How Are You Planning to Stay Sane During Trump 2.0?

December 13, 2024 10:13 AM

While I've been largely avoiding the news since November 5th, I can't bury my head in the sand indefinitely. What are your strategies for digesting news without being constantly nauseated by the latest Trump awfulness?

It's important to me to know what's going on in the world. It's also important to not let the news to overwhelm me with despair and awfulness. I want to be able to stay motivated to take action when and where I can, while recognizing there will be way more fires than I can possibly give my attention to you.

What are you doing? Are you following specific news sites? Journalists on Bluesky? Setting up special feeds?

Please assume that simply turning the news off is not an option here.

posted by brookeb to Law & Government (34 answers total)

Check the news once per day, set a time limit. There won't be much new per day.

Then live small, live close. Enjoy your immediate surrounds that are pleasant.
posted by tiny frying pan at 10:20 AM on December 13

Lost interest in current events several years ago. Same as it ever was. I pursue my interests and listen to music and read a lot.
posted by Czjewel at 10:22 AM on December 13

I am hunkering down and making sure I'm as okay as I can be first, so if people I care about become un-okay I can help.

Everyone else? Everything else? My blanket response is "I fucking told you." It's the only energy I'm centering on and I'm doing my best to release everything else.
posted by phunniemee at 10:24 AM on December 13

#Resist

In whatever way you are capable of...

That's all I've got
posted by Windopaene at 10:30 AM on December 13

I read only physical news: a weekly paper and a pair of weekly magazines. I select options that reflect deep thought, not a desire to engage my options. During the week before/of the election, I listened to the PBS Newshour podcast.

It’s amazing how much better journalism is when it can’t contain hyperlinks and isn’t designed to be shared as one.
posted by moosetracks at 10:34 AM on December 13

I filtered my news sites on Google News... dramatically. I also filtered the topics I was willing to see. I am basically constantly clicking those three dots and saying "block all news from _____"/"fewer stories about ______"/"fewer stories like this" etc.

For the sake of my sanity, I do not need questionable sources/flamebait/etc.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:35 AM on December 13

Please elucidate DOT--which ones?

When I hear about another rage-making event, I allow myself one short comment, maybe listen to one short comment from DH. Deep breath, and then go do something active-wash dishes, vacuum, brush dog/horse and try to stay fully in the moment.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:43 AM on December 13

Follow longstanding community organizations, both non-profit and those who are doing good work without being non-profit authorized, and check their newsletters. They have plenty of call to actions. One example is that Chinese for Affirmative Action just released a newsletter talking about protecting Chinese immigrants from getting deported -- there are so many issues that don't even get press attention and would not show up on the news anyway.

I also signed up for Buddhist Peace Fellowship's new offering, they have a class called "Let It Move You: a care package for grieving times" because a lot of the work and what they are talking about aligns with my personal politics and self-care and community care practices. Lots and lots and lots of orgs led by disabled QTBIPOC doing the work for years and years and years and are still doing it, still providing out events, still could use your support and donations. I also am making art and supporting other artists and arts orgs. Mutual aid efforts still exists and needs your support to keep it going!
posted by yueliang at 10:50 AM on December 13

For me, I will keep trying to do what needs to be done, and keep trying to stay vaguely informed nationally, and more specifically locally.

What I will change is that I see the concept of America as the enemy, as not worth fighting for, and the American people as largely selfish goons. I will go back to my attitude from the Reagan/Bush 80s when I was a youngster: the system is corrupt and useless, all power corrupts, figure out countercultural means of getting shit done.

I got deluded by the election of Obama that America and the American people were salvageable, but I was wrong. We live in a fundamentally broken society. There are still so many good people here, but we can’t fix patriarchy or racism or heteronormativity or these big systemic problems because the status quo is too entrenched. We can keep trying to help each other, but we have to admit that the dream of luxury gay space communism is no more realistic than the Christians’ heaven. Can you tell I’ve been reading Camus?
posted by rikschell at 10:53 AM on December 13

Also, it's not to say don't follow new orgs either -- but plenty of longstanding organizations have been strategizing for a while and trying to keep the ecosystem going, and we also need new organizations to survive and grow too. A lot of them do die out because of a lack of support, so also support the ones you want to see keep going!
posted by yueliang at 10:55 AM on December 13

Bluesky allows you to set up multiple accounts and switch logins with a dropdown menu. On one, I subscribe to a lot of generalist content and don't mute any keywords. On another, I follow accounts that have fairly specific goals and mute a LOT of keywords.

