Channeling Angst into Action

Lately, I’ve been bridging my work as a Life, Career, & Executive Coach—focused on transitions, midlife awakenings, and embodied leadership—with my first career as a public service lawyer. I proudly served in leadership roles at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as a political appointee in both terms of the Obama Administration (White House & DHS), and as a law clerk at a U.S. District Court. My first job out of college was at the U.S. Department of Justice, which set my legal path in motion.

As mass illegal terminations and constitutional crises unfold in Washington, D.C.—with many of my friends and former colleagues impacted, and a tsunami of catastrophic consequences developing—I find my past identity fired up, volunteering to coach those impacted, and holding space with compassion and empathy. My deeper purpose in coaching is giving me a sense of agency and of being of service in a world on fire, literally and figuratively.

My D.C. community is closely following developments, because their livelihoods and the lives of others depend on it. Outside of this D.C. circle, many people I have encountered in recent weeks are deeply concerned about the new Administration, yet express feelings of hopelessness and fear. A near constant refrain: “I stopped reading the news” or “I want to make a difference, but what can I do? I feel powerless.”

The concept of learned helplessness comes from a pivotal study in 1967 led by psychologists Martin Seligman and Steven Maier. Their research demonstrated that dogs developed a sense of powerlessness based on certain conditions (involving shock treatments, ugh!), and then gave up trying to escape or avoid negative situations altogether, even when they had the ability to do so. The dogs shut down. Gave up. Lost hope. Seligman and Maier demonstrated that when humans repeatedly experience uncontrollable negative events, we too may develop learned helplessness—diminishing our ability to resist and cope with challenges.

I have deep compassion for the learned helplessness setting in as we witness democracy’s dismantling, safety nets shattered, federal employees under psychological siege, and cruelty terrorizing our sacred marginalized communities. The emboldening of white supremacy, xenophobia, and misogyny adds fuel to fascism, which requires an enemy from within, and is a cancer to the social justice progress we’ve made over the past 60+ years. Especially in the aftermath of recent catastrophes, such as the LA wildfires and Hurricane Helene, it can be difficult to stay afloat, and sometimes shutting down is a seductive force—like Kitty Beaumont Bouchet (AKA the Depression Kitty) in Big Mouth.

For some, including women of color, who have powerfully been on the social justice frontlines for eons—many of whom gave every last ounce of blood, sweat, and tears to the Kamala Harris campaign—these first 30+ days of the new Administration has been a time for activism yes, but more importantly, a time to honor rest, tend to mental health, and regroup. We are in a marathon and not a sprint.

As a white woman who still has a certain degree of privilege, my humble message is for those of us who do have the capacity—please do something, anything! We must take action—however we can—to resist this unholy trinity of fascism, tech totalitarianism, and Project 2025 Christian Nationalism attacking our democratic institutions, the rule of law, and the fabric of our communities.

Sure, the Federal Government could benefit from increased efficiencies (what system couldn’t?). But what we’re witnessing is not reform; it's a coup aimed at dismantling the Federal Government, including the theft of our personal, sensitive data, and consolidation of power in a select few who deem themselves to be above the law. The illegal terminations are severing public servants from careers that they dedicated their lives to. Many of these public servants—PhDs, engineers, policy experts, lawyers, etc.—are the leading experts not just in this country, but in the world.

Anyone characterizing what is happening as “efficiency” or “targeting waste, fraud, and abuse” is simply not paying attention or consuming propaganda. It is instead the equivalent of a new CEO coming into a company by promising increased efficiency, and then proceeding to fire every single employee in an inhumane and illegal fashion, terminate all ongoing clients and contracts, and shut down the company entirely.

It can feel like the ground is vanishing beneath us, pulling us into darkness as we witness the new Administration’s parade of horrors. The latest sledgehammer to our psyches: An open alliance with Putin and an ambush of President Zelensky at the White House—bullying, gaslighting him that Ukraine started the war, and calling him a dictator—fraying EU-US alliances that have upheld the democratic world order for six decades. Bringing a malignant narcissistic, greedy, exploitative, pathological, egomaniacal stance to all that the US does. (Ok, that’s my clean anger venting, for now!).

