Part 3: Resilience For Resistors: Building Community
Hello Friend,
In Part 1, we talked about rest as strategy. In Part 2, I shared somatic and mindfulness practices. Today, we're talking about the foundation that makes sustained resistance possible: community.
Because you can have all the self-care practices in the world, but if you're doing this alone, you will burn out.
The Lifeline of Connection
Research shows that one of the strongest predictors of resilience is social connection. Not just any connection—relationships where you feel seen, supported, and safe.
Right now, you need people who:
Understand why you're doing this
Don't ask you to "just stop watching the news"
Can hold space for your emotions without trying to fix you
Remind you of your humanity when you're drowning in headlines
Make you laugh when everything feels heavy
Actively cultivate these relationships. Reach out. Say "I need support." Ask for what you need. Let people show up for you the way you show up for others.
And just as importantly: be that person for someone else. Check in on others doing this work. Ask "How are you really?" and mean it. Offer to cover an action so they can rest. Create spaces where people can be honest about how hard this is.
Sustained Resistance: A Framework
Here's what makes this work sustainable over the long term:
1. Rotate Roles
You don't have to be at every protest, every meeting, every action. Choose what you can sustain and let others cover the rest.
Practice this week: Identify one action you can skip this month. Tell someone "I'm tapping out—can you cover this one?"
2. Set Boundaries with News Consumption
You don't need to read every article, watch every video, follow every thread. Stay informed, but protect your nervous system.
Practice this week: Set specific times for news (morning and evening only). Turn off push notifications. Take one full day off.
3. Celebrate Small Wins
Progress isn't always visible. Notice when you showed up. When your voice mattered. When you helped someone feel less alone.
Practice this week: Write down three small wins. They count, even when they feel insignificant.
4. Connect Action to Values, Not Guilt
Show up because it aligns with who you are, not because you'll feel guilty if you don't. Values sustain. Guilt depletes.
Practice this week: Before each action, ask "Does this align with my values?" If yes, go. If no, it's okay to pass.
5. Build Community Care Systems
Create networks where people actively support each other's wellbeing. Meal trains. Childcare swaps. Mental health check-ins. Rest accountability.
Practice this week: Start small. Create a group chat. Organize one mutual support system (meal train, ride shares, childcare).
Why This Matters Right Now
The immigration atrocities we're witnessing—families torn apart, children detained, human beings treated as less than human—are not abstract policy debates. They are moral emergencies that demand our response.
And they are also part of a longer pattern of injustice that requires sustained, strategic, collective resistance.
You matter to this fight.
Not just your actions, but your wellbeing. Because the fight needs you here, tomorrow and next year and the year after that.
Resources for Anyone Doing This Work
If you're struggling right now, here are places to get support:
Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
NAMI Helpline: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) for mental health support
And if you need to step back from frontline work but still want to contribute:
Donate to organizations doing direct work
Support people on the frontlines financially through mutual aid
Offer childcare, meals, or logistical support
Amplify voices of directly impacted communities
Rest so you can return when you're ready
Your Three-Part Practice
Looking back at this series, here's what I'm inviting you to do:
From Part 1: Give yourself permission to rest. Take one full day off from news this week.
From Part 2: Practice one somatic technique and one mindfulness practice daily.
From Part 3: Build one community support system. Reach out to one person and say "I need support" or "How can I support you?"
You don't have to do this perfectly. You don't have to do it all. You just have to keep going—at a pace that doesn't destroy you.
A Final Word
The work needs you. Not just your passion and your courage, but your health, your joy, your wholeness.
Rest isn't weakness. Community isn't optional. And resilience isn't about enduring alone—it's about showing up together, holding each other up, and fighting for a world where everyone can thrive.
You're not alone in this fight. And you don't have to carry it alone.
With solidarity and deep respect for your courage,
Andrea
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P.S. To everyone standing up, speaking out, and refusing to look away: Thank you. For showing up. For using your voice. For caring enough to act. Your courage is changing the world, even when it doesn't feel like it. Please take care of yourself. We need you here for the long fight ahead.
P.P.S. If you found this series helpful, share it with someone else doing this work. We build resilience together.
Need to talk?
I’m here if you want to dive deeper into these practices. Set up a free 15-minute chat. No pressure. Just support.