I also look at international news sites. Right now, France24 only has a couple of US-related stories, and they're buried under 'more stories' sections. And abc.net.au only has one US-related story, although it's prominent.
posted by Wobbuffet at 10:56 AM on December 13

I am also not reading the news. It has not made any difference in my life with the exception of lowering my blood pressure.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 11:16 AM on December 13

A friend recommended V Spehar's "Under the Desk News"

The website describes it as "V has mastered short-form content, offering brief daily recaps of notable headlines. With a loyal following of over 3 million subscribers, V emphasizes the emotional safety of viewers."

I think it started as news for those who were "hiding under their desks" during the first Trump administration. It focuses on things you should know but presented in a calm, factual style with good news mixed in.

It is available in multiple social media formats (Instagram, tik tok)

I'm afraid I'm only just now feeling like I can tolerate a quick 5 second glimpse at the headlines so V is in my feed but I'm still skipping over almost everything news related. But I trust the person that recommended it and it will one of the first things that I add back to my limited new diet.
posted by metahawk at 11:17 AM on December 13

I'm going to do largely what I did last time - I'm going to go very local. I mentally assumed that we had no federal government to take care of large-scale things for the time being, and that meant we had to look after things ourselves - that trained me to only focus on my immediate community, because I can't do anything about Kansas if I live here in Brooklyn. I can sympathize, but I can't really do anything.

This kind of screened out a lot of the news that would only frustrate me, and let me focus just on the news that might also frustrate me but at least I would be able to DO something (drop off supplies for a clothes drive, protest outside a court, etc.). The only big march or protest I attended during the first Trump administration was only a five minute Uber from my house, and that was a large part of why I showed up ("okay, the protest at JFK would be too long for me to get to, but the one at the court over in Downtown Brooklyn I'd just have to put on pants and I'd still get there in only 15 minutes").

It sounds insular, but if you think about it, it's kind of how we all lived and operated in the days before nationwide broadcast news. You were predominantly exposed to only the concrete local news you could ACT on, and the bigger national and international news was stuff you heard about less.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:21 AM on December 13

I'm also only reading my local news, which still keeps me in touch with major events - e.g. al-Assad's regime collapse - but shields me from most of the US political mayhem, and also changes my focus to local stories.
posted by 7 Minutes of Madness at 11:26 AM on December 13

What are your strategies for digesting news without being constantly nauseated by the latest Trump awfulness?

What helped me a lot last time was learning to understand that I couldn't actually control any of it. Every shitty thing he did, every garbage thing he said - he was gonna say or do it no matter what I as an individual did. So, however many stories you read or don't read, however many sources you follow, don't get spun up about every single thing; that way, madness lies. You gotta let 99% of it go, it's a vile noise you cannot control the volume of, so don't even try.

Note that I'm not saying bury your head in the sand; I'm just saying let whatever he says roll off your back, because he says. so. much. It's pointless to get angry every time he opens his mouth, because his default mode for those who do not like him is anger inducement. Don't take the bait. Just hear it, roll your eyes, and go find some productive way to use your anger to help someone who needs it.

As others have said, though: focus locally. Your local area probably needs help! School boards, community/neighborhood boards, groups that focus on things or causes you're passionate about - those things deserve your time, energy, and attention a lot more than some shitty thing Trump says an entire continent away from where you are.

You can still follow the headlines and know what he's doing, and still be aware of the awfulness - and also pick your spots to get angry at it and fight, should you choose to. But if you spend every waking moment full of anger and rage at literally everything he says and does, you will indeed be "overwhelm(ed) by despair", and that will leave you in no state to be there for your family, friends, and community.
posted by pdb at 11:39 AM on December 13

I am in the same boat. I am not interested in putting my head in the sand and pretending that this will all be over in four years and I want to be part of the resistance, but also need to keep my sanity and overall health in mind as well. I can go real, REAL dark on these matters and spiraling will not help. At the same time...things are bad and I think anyone pretending that this is the status quo 'oh well the wrong side will be in power for a while blah blah' is fooling themselves. To be clear: I wish nothing more than to be wrong about this!

Media:

I think the main theme here will be curation. Curate heavily what filters through, especially on sites like Reddit, etc that can swing wildly and is responsible for at least 80% of my recent panicked crying jags. So I plan to curate heavily in a way that I know what is going on, but is also presented well. Some of the headlines we see today are deliberately meant to make us freak tf out, and staying in a fight/flight/freeze mode 24/7 will help nothing.

