It wears down mental and physical health in ways we often can’t name until it is too late.

This issue offers tools to help care for yourself and others. These tools will not fix the politics of our country but hopefully they will help you remain upright inside of them.

It is normal to feel disoriented. It is normal to feel exhausted. It is normal to find yourself struggling to concentrate, to rest, to hope.

The nervous system under strain

Living under creeping authoritarianism is not like living under normal stress. You are not reacting to a single event. You are adapting to a constant state of instability and that long-term exposure can certainly increase anxiety, depression, health risks, and the damage the immune system. In these moments you might notice:

• Trouble concentrating

• Shallow breathing

• Physical tension

• Emotional numbness

• Doomscrolling until 2 AM

• A vague sense of dread you can’t quite place

None of the above is a personal failure. It is the nervous system working as designed in an unstable environment.

Some simple ways to interrupt the stress loop:

• Place hands or feet on a cold surface for 30 seconds.

• Practice 4-6 breathing (inhale 4 counts, exhale 6 counts).

• Move your body for 5–10 minutes, no goal, no tracker.

• Log off for one intentional hour.

These small individual actions will not stop systemic harm but they may help you stay resourced to face it.

If you are directly impacted

For immigrant communities, these are not abstract policy shifts. They are immediate threats to safety, freedom, and family.

Fear is an understandable response. Preparation is an act of care.

Know your rights:

• ACLU - Know Your Rights for Immigrants

• United We Dream - Emergency Preparedness Toolkit

Legal hotlines:

• Immigrant Defenders Law Center - LA Rapid Response

Community support:

• Mutual Aid LA Network

If you know someone who may be at risk, check in. Share these tools. Help them feel less alone in a moment designed to isolate.

If you are protesting

Protest is a deeply human act. It is also a deeply embodied one. Your body experiences protest as a heightened state of alert and effort.

Without care, protest can easily lead to burnout, trauma responses, or physical collapse. None of which serve you or the movement.

Before you go:

• Write legal aid numbers on your body in permanent marker.

• Wear layered, unmarked clothing.

• Bring water, snacks, and basic first aid.

• Go with others. Stay in contact.

Afterward:

• Move your body gently.

• Eat and hydrate.

• Process the experience with trusted people.

• Sleep. Rest is protest, too.

Stay in it, sustainably, for the long term if you can.

If you are on the sidelines

Many people are watching this unfold and feel stuck — too anxious to act, too depleted to show up. This is a natural nervous system response. Freeze is as normal as fight or flight.

What helps is recognizing that action has many forms. Being publicly loud is one. Quiet care is another. Both matter.

A few actions that count:

• Checking in on someone more vulnerable than you.

• Donating to trusted legal defense or mutual aid funds.

• Preparing a resource sheet and sharing it quietly in your networks.

• Taking a deliberate break from the news cycle to restore your own capacity to care.

• Sleeping. Nourishing yourself. The movements we need will not be won on unregulated nervous systems.

Authoritarianism feeds on fear and exhaustion. Rest, care, and connection are impactful acts of resistance.

The mental cost of living in this political moment is real. It is cumulative. It is unevenly distributed.

The state of the country will not get more stable this week. But your nervous system can get small moments of stability inside of it. And that matters.

Take what you need. Offer what you can. Keep going. Not alone.

That’s all for this week.

We’ll be back in your inbox next Monday. Until then, we’d love to hear from you. Let us know what content you liked or what you’d like to see more of in the next issue. You can always reply to this email for a response from me!

<3

Meg