Self-care in this context is about preservation, reclamation and sustainable resistance. Here are some options:

1. Physical Release

• Somatic Shaking: Stand up and literally shake your limbs for 2–3 minutes. It mimics how animals release trauma in the wild.

• Weighted Pressure: Use a weighted blanket or have a loved one give you a firm "bear hug" to ground your nervous system.

• The "Vagus Nerve" Reset: Splash ice-cold water on your face or hold an ice cube in your hand. The temperature shock can force your brain out of a spiral.

• Progressive Muscle Relaxation: Tense every muscle in your body as hard as you can for 5 seconds, then release all at once.

• Primal Sound: Scream into a pillow or go for a drive and yell at the top of your lungs. Anger needs a voice.

2. Digital & Mental Boundaries

Oppression is often amplified by the 24-hour news cycle and "doomscrolling."

• Curated Consumption: Set a "Hard Out" time for news (e.g., no news after 7 PM) to allow your brain to enter a rest state before sleep.

• Mute Specific Triggers: Use the "muted words" feature on social media to block out specific traumatic keywords for a few days.

• The "One Screen" Rule: Avoid multitasking with multiple devices. Focus on one thing—even if it’s just a mindless game—to reduce sensory fragmentation.

• Intellectual Ancestry: Read the works of those who fought similar battles before you. Finding your "lineage" can turn isolation into a sense of belonging.

3. Radical Joy & Reclamation

Oppressive systems often thrive on stripping away your capacity for pleasure. Reclaiming joy is a form of protest.

• Sensory Luxury: Use the "good" candles, the softest blanket, or the expensive tea. Refuse to save the best things for a "better day."

• Creative Spite: Channel your anger into art, writing, or cooking. Create something beautiful purely because the world feels ugly.

• Micro-Communities: Spend time with people who don't require you to explain your pain. Shared silence or shared laughter with those who "get it" is medicinal.

• Nostalgia Therapy: Watch a movie or listen to music from a time in your life when you felt safest.

4. Grounding & Spiritual Practice

This is about finding "the floor" when the world feels like it’s shifting beneath you.

• Box Breathing: Breathe in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4. It is one of the fastest ways to signal "safety" to the brain.

• Nature as Witness: Spend time outside. Observing that the trees and birds exist outside of human political systems can provide a much-needed sense of scale.

• Ritualize Small Acts: Turn a shower into a "cleansing ritual" where you imagine the day's heaviness washing off your skin and going down the drain.

• Amplify Voices: Share verified updates from local organizers, journalists, and community leaders. 

• Amplify what news about Minnesota not only across social media, but also to your friends and family offline. In addition to trusted news sources, here is a list of Minnesota testimonials you can share: www.standwithminnesota.com/testimonies.

• Call Officials: Contact Governor Walz and local representatives to demand an eviction moratorium during ICE operations and to keep ICE out of schools.

• Pressure Corporations: Support the Sunrise Movement Twin Cities in urging local hotels and car rental companies to stop collaborating with ICE.

• Legal Observers: Volunteer with Monarca or Defend 612 to document ICE activity.

• Support Networks: Help food banks, churches, and other organizations pack and deliver groceries.

• Childcare/Logistics: Assist families who are afraid to leave their homes with errands or transportation. 

• Stand With Minnesota provides a comprehensive list of opportunities for mutual aid, including food, diapers, rent relief, and crowdfunding campaigns.

• Minnesota Council of Nonprofits has curated a list of organizations seeking donations for immediate needs: www.minnesotanonprofits.org/ice-resources#donate.

• Direct Support Funds: Donate to the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) for food cards and Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) for legal representation.

• Twin Cities Mutual Aid Project

• Seek truth. Get your information from trusted news sources and independent journalists. Local Minnesota journalists, community leaders, and elected leaders are the best source of real-time information. Curated list of local news (many that are nonprofits) and independent journalists:

  www.standwithminnesota.com/stay-informed.

• ACLU Minnesota: Provides legal and civil rights support.

• Twin Cities Mutual Aid Project: Connects people with local resources for food, housing, and health. 

• Together for Good helps families in crisis.