You open your phone to check one headline. A few minutes later, you are reading about war, immigration enforcement, or another decision from Washington. You put the phone down, but the questions stay with you. What happens next? Will my family be okay? Is there something I should be doing to prepare? Then you still have to get through your day. There is work to finish, dinner to make, and someone asking why you seem distracted.
News about ongoing wars, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), immigration policies, and decisions by the current Trump administration can raise deeply personal concerns. Depending on your circumstances, you may be worried about family separation, loved ones overseas, your livelihood, or what the future will look like for your children. You do not have to share someone else's political views to recognize the strain of living with uncertainty.
If you have been feeling unsettled about the country's future, you are not alone. The American Psychological Association's 2025 Stress in America report found that many Americans share these concerns. When that uncertainty affects how you feel day to day, it deserves space in conversations about your mental health (American Psychological Association, 2025).
Feeling anxious can make sense when so much feels unsettled
Anxiety is a feeling of worry, apprehension, or anticipation about what might happen. It can occur in response to stress or uncertainty, even when there is no immediate threat. Some anxiety is a normal part of life. Its intensity, persistence, and effect on daily functioning help determine whether professional support may be useful (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2025a).
For some people, current events bring a general sense of unease. For others, the concerns are immediate and concrete. A family waiting for news from a war zone is facing something different from someone feeling overwhelmed by headlines. A parent worried about immigration enforcement may be trying to understand what it could mean for their household. Both deserve care, while their circumstances call for different kinds of support.
These worries can affect mental health. A March 2026 KFF report, based on a fall 2025 survey, found that 47% of immigrant parents reported increased stress, anxiety, or sadness related to immigration worries since January 2025. Some also reported disrupted sleep or eating. These are self-reported experiences, not diagnoses, but they show how concerns about safety and family stability can affect daily life (Pillai et al., 2026).
You do not need to dismiss a legitimate concern to work on how it is affecting you. Treatment should make room for your circumstances, culture, and lived experience. You can acknowledge uncertainty and still seek help sleeping, concentrating, or getting through the day with less distress.
"You do not need to dismiss a legitimate concern to work on how it is affecting you."
Anxiety follows you long after you turn off the news
You might recognize anxiety as worry. Stress can affect both mind and body, and responses differ from person to person (World Health Organization [WHO], 2026). You might also notice it first in your body or in how little patience you have left.
- Physically: Tight shoulders, headaches, stomach discomfort, trembling, fatigue, or difficulty falling or staying asleep.
- Emotionally: Feeling uneasy, irritable, overwhelmed, restless, or unable to settle.
- Mentally: Repeated "what if" thoughts, trouble concentrating, or difficulty setting a concern aside (NIMH, 2025a).
In everyday life, this could look like checking for updates during a meeting because you worry you will miss something important. You may reread the same story before bed, hoping it will finally offer an answer. Perhaps you become short with your partner after a difficult news cycle, or struggle to enjoy time with your children because your thoughts keep returning to their future. Someone with relatives overseas may feel compelled to keep their phone close all night. A person worried about immigration enforcement may feel tense running ordinary errands.
You do not have to wait for the world to settle down to get help
Temporary, situational anxiety may rise after a troubling announcement or during a period of waiting, then ease as you learn more or the situation changes. Persistent anxiety may continue across days and weeks, interfere with ordinary activities, or leave you struggling to recover between stressful moments (NIMH, n.d.-a).
With ongoing political and global uncertainty, there may be no clear moment when the stressor ends. Having an understandable reason for anxiety does not make its effects any less deserving of treatment. At the same time, distress during difficult circumstances does not automatically mean you have a disorder.
"Having an understandable reason for anxiety does not make its effects any less deserving of treatment."
Persistent symptoms, avoidance, and interference with daily life are reasons to seek an assessment (NIMH, n.d.-a). You can also seek help during a short but difficult period. You do not have to wait for anxiety to become chronic or for your responsibilities to fall apart.
Consider reaching out when:
- Worry regularly disrupts your sleep, concentration, work, or relationships.
- Checking for updates becomes difficult to stop and leaves you more distressed.
- Anxiety keeps you from activities you want or need to do, beyond reasonable safety precautions.
- You feel persistently on edge, overwhelmed, or unable to recover between stressful events.
What can I do to ease my anxiety?
While you arrange support, a few adjustments may help. Choose reliable news sources and set times to check them. Preserve access to information you genuinely need for safety or family contact. Protect time for sleep, meals, movement, and people you trust. These steps may reduce the strain, even though they cannot resolve the events themselves (WHO, 2026).
If a concern requires practical action, identify the appropriate source of help. Immigration questions belong with a qualified immigration attorney or accredited representative. Therapy can support you emotionally alongside that guidance.
Therapy can help without minimizing your concerns
You can bring worries about politics, war, immigration, or the administration into therapy. The conversation can focus on how these concerns affect you, what support you need, and what you want to be able to do differently. You should not have to defend a political position to explain why you are having trouble sleeping.
