“No Kings,” No Silence: Why Advocacy Matters for Mental Wellness
On June 14, 2025, thousands of Americans took to the streets for the “No Kings” protests — a nationwide movement opposing authoritarianism, centering democracy, and reclaiming power from systems that feel oppressive and monolithic.
At Inclusive Insights, we believe mental health isn’t just about therapy, medication, or “coping strategies.” Advocacy — speaking up, resisting silencing, demanding justice — is itself a vital part of healing and collective wellness. Here’s how:
Oppression is a Mental Health Stressor
Structural forces — racism, economic inequality, political disenfranchisement, authoritarian governance — create chronic stressors that weigh heavily on marginalized communities. When people feel powerless or silenced, it can deepen anxiety, depression, trauma, and existential despair.
By protesting, organizing, and advocating, people reclaim agency. They resist hopelessness. They build connection, solidarity, and shared purpose.
Advocacy Validates Lived Experience
To protest is to say, “My experience matters.” When people see their struggles reflected in public discourse, they feel seen and heard. For many, that alone carries therapeutic weight.
At a No Kings march, voices from diverse communities converge — youth, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, labor, those impacted by state violence. That amplification helps heal the fragmentation of being marginalized or invalidated.
Community, Mutual Support & Resilience
Protests are not just symbolic. They generate networks: folks checking on each other, sharing resources, coordinating legal support, mutual-aid, crisis support. These networks become lifelines in times of distress.
Collective action reminds people: you are not alone.
Courage as Antidote to “Learned Helplessness”
Sustained trauma and political disempowerment can teach people to internalize that “nothing I do matters.” But activism, even in small acts — writing to your representative, joining a rally, volunteering — interrupts that pattern. It fosters courage, agency, and hope.
Risks, Self-Care & Boundaries
We also acknowledge that activism carries emotional load: burnout, secondary trauma, conflict, repression. That’s why it’s crucial to:
Pace engagement (rest is resistance)
Use peer debriefs and therapy
Have exit strategies for unsafe spaces
Know your legal and safety rights (e.g. de-escalation, protest law)
Practice mutual support rather than lone heroism
The No Kings Movement & Mental Health Lessons
The No Kings protests are not just political events — they are a moment of collective reckoning. In over 2,000 locations across the country, people mobilized for democratic values, resisting the concentration of power in a single figure.
For mental health, this means:
Recognizing that therapy + activism are complementary.
Centering marginalized voices in healing spaces.
Using advocacy as part of a wellness ecosystem.
When people merge inner work with social action, they cultivate a deeper, rooted healing — one that addresses both the self and the systems that harm us.
How You Can Show Up (Without Overextending)
Educate yourself: read civic/justice resources, local policies.
Speak your truth: write op-eds, social media threads, community panels.
Support organizers: donate, volunteer logistics, share space.
Advocate in therapy: bring in how policy, identity, and systems affect your mental health.
Build micro-community: host discussions, mutual-aid pods, check-in calls.
At Inclusive Insights, we believe that mental health cannot be separated from the social, political, and systemic realities that shape our lives. This weekend, 10/18/2025 Inclusive Insights affirms our commitment to justice, collective care, and participatory democracy by joining and supporting the No Kings protests.
We intend to stand alongside our clients, staff, and community members who are mobilizing to resist the concentration of unchecked power, to protect civil liberties, and to uplift marginalized voices. We recognize that oppression, disenfranchisement, and systemic injustice inflict deep psychological harm. To heal, we must not only tend to individual wounds but also challenge the systems that perpetuate those wounds.
Our participation this weekend is rooted in the following values:
Solidarity & Belonging: We uplift the voices of communities who have historically been silenced or marginalized.
Healing through Resistance: Assertive action can be restorative — reclaiming agency, dignity, and collective voice.
Nonviolence & Safety: We commit to peaceful engagement and urging de-escalation and harm reduction in all actions.
Trauma-Informed Advocacy: We recognize the emotional burdens of protest work, and we encourage self-care, boundaries, peer support, and regular check-ins.
Ongoing Dialogue: Our work does not end after a weekend. We will host post-event processing sessions and maintain open space for community reflections on how systemic issues deeply intertwine with mental health.
If you plan to attend, or are supporting others who will, please reach out. We can help you plan for emotional safety, grounding strategies, debrief moments, and referrals if the experience stirs trauma or distress.
We are with you. We are listening. We believe in care that extends beyond clinical rooms.
No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings.
