Carrying the Country in My Chest: Navigating This Political Moment as an Empath - by MTWBTB
As an empath, I’ve always felt the world a little louder, a little closer, a little deeper than most people around me. But in the United States right now — under an administration defined by rapid shifts, polarization, and constant emotional turbulence — that sensitivity has become both a weight and a compass. I can feel the collective anxiety before I even open my phone. I can sense the tension in conversations that never mention politics. It’s like the emotional climate of the country has settled into my chest. And I know I’m not alone. A 2024 survey from the American Psychological Association found that 77% of Americans feel significant stress about the future of the nation. That statistic doesn’t surprise me. I feel that stress in the people I love, in the women I serve through my work, and in the communities I move through every day. When the country is anxious, my body knows it before my mind does. Political psychologists and mental health experts have been clear: the current cli...