Speaking of clean anger: It tends to surge in times of injustice, when boundaries are crossed. Clean anger protects us, our values, and our integrity. Anger is a sacred emotion like all others, yet many of us have fraught relationships with anger due to lack of healthy role models and toxic gender norms. Women who express anger are deemed “unhinged” or the b-word, while Black women are subject to “angry Black woman” stereotypes fueled by misogynoir.

Pure anger as a messenger of wisdom from our hearts is never the issue; rather, how we react to anger can be problematic—blame, shame, stress, taking it out on others or our own selves, pain bodies activated and an inability to regulate.

How do we restore a sense of agency in the midst of the ground buckling beneath us? How do we tend to our wounded hearts when we know the direction our country is taking goes against so many values that a majority¹ of us hold? How do we channel our angst into action?

We return to what we know to be true— that humans are capable of extraordinary gifts, beauty, creativity, awe, wonder, spirituality, connection, and love. We anchor into our big beating hearts and find ways to care and show up for those who are suffering. We celebrate the enormous outpouring of compassion, kindness, and generosity—the myriad gestures of kindness from strangers weaving a web of support—in response to the unfolding crises. (“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Newton’s third law.)

Opening our hearts is a gateway to planting seeds all around us. It is a way to shift our consciousness towards connection and belonging. It is a potent antidote to the dehumanization and “othering” we are witnessing run rampant.

We can offer our hearts in countless ways—through a smile to a stranger, volunteering at a local shelter, mentoring youth, or supporting the elderly. We can reach out to loved ones who may be living in fear. We can be the shoulder someone needs to cry on. We can speak truths against all of the disinformation swirling. Small acts of care ripple outward.

Yes, there are powerful means of resisting through traditional political advocacy—protest, march, write letters, boycott, volunteer on campaigns, engage in town halls, visit or call elected officials, or run for office.

And if you’re shutting down and overwhelmed, start with your heart.

When we show up from a place of love and contribute to the greater good, that’s a pretty big start.

We must also moderate action with rest, and seize moments of joy and deep connection, for we can only be our fullest, most awakened and powerful selves if we honor the full spectrum of our needs. Walk barefoot in the grass, listen to birdsong, marvel at sunsets, dance in moonlight—the natural world tenderly holds and restores us.

To be deeply human, heart open, kind, and brave in the face of so much pain is a truly transformative force. To not let the tentacles of despair choke our glimmers of hope that serve as our lifeline towards a better tomorrow.

When we are of service to the greater good, to our communities, we are a force for change and for resistance. The people united, will never be divided.

Because

by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

So I can’t save the world—
can’t save even myself,
can’t wrap my arms around
every frightened child, can’t
foster peace among nations,
can’t bring love to all who
feel unlovable.
So I practice opening my heart
right here in this room and being gentle
with my insufficiency. I practice
walking down the street heart first.
And if it is insufficient to share love,
I will practice loving anyway.
I want to converse about truth,
about trust. I want to invite compassion
into every interaction.
One willing heart can’t stop a war.
One willing heart can’t feed all the hungry.
And sometimes, daunted by a task too big,
I tell myself what’s the use of trying?
But today, the invitation is clear:
to be ridiculously courageous in love.
To open the heart like a lilac in May,
knowing freeze is possible
and opening anyway.
To take love seriously.
To give love wildly.
To race up to the world
as if I were a puppy,
adoring and unjaded,
stumbling on my own exuberance.
To feel the shock of indifference,
of anger, of cruelty, of fear,
and stay open. To love as if it matters,
as if the world depends on it.

Poem by

Andrea Gibson

1. Nonpartisan voting experts have documented widespread voter suppression and election interference in the 2024 presidential cycle. (see, e.g., article 1, article 2, article 3). Check out the SAVE Act for Republicans’ latest efforts to disenfranchise millions of legal voters.