Leaning into Advocacy

Cassie Soehnlen
1 hour ago
3 min read

When the World Feels Like It’s Falling Apart

If you’ve been feeling anxious, angry, numb, or overwhelmed by the state of the world, you’re not imagining things — and you’re not alone. Many people are struggling with heightened stress related to a non-stop flood of current events, social instability, and a constant stream of distressing news.

While coping strategies are often framed as ways to calm down or disengage, that’s not always what the nervous system needs. Sometimes, what helps most is regaining a sense of agency and alignment with your values. For many people, advocacy can be a meaningful and effective coping strategy during times of collective stress.

Advocacy can be a meaningful and effective coping strategy during times of stress and strain.

The Mental Health Impact of Feeling Powerless

Chronic exposure to uncertainty and injustice can keep the nervous system in a prolonged state of threat. When people feel powerless to influence what’s happening around them, symptoms like anxiety, depression, irritability, and emotional shutdown often increase.

Humans are wired for action. When there’s no outlet for that activation, it tends to turn inward — becoming rumination, hopelessness, or burnout.

Advocacy can interrupt this pattern by transforming helplessness into purposeful engagement.

How Advocacy Supports Emotional Wellbeing

Advocacy doesn’t require constant action or public visibility to be beneficial. Even small, values-aligned steps can support mental health.

Advocacy can help by:

Restoring a sense of control: Taking action reminds the nervous system that you are not entirely powerless.
Channeling anxiety productively: Anxiety is energy; advocacy gives it direction.
Creating connection: Shared values fosters community and reduces isolation.
Supporting meaning-making: Acting in alignment with your values strengthens resilience and self-trust.

Research and clinical experience consistently show that values-based action can be protective against despair during times of widespread stress.

Advocacy Doesn’t Have to Be Exhausting

A common misconception is that advocacy must be constant, intense, or all-consuming. This belief often leads to burnout and disengagement.

Sustainable advocacy might include:

Supporting local organizations
Volunteering in limited, intentional ways
Educating yourself with boundaries
Voting or participating in civic processes
Having meaningful conversations
Creating art, care, or resources aligned with your values

You’re allowed to engage within your capacity. Rest is not apathy — it’s maintenance.

Balancing Engagement and Nervous System Care

Advocacy works best as a coping strategy when it supports regulation rather than replaces it. If engagement begins to feel compulsive, overwhelming, or dysregulating, that’s a cue to slow down and recalibrate.

Coping isn’t about doing everything. It’s about doing what supports steadiness, meaning, and sustainability.

Finding Ground in a Difficult World

When the world feels chaotic, seeking meaning is a healthy response. Advocacy can be a way to transform distress into purpose — not by fixing everything, but by choosing to show up where you can.

If you’re feeling stuck between caring deeply and feeling emotionally depleted, therapy can help you explore sustainable coping strategies that honor both your values and your wellbeing.

You don’t have to carry this alone

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