There’s a lot of chaos in the news these days, a distressing degree of division. A lot of anger and fear.

I’m finding my clients are generally falling in one of two responses to this — folks are either somewhat obsessively glued to their news sources, or they’re completely overwhelmed and tuned out.

I was definitely falling into the first camp for awhile there, and then I noticed something interesting. I felt upset when I was reading the news (not surprising, given the news sources I generally choose), and when I talked about the news with my loved ones. But, when I was with my clients in my deep support role, and when I talked with my friends and family about the actual feelings we were having, rather than what “they were doing” on the larger world stage, I felt… differently. More in flow, less angry and scared.

Then I realized, what’s going to get us through is connection. It’s face to face community. I’m seeing that advice floating around a lot, and I realized that I was having a visceral experience of it.

It’s often taught in trainings about trauma that one of the key components of whether an event leaves a distressing imprint on you, or you end up feeling relatively at peace with the memory, is if you’re alone with the effects during or afterwards. Folks that have a warm, supportive person or people to help them through have better outcomes in the long term.

So, to you reading this, lean into your people. If you don’t have people you can lean into, find some. There are groups meeting, whether in person or online, that share your values. Maybe the character of a group might be like minded politically, or perhaps what you need is a local trivia group, or a gardening group, or a singing group.

I’m not suggesting we don’t read the news. I encourage all of us to take action where we can to support the change we want to see in the world. I’m saying, you don’t have to do it alone. In fact, you’ll be more resourced in your activism, whatever form that takes, if you’re getting your human needs met.

The main thing is, you don’t have to do this alone. We all do better with support. We’re pack animals, truly, our nervous systems ideally like to feel other warm and loving beings close by.

And, if it feels like what’s coming up for you is more than your loved ones or a new group of people can realistically hold with you, you still deserve support. I have space in my practice, if I seem like a good fit for you. Or, another counselor if that seems right. Needing support is not a weakness, recognizing it is a strength.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 31st, 2025 at 12:46 am and is filed under Life on Life's Terms, Spiritual Practice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.