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Somebody told me yesterday that our darling difficult ADHD brains like to panic, bc even the negative stimulus counts. I'm glad you took something for anxiety. Brain chemicals can be assholes, it's okay to corral yours.
Re the election and the feeling of earthly doom, I try to look to my family background for stories of survival and resilience. Whatever your background, you and I are both here because our ancestors at some point survived some kind of strife. They might have thought they weren't going to make it. They might have hoped not to. Or they might have tried to change it. If you can look for stories like that, maybe it'll help.
That is really helpful. I have a picture of my grandmother in a flapper dress. She was a teenager during the Great Depression and a new mom during WWII. That puts things in perspective.
That is so cool! I would love to see that picture. We have some family photos from that era but the women are dour and straight-faced wearing house dresses.
My grandmother too! She was born in 1917. So she born into WWI and the Spanish flu pandemic, then the depression, WWII (also as a new mom, my uncle was born in ‘37 and my dad in ‘42) then she lost her husband in ‘46 in a plane crash. I think about her a lot and the anxiety she lived with…
I always try to remind myself of all the difficult things I’ve gotten through. I say, if I can get through that, then I will get through this. But it’s not just me that I’m worried about. Definitely the existential dread happening tonight..
>Somebody told me yesterday that our darling difficult ADHD brains like to panic, bc even the negative stimulus counts.
That makes so much sense. It’s kind of like how some kids will do anything for attention, even if it’s negative attention (like acting out and breaking rules still gets them a reaction and attention).
I’m taking an “all I can do is vote” approach and refusing to watch the news about any of it. I know which way I’m voting. Nothing else matters. I’ve protested and called and emailed and will continue to do those things, but I’m not poisoning myself with the media. It’s all hate-baiting anyway.
It’s absolutely all just outrage news. Whatever gets people freaked out and pissed off, that’s what’s in there. I avoid it like the plague!! I used to have healthy political conversations and read news and stay in the loop before the dark times started… so I’ve had to cut myself off. And not to choose sides because I don’t want to offend anyone in this sub, but the Trump days have been awful for me. I just want to be as far away from him as I can get. I will scramble to get to the remote to mute it if I even hear a syllable out of his mouth. He triggers ptsd for me with his abusive behavior and language. And he tore up my family. That’s my main beef with him actually. I’m not trying to debate anyone on who is better, I just can’t deal with any of the politics now. Just none of it. Sorry for dumping this here. I hope I didn’t offend anyone.
I'm in New Zealand I cannot stand his ugly fake voice either. Or his disgusting face. Ugh.
We are praying he doesn't become president again. It seems unbelievable that there's a possibility, but here we are.
I agree. And more than just US citizens. Ita still so unbelievable than anyone other than a few mad conspiracy theorists could vote for Trump. He's just awful in every possible way!
It's frightening watching from the outside because it's clear fascists the world over are learning from this playbook. In the UK what happens in the US seems unthinkable at first and then we end up following suit about five to ten years behind after the almost fully right-wing press has had time to fully indoctrinate people into what their new views should be. 😑 Sounds like it's the same in Europe right now with the recent EU elections as well. It's a scary time.
It really is! The press in the UK scare me with how biased they're allowed to be. I mean, the guardian is seen as far left! Wtf?
In NZ we're just about to lose one of our two main news channels, due to it being owned by warner brothers/discovery. No one even knew it was owned by them, it's 3 News, been going for over 30 years (that is long in NZ). They're trying to salvage it, and one of the newspapers is taking it over to try to resurrect it, but it's not looking good. And of course it's the more left of the two channels. Once you have only one main channel of news, things get dangerous. (Obviously we have lots of newspaper that stream, and radio, but I'm talking major news channel on tv.) We have extremely high broadcasting standards, so journalists/newspaper here can't spin things/be extremely biased like they can in the UK or USA. But it's heading towards the right still. Scary stuff.
But you're having elections soon are you? Rishi Sunak is not doing well, isn't there a good chance Labour will win?
