I think most of the things in U.S. news this week have been distressing:

• Trump signs order that seeks to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports
• US Postal Service briefly halts packages arriving from China and Hong Kong
• In shock announcement, Trump says U.S. wants to take over Gaza Strip
• Trump administration puts on leave USAID staff globally in dramatic aid overhaul
• Trump says he will cut off funding to South Africa over land ‘confiscations’
• Trump to create religious office in White House, target ‘anti-Christian bias’

Conservatives would just say I have TDS, but the effects of the executive actions in this country impact me and people I know directly.

I had to have conversations with a trans friend of mine where I explained she can no longer get her passport updated with the correct gender marker, and the state won’t issue a state ID with the correct gender marker, so now she has no way to travel by air without outing herself (either she will have to renew her state ID to get RealID, or she will have to get a passport - either case the ID will have the wrong gender marker). This is obviously distressing in itself, but especially in the context of anticipated persecution when that travel will become more necessary.

It really can’t be overstated how badly this impacts my life - I am being forced to relocate after settling and making plans to stay where I am the rest of my life. It’s not even clear that moving to another state will be sufficient at this point, and it’s unclear what the risks of leaving the country will be.

And that’s just me, there are so many other people that are impacted even worse than I am. It’s hard for me to think about right now. I really just have to not think about everything going on, to maintain a distance from reality.