How do you go about doing that?

I’m responsible for my mental health. I’m responsible for how I respond or don’t respond to trauma. I can have compassion for myself and grace for myself. I think we can simultaneously acknowledge systemic oppression and inequities and also say, “In the face of this systemic oppression, what is my part in bettering my life? Bettering my mental health?”

Have you found a way to do that?

Well, one way is to unplug from the news sometimes. And I’ve learned that I have to lean into my joy. One of the six skills of the Community Resiliency Model, which is a process developed through the Trauma Research Institute, is resourcing. And resourcing is just really about that thing that makes you feel good in your life. It might be a song. It might be the thought of a person. I’ll think about my boyfriend cooking breakfast for me and I just light up inside. We have to lean into those things that bring us joy. And the things that don’t, we need to let them go to protect our mental health. – Laverne-Cox