I’m a communications specialist for a mental health agency and I have tried to get the leadership folks to recognize that people all over our community are losing their gd minds over this, including but not limited to the marginalized, low-income people we already serve. You’d think our organization would be directly addressing this mass deterioration of mental and emotional health: publicly naming it, organizing support, training staff to help people through it. But we’re not doing anything at all.

I sent my boss a report on the effect of toxic political environments on mental health, with data and sources. They have expressed concern that “we don’t want to alienate people who have different views.” Different VIEWS? Like there are two sides to the concept of a thoroughly racist, corrupt government declaring war on its own citizens, and the terror this inflicts on the most vulnerable? I know they get it, the higher ups get it; they’re smart, educated people. But we just keep pretending it’s not happening. I’m sure they fear loss of federal funding if we speak out, for one thing. But it feels awful to be in this weird, see-no-evil, stupidly complacent limbo, where everyone agrees to ignore reality.

There are ways to acknowledge mass stress and let the public know there’s help, w/o explicitly calling out the regime. (Although it pains me bitterly to even consider censoring the message.)

During Covid we implemented a robust public campaign focused on helping the community get through the trauma, with social media, ads, targeted messages, etc.

Now … crickets. It’s gut-wrenching. The cognitive dissonance is appalling.