Managing Anxiety in Today’s Political Climate
Trauma Informed Support for Your Nervous System
Many people are experiencing increased anxiety, fear, anger, sadness, or emotional exhaustion because of the current political climate. This stress isn’t “just in your head.” It often lives in the nervous system. When political conversations and news relate to safety, identity, basic rights, finances, community belonging, or lived trauma, the nervous system interprets that as a potential threat.
If your anxiety feels louder right now, your body is responding to stress. It makes sense.
Your Nervous System Is Responding to Threat, Not “Overreacting”
From a clinical perspective, anxiety often reflects nervous system activation. The polyvagal theory helps explain this. Our nervous system has different states:
Fight/Flight: heightened anxiety, panic, irritability, urgency, restlessness
Freeze/Shutdown: numbness, exhaustion, disconnection, hopelessness, shutdown
Regulated/Safe State: grounded, steady, present, connected
Political stress can keep people stuck in fight/flight or freeze. This is especially true for individuals who have experienced trauma, discrimination, or instability before. Your body is trying to protect you.
Gentle grounding tools can help signal to the nervous system that the present moment is safe:
slow inhale… longer exhale
noticing the ground beneath your feet
naming a few things you can see or hear
placing your hand on your chest and breathing deeply
These practices don’t erase reality, but they help bring your body out of a constant emergency state.
Why the Political Climate Can Feel Traumatizing
For many, especially marginalized communities, politics is not theoretical. They are lived experiences.
People of color, immigrants, LGBTQIA+ communities, disabled individuals, religious minorities, women, low-income families, trauma survivors, and marginalized identities often carry extra stress during political seasons because policy conversations touch on safety, dignity, access, and identity.
If you feel:
hyper-alert
easily triggered by news or conversations
grief, fear, rage, or exhaustion
like your body stays tense
This is a trauma-informed nervous system response, not weakness.
Be Thoughtful About Media and News Exposure
Constant exposure to news keeps the nervous system activated. Brains are not designed to process continuous crisis cycles.
You are allowed to:
Take intentional breaks from social media
Limit how many times you check the news
Mute triggering accounts
Step back from unhelpful debates
Choose when and how you engage
This is not avoidance — it is nervous system care.
Focus on What You Can Control
Anxiety pulls attention to everything unknown and uncontrollable. Refocusing on what is within your control can reduce helplessness.
You can control:
How much news do you consume
How do you care for your mental health
When you rest
How you engage politically and socially
Who you talk to and who you don’t
You can choose to participate, advocate, vote, rest, organize, or step back when needed. Boundaries are a mental health tool.
Create Spaces of Grounding and Safety
Your nervous system needs safe anchors. Notice what actually helps your body feel settled.
This may include:
Time outdoors
Movement or stretching
Meditation, prayer, or mindfulness
Spending time with pets or loved ones
Cultural or spiritual community connection
Laughter and creativity
Rest and quiet
Even small moments matter.
It’s Normal to Feel Many Things at Once
Many people report emotional whiplash right now. You may feel hope and fear in the same week. Anger and grief. Strength and fatigue. None of this means you’re “doing it wrong.” It means you are human.
Naming your feelings without judging them helps decrease internal pressure.
When to Consider Therapy
Political stress can trigger:
Trauma responses
Panic symptoms
Depression or shutdown
Sleep problems
Relationship strain
Identity or safety fears
Burnout and emotional fatigue
Therapy provides a supportive space to process, regulate your nervous system, and build strategies to cope with uncertainty. You do not have to carry this on your own.
I offer trauma-informed, culturally responsive online therapy for adults in:
California • Florida • Washington, D.C.
We slow things down, make space for your nervous system, and support you in finding steadiness, clarity, and grounding, even when the world feels overwhelming.
If this season has been heavy on your mental health, I’m here.