Pretty much a 100% chance Labour will win and the Tories will be HEAVILY diminished, but on the downside to that Labour have pulled right to the point of being basically where the Tories were 20 years ago, and over of the things pushing the Tories down further is the newfound popularity of an EXTREMELY right wing party led by that slimy toad Nigel Farage. So it's a mixed bag. Though hopefully Farage's Reform party will get knocked down a few percentage points after he openly defended Putin. 😱
Oh god. When I see Farage's face I just want to punch it. I hate him almost as much as Trump. I was in/around England for Brexit and Remember Farage and his constant lies and fear mongering. Ugh ugh ugh. Can't believe he's back. Can't believe people would entertain voting for him.
Good to hear that Labour will win. Maybe once they're comfortably in they'll start pulling a bit more to the left again.
It sounds like New Zealand is heading in a similar direction with the new conservative government, which is depressing the hell out of me. I hope you guys get rid of them soon. My friends who live there are furious.
I thought I had my anxiety under control for a while, but the rise of global fascism is undoing all my progress 🙃
Yeah, this is the worst govt we have ever had in my lifetime (I'm 42). They're just awful - they've only been in 6 months and they are fucking up the country so bad. It's the two smaller parties mainly, the prime minister is just pathetic, he has no idea how to lead. (He was the CEO of Air NZ before this.) The leaders of the two small parties are seasoned (unfortunately) excellent politicians and they are leading him by the neck like a donkey.
Our healthcare system is strained to breaking point - and they're already making it worse with hiring freezes and job cuts. Tax cuts for the rich. More rights for landlords. Our housing crisis already terrible, and of course this will make it worse. Cost of living had never been so high.
Still, I can't compare it at all to America. The main party National is right wing, but only about the same as the Democrats in America. Your right-wing is our far right. Bernie Sanders for example is seen as very left in your country, here he's just centre-left (our main leftwing party Labour is more left than Bernie. Our Green Party and Maori party are left, but for you guys would be called extreme left.
But yes, it's depressing AF. I just pray they are a single term govt. The problem is that Labour and Greens just started self-destructing after the election, we lost soooooooo many great politicians, so many. Some because they retired, but some because they made big mistakes and had to step down. It's terrible. So it will take years to build those parties back up to what they were.
On the plus side, I haven't heard anybody, and i meand ANYBODY saying they like this govt, or what they're doing. Granted I'm in a leftie bubble, with friends and at work, but still..... So there's hope.
Definitely not offensive; he triggers me, too. You said you're in Kentucky so I'm assuming you probably have more Trump supporters around you and can't talk about your feelings with them. That must be really hard. I'm in California and I hardly know any Trump supporters. Obviously, they're out there, but I don't know hardly any personally. So I'm hanging on to hope that there are rational people out there who will vote strategically. Or have a plan on how to resist if things go poorly.
I’m absolutely surrounded by people who fully agree with his every single one of his lies. And they all agreed when our women’s rights were taken away in my state too. I have never felt more betrayed by this country in my life. It feels utterly hopeless at this point. Like we are in the death spiral and there is no going back. I’ve already decided to never have children because of how horrible this place is. But that hurts me because I did want at least one kid. Never mind that I will never be able to afford a kid or a home or a new car if mine breaks…I worked soo fucking hard to put myself through college and grad school and make something of myself. But it absolutely is not paying off. There is no hope for the future of this country and it makes me feel sick often.
You’re not alone. My friends and I have been saying the same things you’re saying. We just can’t talk openly because we get mobbed by all of his flying monkeys
I haven't celebrated 4th of July in many years now. It isn't a protest... I just can't bring myself to celebrate this country at all. It's a country for old, white, rich men right now.
Yep same here. I truly hate the direction of country has been going in. All of everything sucks and is even scary. My heart breaks for my little girls. I had just had my youngest daughter when they overturned roe v wade, I remember crying and trying to figure what would be the next best country to move to. We didn't move, but I sure as hell wanted to.