"You should not have to defend a political position to explain why you are having trouble sleeping."
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps you examine the connections between thoughts, feelings, and behavior. A therapist may help you distinguish what is known from what is feared, identify a practical next step, and interrupt repeated worry that is no longer helping you prepare. For example, you might work on the difference between checking a reliable update and spending hours searching for certainty that is not available (NIMH, n.d.-c).
This work should account for real risks. A concern about a loved one's safety should be understood in context, rather than automatically labeled irrational.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) uses skills such as mindfulness and values-based action. It can help you make room for difficult feelings while continuing to participate in parts of life that matter to you (NIMH, 2025b). Acceptance in this setting does not mean approving of a policy or accepting mistreatment. You might practice being present with your family while also acknowledging that you remain worried about tomorrow.
Exposure-based therapy may help when anxiety drives avoidance of situations assessed as safe. A therapist works with you on gradual, planned practice (NIMH, 2025b). It is not a reason to expose yourself to immigration enforcement, violence, or other actual danger.
Therapy may also include relaxation skills, problem-solving, communication, and support around painful experiences. You and your therapist can set goals that reflect your life, such as sleeping more consistently, reducing distress-driven checking, or being more present in relationships (NIMH, n.d.-c).
Do I need psychiatry?
A psychiatrist can evaluate whether medication may help. Common options for anxiety include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). Although called antidepressants, these medications also treat several anxiety disorders and generally take weeks to help. Other options, such as buspirone, may be considered depending on the condition. Benzodiazepines can provide rapid relief in selected circumstances, but their risks, including dependence and withdrawal, make careful prescribing important (NIMH, n.d.-b).
Your psychiatrist can review your history, other medications, potential benefits, and side effects, then monitor your response. Do not start, stop, or change medication without your prescriber's guidance. Some people benefit from therapy alone; others use medication or both. Treatment is individualized (NIMH, n.d.-b, n.d.-c).
How can PAWC help?
Psychiatric Alternatives & Wellness Center (PAWC) offers therapy and medication management. Its provider directory includes anxiety specialties and approaches such as CBT and ACT. Availability and training vary by clinician, so you can ask about experience treating the concerns you are bringing to care (Psychiatric Alternatives and Wellness Center [PAWC], n.d.).
If the state of the world is affecting how you feel or function, you can reach out now. Visit PAWC to explore therapists and psychiatrists and request an appointment. You do not need to have the right words or know which treatment you need. You can start by explaining what has been worrying you and how it has been affecting your life.
"You do not need to have the right words or know which treatment you need."
Find a PAWC therapist or psychiatrist →
Frequently Asked Questions
Can therapy help if the situation causing my anxiety is still happening? Yes. Therapy can focus on coping, decision-making, and daily functioning while uncertainty continues. You do not need to wait for the situation to resolve before seeking support (NIMH, n.d.-c).
Will seeing a psychiatrist mean I have to take medication? No. An evaluation allows you to discuss options, ask questions, and consider benefits and risks with the clinician before deciding on a plan.
What if I am worried about privacy or the cost of care? Ask PAWC about its privacy practices, the limits of confidentiality, and what information is needed for scheduling and billing. Confirm your clinician's insurance participation and expected costs before scheduling. These are reasonable questions to bring to the intake team.
Educational disclaimer: This article is for general education and is not individualized medical, mental health, or legal advice. It does not provide a diagnosis or establish a clinician–patient relationship with the author or PAWC. Examples are illustrative; treatment needs and outcomes vary. Consult a qualified clinician about symptoms and a qualified legal professional about legal or immigration concerns. Do not delay professional care because of this article. For a medical emergency or immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. Routine appointment requests are not emergency services.
References
American Psychological Association. (2025). Stress in America 2025: A crisis of connection. https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/stress-in-america/2025
National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.-a). I'm so stressed out! Fact sheet. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/so-stressed-out-fact-sheet
National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.-b). Mental health medications. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/mental-health-medications
National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.-c). Psychotherapies. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/psychotherapies
National Institute of Mental Health. (2025a). Generalized anxiety disorder: What you need to know. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad
National Institute of Mental Health. (2025b). Social anxiety disorder: What you need to know. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/social-anxiety-disorder-more-than-just-shyness
Pillai, D., Rao, A., Artiga, S., Schumacher, S., & Hamel, L. (2026, March 2). Health and health care experiences of immigrant parents and their children during the second Trump term. KFF. https://www.kff.org/immigrant-health/health-and-health-care-experiences-of-immigrant-parents-and-their-children-during-the-second-trump-term/
Psychiatric Alternatives and Wellness Center. (n.d.). Find your provider. Retrieved September 29, 2026, from https://psychiatricalternatives.com/find-your-provider
World Health Organization. (2026, March 30). Stress. https://www.who.int/en/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/stress
