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Presidential elections are a hellish carousel of media frenzies, debate brackets, caucuses, conventions, and months-long campaigning. It takes a toll. The American Psychological Association found that the 2020 presidential election was a . This stress hits particularly hard for people from marginalized communities, whose rights and dignities are often a matter of political debate: 72% of LGBTQ voters experience a negative mental and emotional impact due to current political discourse, according to a . Hateful discourse doesn鈥檛 stay isolated to the campaign trail either, as nearly half of LGBTQ voters have experienced harassment or bullying as a direct result of our current political climate.

鈥淚n my practice, I鈥檝e already observed some of the impacts of election-related stress,鈥� says counseling psychologist and scholar-activist . 鈥淎nxiety levels among my Black and Brown friends, clients, family, and colleagues have been consistently high since January.鈥� The 2016 election, too, bore this same bitter fruit. In the hours after Trump鈥檚 victory, saw record highs.

Clearly, most people struggle to weather the acute strain of any modern election.聽 But the 2024 cycle represents something of a perfect storm鈥攆our years into the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the country鈥檚 continued failure to protect public health; two years since the fall of Roe; a historically unprecedented wave of anti-trans legislation; the relentless, U.S.-backed genocide in Gaza; and the ever-present existential threats to American democracy. At a time when politics are often so deeply (and purposefully) uncaring toward the well-being of people of color, those seeking reproductive care, and the LGBTQ community, intentional care is a vital strategy to reclaim power and mutual agency鈥攏o matter who you are.聽

And according to mental health experts, somatic healers, activists, and organizers, building a wellness toolkit that includes that kind of community and self-care may be essential to our survival, through this election cycle and beyond.

Make a Plan Now鈥攁nd Do It With Community

When it comes to developing a mental health care plan for yourself, your loved ones, or your community, there鈥檚 no time like the present. Erica Woodland, founding director of the healing justice organization (NQTTCN), recommends two main strategies: resiliency planning and safety planning.

Safety planning is used in many different contexts, but generally aims to identify risks to your personal and/or communal safety, compile resources, and evaluate how you might mitigate harm and increase safety for yourself and others. The point is that you and your loved ones have a clear, communicated plan in place before a crisis. To get started, Woodland recommends using a. Though aimed specifically toward intimate partner violence, the safety planning section (starting on page 23) can be adapted across a variety of situations and needs.

Meanwhile, resiliency planning involves identifying the protective practices that help safeguard people鈥檚 well-being and increase their resiliency, both long term and day to day. Woodland says this can be especially important for organizers, who frequently navigate burnout in their movements. 鈥淚f I have more resilience, it means the more crisis that happens, I won鈥檛 be so easily thrown off,鈥� says Woodland. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 mean I won鈥檛 be impacted, but we have to have the system set up for people to be able to weave in and out of this work based on their capacity [and] based on their ability.鈥�

Your exact resiliency strategies will depend on your preferences and needs鈥攖here are no wrong answers here鈥攂ut to assess your relationships and opportunities for mutual support. As part of this work, take the time to open up a conversation with your loved ones about what it looks like when you need help and how you can step in, and step up, for one another. 

鈥淭o [plan] with other people is really important, not because other people have to be part of the plan, but [because] when we do these things collectively, it helps to decrease shame around our needs,鈥� says Woodland.

Incorporate Somatic Strategies

In addition to planning for your needs over time, consider how you can tend to your daily needs as well. There are a number of somatic鈥攐r body- and nervous system-focused鈥攖ools to lean on, says , LCSW, a New York City鈥揵ased therapist who focuses on Black, Indigenous, people of color, Asian American, and LGBTQ communities.

鈥淥ne of the ways to connect to the nervous system is movement, feeling every inch of the body when you move,鈥� says Nou. 鈥淚 have clients that come in for sessions and they鈥檝e never really even experienced their body. So what I do is give a self-massage [and ask], 鈥榃hat does the sensation feel like when you鈥檙e just massaging your hand? Is that pleasant? Is that warm? Is it cold?鈥� I know it feels really simple, but this is like where we start to connect to our nervous system and our senses.鈥�

Likewise, Nou recommends co-regulation, or the process of attuning one鈥檚 body to another, in order to quiet and calm the nervous system. If you鈥檝e ever felt calm while holding an animal, felt safe in a hug, or were reassured by the soothing voice of a loved one, you鈥檝e likely already experienced the power of co-regulation. Movements like walking or dancing, touch, and ritual can all provide this benefit鈥攊t鈥檚 less about the specific activity and more about creating the space and availability to connect and be present in your body. 

Finally, you might benefit from visualization techniques. If you struggle with boundaries, Nou recommends imagining a shield or egg in front of you to get a stronger sense of where your body starts and ends. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to recognize this is our space, this is our capacity, and this is where someone else is,鈥� explains Nou. 鈥淪o much of that [can] merge and blend into each other, especially for nervous systems that are used to appeasing or fawning or pushing.鈥�

Lean on Healing Lineages

Though the election鈥攁nd politics more generally鈥攁re often draining, nourishment can be found in the many lineages of queer resiliency and care.

Rooted in Black feminist theory and practices, Mosley developed , which offers not only comprehensive but also a physical and virtual community space located in Durham, North Carolina. 鈥淭hese community-care spaces offer opportunities for members to release, connect, receive validation and support, and collaboratively devise strategies for resisting oppression and embracing joy,鈥� says the psychologist and activist-scholar. 鈥淩ecognizing the pervasive nature of oppression and its impact on our daily lives, it鈥檚 essential to carve out intentional spaces to counteract these forces.鈥� You may join a virtual or in-person healing or grief circle, connect to a local faith group, or attend an LGBTQ and/or BIPOC-focused community offering. To get started, check out peer support spaces like the , and , as well as the .

You may also choose to carve out some intentional time for reading, either on your own as or in conversation with loved ones. NQTTCN founder Woodland and organizer Cara Page co-edited the anthology , which guides readers through the many legacies of healing justice and offers models for care, safety, and political liberation. Likewise, Shira Hassan鈥檚 and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha鈥檚 are great books to start.

However, prioritizing well-being doesn鈥檛 mean always engaging in spaces that are facilitated, formal, or therapy-adjacent. You can look for what somatic therapist calls 鈥渕icropockets鈥� of solidarity and ancestral connection鈥攔itual,  dance, touch, storytelling, singing, and other forms of collective embodiment and joy.

鈥淭he more one experiences oneself as part of a fundamentally interconnected web [of] past, present, and future with other kin, the more buffer against the oppression,鈥� says Saalabi. 鈥淚t requires building connections with other folks in ways that disrupt and challenge systems designed to cut us off from our bodies, from our past, and from each other. 鈥�

Saalabi continues: 鈥淲hen we do the radical thing of reconnecting with our queer cultural embodiment with other queer trans bodies of color, we are actually doing what humans have been doing for millennia, and are reclaiming our deep rootedness and repairing the lineages.鈥�

CORRECTION: This story was updated at 1:48 p.m. PT on May 20, 2024, to correct a misspelling of Somaly Nou鈥檚 last name, and to correctly list their professional credentials. Nou is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). Read our corrections policy here.