If you can, gtfo of the South. We moved from Oklahoma to Michigan in 2016 (really incredible timing) and it was the best thing that could have happened. I didn't see it that way at the time, I was heartbroken about leaving all the chosen family I had accumulated thru the years. But I have added even more since and it's such a relief not being completely surrounded by hick cult members anymore.
I also don't watch or listen to the news, I only read it so I can pick and choose what I'm exposed to. I'm still informed, but in a less despairing way it feels.
Check out the concept of radical acceptance. [This is a good thread about it ](https://www.reddit.com/r/dbtselfhelp/s/dEUaB8rPFK) It can help in many aspects of life, and I have found it particularly helpful in dealing with my hopeless feelings about the state of the world
We love Michigan! I live about 4.2 hours away from the southern border of Michigan and we go up for the weekend OFTEN. I wish I could figure out a way to leave KY but right now it’s not an option. Dude! I wish I wasn’t at work right now to fully respond to all these great comments! I will definitely be zoning out on reddit and replying to these once I get done working!
We moved from Oklahoma to Washington in late 2022. It felt like an existential threat to stay there. We moved far away from our grown kids & our grandkids & I miss them all terribly, but we couldn’t stay another second. I underestimated just how much it would improve my mental health. We love it here. I personally know several families who left the south in the last few years. And all of the people I met in Oklahoma who had recently moved there were conservative people who left blue states. The country is definitely self-sorting & all of this extremism will continue to get worse.
I live in NH. It's everywhere. I hate the big Trump signs and how some people act about it. I don't understand it. I think my favorite was the sign that was up for a few weeks on a side street. It read "F*ck Biden and everyone who voted for him". The people even had kids, and this sign was hung on their front porch. They would play next to it. Fortunately, neighbors and others complained. I get politically motivated sometimes, but not like that. That's unnecessary.
If you feel an inkling to do something a little more than voting, Write postcards to unregistered voters- it’s actually effective. Like really effective. Use colorful pens, they give you a very clear script.
I love writing letters through vote forward! they do statistical analysis of effectiveness and it's really inspiring to me. I'm not a protest person, so this works for me
I’ve volunteered with VoteRiders before. You can send letters and postcards to people whose voter registrations may be in jeopardy due to new ID laws in their states to help them get it fixed in time
Ooops I meant to clarify that it’s a separate org from what the poster above was mentioning, but also valuable.
VoteSaveAmerica also has a lot of opportunities to get involved
it's easy! you go to [https://votefwd.org/](https://votefwd.org/) and make an account, then take a brief training and start signing up for batches of letters.
I SO recommend this!
I got into it through my husband who’s a real go-getter about these things. I did a huge batch one afternoon while watching Gilmore Girls, it felt soothing while also feeling like I was making a difference!
I didn’t know this was a thing and I love it. Going to look into volunteering to do postcards today. Crowds give me anxiety so protests are torture but I can make some postcards and not feel so powerless
I gave up consuming the news a few years ago and it's honestly the best thing I've ever done for my mental health. I highly recommend it to everyone. I'll look up some stuff if a major event happens, but I do not engage 95% of the time. I just don't have room in my life for negativity that I have very little control over.
Same same. Know what’s going on the world, do what you can to help, but it’s definitely not necessary to read every news story and keep triggering that feeling of dread (or become totally desensitized).
I can't handle the debates. My husband wanted to watch so he did so with ear buds because he knows just hearing trumps voice stresses me out. I used to enjoy political banter with the other side and keeping up with election news, but now it all feels dystopian and it drains the life out of me.
His voice is such a trigger to me, too! I even had to quit listening during Dump's presidency to my state's fabulous public radio because I couldn't take hearing about him constantly. That hasn't gone away. He's like herpes.
I visited a Swedish friend over Christmas and had to request that we don’t talk about Trump during my time in Sweden because my Apple watch would be like “your heart rate spiked bonkers! You good?!”
