Managing Stress: Self-Care Practices
Elected officials, especially those from historically marginalized communities, are often navigating high-stakes decisions, public scrutiny, and systemic barriers, all while managing the day-to-day demands of elected leadership. It’s not just exhausting—it’s unsustainable without intentional care and strategy.
At WDL, we know that how we lead matters just as much as what we lead. Below, we highlight some key strategies to help electeds manage stress and protect their well-being:
Build Rituals of Restoration
Even just ten minutes of daily grounding—through meditation, prayer, breathwork, stretching, journaling or music—can shift how stress lands in the body.
Need an example? Follow along with this belly-breathing video from Indiana University School of Medicine.
Set Boundaries—Then Honor Them
Protect time for rest, family, and non-political interactions. Teach people on your team, even part-time staff, how to help you do it. Make it part of your leadership model.
Lean On Peer Community
Talking with other electeds who understand the unique pressures of office can be a life-saving outlet. Or as Irene Shin, our Senior Advisor, would ask: "do you have a cabal"? That’s part of why we created our community.
Use Therapy and Coaching Without Stigma
Your mental health is the foundation for your strength, energy, clarity and resilience. Protect her and prioritize finding a trusted professional who fits with you.
Name the Stressors
Social isolation has been linked to heightened risks of depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline. And many of us have been socialized to carry problems on our own. But from hate and harassment to systemic injustice—naming what’s hard helps de-shame the experience and opens up space for policy and community solutions. Pave a new way forward that is powerfully collective, not lone wolf.
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