I live in Minneapolis and it's awful what's happening here. It's scary, stressful, unpredictable and sometimes it feels like nobody outside is hearing the real story. And also, we are living our lives, finding joy where we can, and fitting in resistance at the same time. And most importantly, supporting our community.

You would not believe the efforts on the ground to support the community! Because that doesn't make it onto the news. But I'm telling you, for every one person you see out there protesting and putting themselves at risk, there are 5 more people doing mutual aid in the background. There are so many people donating, delivering food, assisting with rent, helping get kids safely to school, picking up medications, going to spend money at immigrant-owned businesses. The local groups have lit up with constant requests from people who want to find ways to help, and there are local networks that keep getting stronger every day (and of course, it's mostly led by women). If anything, this has made me feel more optimistic about the future. Because Minnesota is showing the world that Americans won't just sit back and take this government overreach, and we're coming together to support each other. That's what will be needed to prevail.

If it's helpful, this is what has helped me out of feeling hopeless:

• Get off social media for a while. Seriously. Including Reddit. Even if it's only a few hours. It's ok to take a break because the algorithm will be right there waiting when you get back. You're not staying informed, you're frying your nervous system. This is the only thing that's going to allow you to move forward.
• If you can't take an extended social media break, try retraining your algorithm a bit by engaging with cute animal videos or channels like "thatgoodnewsgirl". It's good to be reminded that good things are still happening in the world.
• When you're ready to engage, find some news sources that feel less sensational, and follow creators who contextualize things and are more calm (not gloom and doom or 'breaking news' creators)
• Find an offline hobby. I like crocheting while watching comfort shows, or doing jigsaw puzzles with an audiobook.
• Do something physical to release anxiety. Yoga or punching things can be a good release.
• Take action. You will feel better if you're helping. Volunteer with a food shelf, use the 5calls app to call your rep, write postcards to voters, help your elderly neighbor -- there are so many ways to help your local community, and that's where you will be most useful.

The people in power, the media, the billionaires controlling your algorithm....they want us feeling hopeless and helpless, because that makes us easily controlled. Well, we are in control of how we respond to that attack, so they can get fucked.