I heard about Tangle on a "This American Life" episode and subscribed a few weeks ago. I find their takes on issues to be fair-minded and smart. They purposely discuss current events in a way that presents how both the right and left see it, as well as their own take on it. As someone who has worked in journalism, I find it refreshingly even-keeled. I am also trying to severely limit how I take in information, and I appreciate their style and way that they present information, comment on it, and invite discourse.

I've been mulling over joining Bluesky, but as someone who never really used Twitter, I'm not sure how useful it would be. So TBD on that one.

I've enjoyed listening to Stacy Abrams' podcast, esp her episode with Heather Cox Richardson.

Action:

I think that taking action – ANY action, as long as it's a movement toward fighting what will be put into action on 1/20 – is also vital to one's well-being and frankly to the survival of this democracy. So I am trying to find ways to resist that feel purposeful and active. I tried finding a local Indivisible group, but so far the ones close to me don't seem to be active post-election, disappointingly enough. One option is to start one myself. But I like what they say about how best to take deliberate action against what is coming. I suggest checking it out. There are other orgs as well, of course; I think I heard about Indivisible on MF actually.

I am finding it hard to focus on one thing since there are just so, SO MANY FIRES. So I am trying to narrow down to the issues that are most alarming to me, which boils down to women's rights, including reproductive rights. I am in a blue bubble within the blue bubble of California, and Newsom is doing more than most to publicly make it clear that he is fighting back as much as a state can, but I'm still looking for concrete ways to make a difference.
posted by Molasses808 at 11:45 AM on December 13

Checking out and taking care of me and mine. Stockpiling hard currency. He won the election. The will of this country is to give this malevolent turd another run in office, so it is what it is. We’re on our own. Best of luck to everyone.
posted by HVACDC_Bag at 11:50 AM on December 13

I am focusing on doing, rather than knowing. It pains me as a librarian to say this, but knowing without doing is really pretty pointless.

So I'm cutting my news consumption to near zero, and that local, and taking every opportunity I see to do something useful and/or kind.
posted by humbug at 11:54 AM on December 13

My cousin the therapist at Thanksgiving: "I tell my clients to stop watching TV news and only read news for an hour a day."

I agree with this: " I couldn't actually control any of it. Every shitty thing he did, every garbage thing he said - he was gonna say or do it no matter what I as an individual did. " Bad is going to happen no matter what. My goal now is to just hit fast forward to acceptance rather than stress out that oh, the polio vaccine might be taken away, because I have no control over anything. I'm so exhausted of Trump now anyway.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:58 AM on December 13

I think limiting news is important, but it's also good to know what is happening. I'm not just tooting my own publishing horn by suggesting local newspapers, or even larger metros or the dreaded NYT. Just read the paper, and then put it aside. Don't watch TV news, it's all garbage.

The other thing I've tried to focus on is looking at what has actually happened, not focusing on what I fear might happen. Trump isn't even President yet, he hasn't changed much of anything, he threatening a million awful things and nominating a thousand awful people, but he hasn't done anything yet. (I mean, he did plenty of things in his last term that we are still dealing with, but . . .) So, I'm trying not to think about how terrible the things he's said he's going to do are, and waiting to see what is actually going to happen and then trying to confront that.

As many others have said, part of the trouble with Trump and his cronies is just the firehose of horrible bullshit that constantly sprays us, exhausting our ability to respond, so we should be especially wary of the stuff that is just talk. Yes, some of it will happen, but probably not all of it, probably not how they plan it to be, and probably with a lot more push-back than they expect, even from within their benighted bubble of dreadful goons. Like, even now, Matt Gaetz was a bridge too far and now he's not even in Congress any more.
posted by dellsolace at 12:50 PM on December 13

I have subscribed to WTF Just Happened Today, which summarizes the awful in quick bites. The whole thing can be read in five minutes, and it has links if you want nuance. I have a good local news source (the Boston Globe) as well as hyperlocal sources that I use to learn what is happening in my immediate area.

A large part of the Trump team's strategy is to create outrage over one thing so they can distract from other terrible things they are doing, and also to wear people out until they disengage rather than acting. Social media and news alerts both supercharge this strategy. Getting the news condensed into one small block of the day is a way to combat that.
posted by rednikki at 1:03 PM on December 13

I am full of dread and taking the news in pretty small doses, most of it in print. I am also very seriously thinking about moving abroad, even making tentative plans - my spouse wants to give it 6 months - because I don't think life will be that much better in politically blue areas than in red ones. The boundaries are being eroded and undermined. I currently live in a "sanctuary city", but my state of PA went for Trump so that probably will be ended forcibly. Plus we lost one Democratic senator and WTF is going on with Fetterman?

