As philosopher Theodore Zeldin once asked, “When will we make the same breakthroughs in the way we treat each other as we have made in technology?” Last fall, a government official declared, “We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected,” exposing the moral weight of language and the danger of power without empathy. Recorded in the Congressional Record, those words were more than rhetoric; they showed how easily leadership, when detached from compassion, can turn governance into an instrument of harm. True authority is not proven by the power to wound but by the courage to protect and uplift the human spirit.
Looking back at our national traditions, October has always been a time to remember what makes us human. Across the country, we pause to observe Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Mental Illness Awareness Week, and World Mental Health Day — reminders that safety, stability, and peace of mind are not privileges but the foundation of a healthy democracy. This year, that foundation feels fragile as the federal government has shut down once again, halting essential programs and turning what some may view as a political strategy into a real threat to safety and mental well-being.
The timing of the government shutdown could not be worse. Each year, nearly 10 million Americansexperience domestic violence, about twenty people every minute, and one in five adults lives with a mental illness, though only half receive care. These are not separate realities; violence and mental distress often intertwine, feeding each other in silence.
In my work as a trauma-informed leader and advocate, I apply the T.H.R.E.A.D. System© to help individuals, organizations, and communities reconnect with the strength that has always lived within. These six nonlinear threads are practical yet powerful pathways of inner care that keep us grounded when everything around us feels uncertain.
T – Think Deeply
Create space to notice your thoughts without judgment. Take a few quiet moments to breathe and ask, “Who am I beneath the noise?” Thinking deeply invites clarity beyond fear and distraction. When you reflect with honesty and curiosity, your mind slows, and a sense of calm and presence begins to return.
H – Harvest Wisdom
Let your past experiences teach you rather than define you. Reflect on a challenge that revealed your strength and write down the lesson it offered. Harvesting wisdom transforms pain into perspective and memory into guidance. When you look back with compassion instead of shame, gratitude begins to rise where regret once lived.
R – Release Patterns
Loosen your hold on guilt, blame, or habits that no longer serve your growth. Speak one kind and truthful sentence to yourself each day until it feels real. Releasing patterns creates space for healing and renewal. When your body feels lighter and your inner voice grows softer, liberation is unfolding.
E – Enlist Allies
Healing and leadership both deepen in community. Reach out to someone who helps you feel seen and safe, and allow their presence to remind you of your own strength. Enlisting allies builds belonging, courage, and shared hope. When you feel supported and less alone, your resilience expands.
A – Adopt Change
Ground yourself through small, consistent acts of care. Walk, pray, stretch, or breathe with intention. These daily rhythms steady the spirit when life feels uncertain. When calm begins to replace chaos and presence outweighs pressure, transformation is taking root.
D – Design Wholeness
See your life not as broken but as being rewoven. Envision the colors, textures, and sounds of peace you want to carry into your next chapter. Each mindful act becomes a thread of restoration. When you begin choosing alignment over approval and peace over perfection, wholeness is already forming.
These practices will not end the shutdown or restore funding, yet they point to something older and more enduring: the work of restoring the bond between body, mind, and spirit, the living fabric of wholeness itself. When we return to that inner ground, the body breathes again, the psyche softens, and something greater than circumstance moves toward balance. What no policy can mend, presence and compassion can begin to weave back together.
To every survivor reading this: your endurance is seen. You have faced what should have broken you and still reached for meaning. Though systems may falter, your soul and spirit within you remember how to rise. Hold fast to that truth. The threads of your being are already weaving something wiser, stronger, and whole. The light within you has never gone out; it has been quietly shining all along.
If you or someone you know needs support, these confidential services are available 24/7:
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-SAFE (7233) | thehotline.org
National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 800-656-HOPE (4673) | rainn.org
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Dial 988 | 988lifeline.org
SAMHSA Treatment Referral Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) | findtreatment.gov
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) HelpLine: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) | nami.org/help
Dr. Leonie H. Mattison, Ed.D., MBA, is a trauma-informed organizational development practitioner, former president and CEO of Pacifica Graduate Institute, and creator of the T.H.R.E.A.D. System™, a framework for intentional transformation and healing in seasons of disruption.
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