How to survive the ‘shock and awe’ Trump news cycle

In the two weeks since the inauguration of U.S. president Donald Trump, we’ve seen half a dozen anti-trans executive orders introduced, mass censorship of scientific research and pre-emptive compliance from sports institutions. 

And that’s just the specifically anti-LGBTQ2S+ stuff. 

Then there’s also the tariffs, the threat to take over Gaza, the cleaning out of governmental checks and balances, the attack on immigrants and the Elon Musk of it all.

It can be overwhelming, and that’s sort of the point. This barrage of policy and changes is meant to destabilize us, and paralyze us from fighting back or making sense of what’s going on. Experts call it “shock and awe.”

The phrase comes from a military strategy that uses overwhelming force to paralyze an enemy’s will to fight. These executive orders are designed to normalize arbitrary and extreme policy positions, and shift the window of what is acceptable political discourse. By bombarding us with a pile of wild policies, political opponents and the media and average everyday people can’t keep up and can’t resist. 

And there can even be physical repercussions to this barrage of news: a study conducted by UC Irvine found greater worry about the 2020 election predicted a 10 percent increase in ailments like cancer, stroke and heart attacks up to three years later.

So how do we cope with the endless news cycle and not burn out or get sick? Here are three tips from Xtra senior editor Mel Woods. 

Focus on what you know to be true

Many of these orders and moves are meant to distract—they aren’t actual laws yet. So when reading about these things or reacting, focus on what is true and what is real right now. Don’t pre-emptively comply with an order that isn’t tangible or real yet. Many will face court challenges in the coming weeks and months, or be restricted by Congress. 

Focus on one issue

It can often feel like we need to care about everything everywhere all at once. But unless that’s explicitly your job, don’t feel pressured to keep up with every terrible thing. Instead, consider paying attention to the issues that matter most to you or your loved ones—maybe that’s the immigration policy changes, maybe it’s the attacks on trans people. Not that other things don’t matter, but rest assured that other people are worrying plenty about those other issues too—you don’t have to do it all. 

Don’t doomscroll

Arts and business reporter Karen Ho popularized the term doomscrolling to refer to that endless, brain-melting time scrolling your feeds. Throughout the pandemic, she posted regular updates urging folks to stop doomscrolling, logg off and step outside. Find something to do with another human being that’s not talking about the news. Take a walk. Eat some good food. Take a breath.

Because the worst thing we can do when trying to fight back is burn ourselves out. Don’t give the bad guys what they want.