Then: Set boundaries. In therapy, that might mean saying no repeatedly, like a broken record, and building the support system to stay safe. On a national scale, it means working together to reestablish constitutional guardrails such as due process, checks and balances, and freedom of speech. By using loopholes — like invoking 18th century wartime laws — to expand his power, Trump has exposed the weak spots in American democracy. As our founding documents remind us: “A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free People.” The Constitution is not just a legal structure — it’s psychological scaffolding against narcissistic control.
Build resilience. Narcissistic abuse isn’t just dangerous and dysregulating — it feeds on the very distress and isolation it creates to sustain itself. To interrupt the cycle, we need practices that restore regulation and reinforce community power. Collective care and self-care are not luxuries — they are revolutionary acts in times of oppression. Rest is not retreat; it’s how we recover the clarity and cohesion needed to mobilize and rebuild. Join hands. There is strength in numbers and safety in solidarity.
And above all, keep faith in the long game. While narcissistic dynamics rely on urgency and alarm, deep change comes from staying calm, clear and connected. In defending against narcissistic control, the answer is never to mimic harmful tactics — it is to recognize them, grieve their damage, stop enabling them and break out of reactivity. Boundaries, civic mobilization and long-haul strategy are how we begin to heal the democratic spirit. In both therapy and democracy, healing begins the moment we stop reacting and start remembering who we are.
Dr. Jocelyn Sze is a clinical psychologist who specializes in evidence-based treatment of PTSD and anxiety. She is an assistant clinical professor at University of California, Berkeley. She serves on the board of Bay Area Trauma Recovery Clinical Services, a nonprofit advancing trauma-focused training, research, and treatment, as well as the McCune Foundation, which supports grassroots organizations that empower and mobilize historically excluded populations. The expressed views are solely those of the author and do not represent those of her affiliations.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost in July 2025.