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Trump’s Chaos is Breaking Our Bodies and Our Minds. Here's How to Fight Back. [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-06-06

Trump's authoritarian blitz isn't just breaking institutions — it's breaking into your sleep, your body, your most private thoughts. Self-care isn't selfish in this context — it's resistance strategy.

Four months into Trump's return to power, the assault on our mental and physical health is undeniable. Sleep disruption. Comfort eating. Clenched jaws at 3am. Weight gain, brain fog, and that familiar shame spiral.

If this sounds like your life lately, you're not imagining it — and you're not weak and you’re not alone.

Trump's authoritarian strategy includes deliberate psychological warfare. The relentless pace of cruelty, the daily barrage of executive orders, the sneering contempt in every lie — it's designed to overwhelm our nervous systems and break our capacity for sustained resistance.

Authoritarianism doesn't just attack through policy. It erodes the infrastructure of safety, trust, and stability we build for ourselves. It hijacks our routines, frays our clarity, and rewires how we treat ourselves. When we're exhausted, anxious, and turned against ourselves, we can't organize effectively.

That's the point.

Why Trump's Chaos Targets Your Body and Mind

Authoritarian leaders know that broken people don't resist well. When you're sleep-deprived, stress-eating, and filled with self-judgment, you have less energy for phone banking, fewer resources for sustained organizing, and diminished capacity for the clear thinking that movements require.

The psychological toll is a feature, not a side effect. Trump's chaos is designed to:

Exhaust our bandwidth for political engagement

Isolate us through shame about our struggles

Turn our energy inward toward self-criticism rather than outward toward resistance

Make basic functioning feel impossible, let alone activism

Recognition is the first step toward resistance.

Four Practices for Fighting Back

These aren't wellness tips or productivity hacks. They're resistance strategies for staying intact enough to keep fighting through 2026 and beyond.

1. Anchor in the Present

When headlines send you spiraling, interrupt the loop. Feel your feet on the floor. Notice your breath. This isn't about meditation apps — it's about refusing to let Trump's manufactured chaos hijack your nervous system. You can't think strategically when you're stuck in anxiety loops.

2. Reconnect With Your Values

Authoritarians want you to forget what you're fighting for. When the world feels upside down, ask: What do I still believe in today? Then act from that place — something real and small. Your values are your compass when everything else feels destabilized.

3. Break Isolation Through Connection

Shame thrives in isolation. Trump's strategy depends on making you feel alone and overwhelmed. Find one person you can tell the truth to. Check on a friend who's struggling. Start a small circle of people who refuse to disappear. Connection interrupts the despair spiral and reminds you that resistance is collective work.

4. Reclaim Your Body

Your body is keeping score of this political trauma. Sleep loss, weight changes, tension — these aren't personal failures. They're responses to sustained assault. Treating your body with care isn't selfish; it's preparing for the long fight ahead. We need you intact for organizing, not burnt out from self-neglect.

The Stakes Are Clear

The 2026 midterms are our first real chance to check Trump's power. Between now and then, we need sustained organizing, strategic thinking, and collective action. None of that happens if we're too depleted to show up.

Trump is counting on exhausting us into submission. Every time you choose to treat yourself with compassion instead of criticism, you're refusing his psychological warfare. Every time you prioritize your basic health and stability, you're building capacity for resistance.

Self-care isn't retreat from politics—it's preparation for the political work ahead.

Moving Forward

This isn't about perfection or having it all figured out. It's about staying human while they try to break us. It's about building the foundation we need to keep fighting — sustainably, strategically, and together.

Your body and mind are not luxuries to tend to after the revolution. They're the tools of resistance itself.

Ready to build sustainable resistance practices? Focus on one area this week. We need you strong for the long fight ahead. Share what worked for you in comments.

In solidarity,

Paul

Remember: Stay human. Stay strategic. Shape tomorrow.

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