The Happy Huntress

“I Am Half-Sick of Shadows,” Said the Lady of Shalott

When you struggle with your mental health on a daily basis, it can be hard to take action on the things that matter most to you. The mental barriers anxiety creates often appear insurmountable. But sometimes, when you really need to, you can break those barriers down. This week, with encouragement from some great people on the internet, I pushed against my anxiety and made some calls to members of our government. Here’s a comic about how you can do that, too. (Resources and transcript below.)

Motivational resources: There are a lot! Here are a few I really like:

Emily Ellsworth explains why calling is the most effective way to reach your congressperson.

Sharon Wong posted a great series of tweets that helped me manage my phone anxiety and make some calls.

Kelsey is tweeting pretty much daily with advice and reminders about calling representatives. I found this tweet an especially great reminder that calls aren’t nearly as big a deal as anxiety makes them out to be.

Informational resources: There are a lot of these, as well! These three are good places to start:

Find your representative at house.gov

Find your senators at senate.gov

Use the “We’re His Problem Now” scripts when calling (or write your own!)

The Affordable Care Act has been law of the land for years and it’s helped millions of folks — like the 55 million women who have access to no-copay birth control. But the law is under attack. This week’s Issue Time is led by two Planned Parenthood ACA experts who are here to answer your questions about everything from signing up, to fighting back against repeal:

Kaissa Denis, MPP is responsible for running the day to day operations of our ACA work at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Before she began her ACA work, she was a seasoned community organizer focused on organizing diaspora communities. 

Jamille Fields, JD/MPH is a Policy Analyst at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Her work is focused on ensuring health care reform improves reproductive health care access for low-income people, women, and young people across the country.

The Planned Parenthood ask box is open.

Change can be scary. It can be difficult, overwhelming, and affect our mental, physical, and emotional health in all sorts of ways. Whatever you’re feeling right now, you definitely don’t have to feel it alone. Below is a list of resources and self-care tips to help make life a little bit easier. And if you don’t need them right now, pass ‘em along to a friend who might.

Got more tips? Reblog and add your favorites to the bottom, or make your own post and tag it #postitforward so we all know where to look.

Resources

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Available 24/7 at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Crisis Text Line: Free, 24/7 support for anyone in crisis. Text START to 741741.

IMALIVE: Chat confidentially with a volunteer trained in crisis intervention.

7 Cups of Tea: Speak anonymously with a trained active listener.

NAMI: Dedicated to improving the lives of anyone living with mental illness. Free to chat at 1-800-950-6264.

Trans Lifeline: Dedicated to the well being of transgender people. USA: 1-877-565-8860. Canada: 1-877-330-6366.

The Trevor Project (@thetrevorproject): Confidential suicide hotline for LGBTQ young people. Available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386.

The GLBT National Help Center: Provides LGBTQ people with free and confidential peer support at 1-888-843-4564. Youth Talkline: 1-800-246-7743.

It Gets Better Project (@itgetsbetterproject): Communicating to LGBTQ youth around the world that it gets better.

To Write Love On Her Arms (@twloha): Dedicated to helping people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide.

American Psychological Association: A resource for finding mental health care in your area.

NEDA: Help and support for people struggling with eating disorders. You can call 1-800-931-2237 or chat with them online.

Self-Care Tips

Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it.

Remember to be kind to others and yourself.

Drink plenty of water and don’t forget to eat.

Get enough sleep.

Have a movie or TV marathon.

Read a good book. Start a new series.

Read the #positivity and #postitforward tags on Tumblr.

Draw something or color in a picture.

Take a bath or long shower.

Write your thoughts down in a journal.

Turn your feelings into art. Make crafts.

Bake or cook something you like.

Go for a walk. Have a dance.

Watch a funny video.

Light your favorite candle(s).

Listen to your favorite music.

Take deep breaths. Try meditation.

Talk to a friend, a loved one, or someone you trust.

Make a list of things that bring you happiness. (This really works!)

Today is, undeniably, one of the saddest days I can remember. I’m watching a livestream of the inauguration right now, and I just felt gut-punched. I spent most of my 20s under a terrible Republican president – the guy who was widely thought, at the time, to be perhaps the worst president in American history – trying to get him out of the White House. We’re getting another Republican president now – and he’s already worse than that guy I marched against, worse than the worst president in history, before he’s served a single day in office. For a second, I felt as if the past eight years didn’t happen. As if they’d been erased somehow. I honestly didn’t realize how short they’d be.

But resistance movements like feminism are not designed for good times. They’re designed for the terrible times. And if women can come together and figure out how to have each others’ backs, we actually might get through this.