And that's only my state.
posted by citygirl at 1:58 PM on December 13

Not every day, but I frequently watch Beau of the Fifth Column Belle of the Ranch. Concise, informative takes on major news events, with a knack for cutting through the bullshit and outrage, and boiling it down to "here's what this really means for you, the average person."

TLDR Daily is also a good daily overview of what's happening in the world.

But, for the most part, I'm gonna turtle up and focus on those I hold dear, making sure they're all okay and safe, and doing what I can for the most marginalized folks in my community. I know I can't change foreign policy or fix the price of eggs, but I will do what I can to make my little corner of the world a safer and more peaceful place.

All the right-wing has is fear and hatred. That's all they've got. I'm committed to fighting that with random acts of kindness, generosity, and love.
posted by xedrik at 2:15 PM on December 13

Check the news once per day, set a time limit. There won't be much new per day.

This.

Also: I still look at the NYT front page for hard news coverage, but I try to make a point of not clicking on any of the numerous opinion and "news analysis" pieces with headlines that I now realize are intentionally written to generate anxiety, outrage, etc.

Clickbait is everywhere. Sharpen your ability to recognize and avoid it.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 2:25 PM on December 13

Throwing you off guard is his primary negotiation tactic. He wants to knock you off your base so he can manipulate you. Once you see that clearly, nothing said is surprising because the goal isn’t the actual thing he said; the disorientation is the goal.

If you feel shitty and worried today then the trolls have won. That’s their only goal. A miserable, untrusting, divided population can’t unite.

If you feel shitty and disheartened then the bad actors have you right where they want you.

Bonus: Nothing on the internet is real. Treat grumbling comments ESPECIALLY stories about “look what happened to me today” followed by miserable+unbelievable anecdote with extreme suspicion.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 2:46 PM on December 13

I would start by examining your relationship to outrage. There is the quip "if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention" and it bothers me because it sets us up for the feelings of despair and awfulness you mentioned, which too often lead to people doing nothing to change anything. As long as there has been news, there have been people scandalized by it. Everyone I have talked to while traveling outside the US is also outraged by their own country's news cycle. Social media is fueled by the outrage that keeps us scrolling/clicking.

What I think we need to do is short circuit that dopamine cycle entirely. Focus on being informed by quality news sources for a limited time each day, but also try to connect each news story to both the systems that made it possible, and the people who are on the ground/behind the scenes working to make change. I promise you there are people already chipping away at all the things that you feel outraged by, and they need us to either fund them or join them. Joining them requires just enough outrage to feel the importance of the mission, but not so much that we are emotionally worn out.
posted by oxisos at 3:10 PM on December 13

What are you doing?

seeing news as a social construction [researchgate]
posted by HearHere at 3:14 PM on December 13

I set up a Gmail filter so everything w Trump in the subject line goes right to the trash.
posted by mermaidcafe at 4:33 PM on December 13

I donate small amounts of money regularly as I can. And, as I did the last time, I am unretiring slightly; last time it was a part time teaching job and this time it's volunteering in a public school. It makes me feel better to be making a difference.
posted by Peach at 4:44 PM on December 13

I’ve started training as a volunteer with red cross disaster services so I can be one of the helpers.
posted by changeling at 5:12 PM on December 13

Since election day, I personally have really appreciated the Andrea Pitzer podcast Next Comes What.

It provides a mindful and actionable way to process what's happening right now and to make plans to collectively deal with it.
posted by splitpeasoup at 7:39 PM on December 13

I too feel overwhelmed with grief and despair about the incoming T.2 administration. I drank a glass of wine at a bar the week following the election and nearly burst into tears. So I decided to sublimate my anxiety with art and writing: I began reading literature again, and thoughtful essays, and focusing on how, whilst this is devastating, it's not really (yet?) a Civil War that is going to tear apart the entire country. We've gotten through this before. We've gotten through many bad things before. We can do it again, and the way people in the past have survived was through art.
posted by erattacorrige at 10:21 AM on December 14

Reduced news consumption 95% or more. Decided to learn to play a musical instrument from zero experience. That ought to take a couple years
posted by nothing.especially.clever at 5:26 AM on December 16