we live in hell

So uh...how's everyone's mental health considering, y'know, all of this?
After the initial few weeks, I think I've mostly settled into a semi-sustainable "just have to wait and see, and keep an eye out for signs I, a trans person, need to GTFO." I mean, the signs are already there for me, but financially I can't upend my entire life to flee to ...where? at this point.
I'm trying to limit my reddit doom-scrolling, but still keeping up generally with the never-ending shit-stream of executive orders and federal firings.
I have really locked down my spending, and am trying to get my health stuff in order while I still have a job and good insurance. I work for a program largely funded through federal grants, and the paranoia about my job vanishing continues. Though I'm not a federal employee, I foresee some pretty awful ripple effects from all of the federal layoffs and funding freezes. I suppose only time will tell what actually ends up happening.

I hear you on the nervousness. I'm govt contractor, and while it's DOD and my company took a pretty firm stance against a blatant Nazi before (got caught at the tiki torch rally and fired immediately), I'm still female. I'm not exactly extra busy at work.
I'm trying to keep my head down and go into the office as much as I can (even though it is absolutely torture, and I frequently have migraines). I'm doing my best. I deliberately close Tumblr and Bluesky if it starts giving me heart palpitations. Sometimes that's all you can do.
I heard Portugal has good health care.

I've also locked down my spending and am focusing on where I can have contingency plans based on what gets messed up. My employer will be in some trouble if SNAP is cut. But looking for any other job is probably a no-go right now. 
I'm trying to help people become more digitally independent and security conscious too.

How's my mental health? Not great! Didn't plan on having to deal with a Nazi coup on the heels of a global pandemic. I tell you one thing, if US goes down the shitter, I hope the party Dems who half assed the resistance the past 25 years get sent to the fuckin gulags.
As far as finances and being "ok," I'm a cheap bastard who grew up in a mostly unheated house eating government peanut butter some years, so, this is par for the course. Stopped eating eggs for lunch and made some falafel for the first time, cheap as hell. I may write a post about how to be a cheap bastard at some point.

(02-23-2025, 03:53 AM)FrodoSwaggins Wrote: [ -> ]How's my mental health? Not great! Didn't plan on having to deal with a Nazi coup on the heels of a global pandemic. I tell you one thing, if US goes down the shitter, I hope the party Dems who half assed the resistance the past 25 years get sent to the fuckin gulags.
As far as finances and being "ok," I'm a cheap bastard who grew up in a mostly unheated house eating government peanut butter some years, so, this is par for the course. Stopped eating eggs for lunch and made some falafel for the first time, cheap as hell. I may write a post about how to be a cheap bastard at some point.

you could get some chickens of your own? My mom has a half dozen and they make loads of eggs.  she feeds them table scraps

Raising chickens is tricky depending on where you live. A lot of places that aren't rural flat out won't let you do it, because they're livestock and want you to be zoned for farming for that (which they aren't gonna do for a residential home.)
Of course, some people keep chickens in the basement...