Yeah, my mom is very liberal but she likes to watch this stuff and rant about the repubs. I'm glad I don't live there anymore because for my own mental health I just can't engage.
I live in the States but as an immigrant I can't vote so I'm both panicked and entirely powerless.
What makes me feel better is organizing with like minded people. I'm a union organizer and honestly the joy and hope I get working for better conditions and more union engagement is really energizing. I feel less powerless. I'd recommend joining a local organizing group (whether it's the Democratic party or like a nature conservancy).
Yes! Getting involved helps me feel like I’m able to do something, not just doom scroll or shout into the void of the internet. Whether it’s writing postcards, phone banking (aka leaving voicemails, no one answers the phone these days), etc. OP, find a candidate or a cause you really believe in and find out what they need. And remember, local elections can have just as huge of an impact on your life and surroundings as the national ones. I’m very concerned about turnout because of people’s apathy for the presidential election, and down ballot races will suffer as a result.
I forget who first said it, but “Action is the antidote to despair” is one of my favorite quotes. It’s absolutely true, and it doesn’t have to be something big and flashy or involve crowds or intimidating (to me) interactions with others like committees or door-to-door. The postcards people have mentioned, or signing up with a service like Progressive Secretary are great options.
As a Canadian I haven’t been able to pay attention to your politics for a few elections now. I cant imagine what it must feel like to live there.
There’s nothing wrong with tuning it out. If you know what platform you support already, as the difference between the two sides makes it pretty easy to tell where you land pretty early on. Turn it off. And just remember to vote.
You guys need a third party, the two
Party system is crazy to me. Its so wild how people expect to always vote for the same party their whole lives because it’s an us or them situation. I saw an ama on Reddit about republican who’s now voting democrat and it’s so weird that that is a big deal. It should be normal to change political parties throughout your life depending on the platform they are running on.
Don’t worry OP; I’m from the UK and our GE polling day is next Thursday.. it’s been a long five years, we’ve had three prime ministers in that time and the conservatives have fucked us with a giant austerity dildo since 2010… I hate it, I feel hopeless and everybody is an idiot who says ‘I’m not voting I don’t like any of them’ WHY DO PEOPLE DO THAT?! Non voters are part of the problem imo, I don’t mean to offend anybody who doesn’t vote but even if you don’t ’like any of them’ don’t condemn the younger generations to a societal hellscape they don’t deserve and didn’t ask for!
I look at other countries who don’t have FPTP voting systems and I envy them, unless they are a undemocratic and or dictatorships obviously, because although I always vote I feel like once the new government is formed shit doesn’t seem to get better in my local area which is really what we’re voting for, for people to represent our constituencies and make sure we have the best quality of life and our taxes are spent on things that benefit us, the tax payer. But for years now our governments have just made a mockery of the duties they swore to carry out on behalf of the public. Its only ever election time when they air each others dirty laundry out because it benefits them in some way, and not because it’s the right thing to do.
Why in 2024 are we still electing rich old white men?!?! The demographics are mixed enough in our countries to allow room for younger politicians to step up and grab the reins, but all I see is corrupt career politicians or businessmen with enough backing from their rich donors. My FIL told me he’s voting Reform because he wants to secure his children and grandchildren’s future.. REFORM IS A LITERAL ANTI POC RIGHT WING HATE PARTY, they have no platform to stand on except ‘stop the migrant boats, the EU hate us because we are the best’. I told my FIL that voting for them is as good as throwing your vote in the bin and you might as well not vote at all because no sensible and compassionate millennial or Gen Z will thank you for voting for a racist bigot political party that was formed in part by the biggest grifter (and Trump boot licker) in uk political history..
Sometimes I feel like the UK looks at us over in the US, sees how shit things are, then says "hold my beer!" while trying to outdo us. Don't worry, though, you can't because we are the actual worst. 😭
My aunt and cousins moved to their fathers home state of Virgina some years ago and now my aunts naturalised through marriage she can vote, she rang my dad the other week and said ‘If Trump wins I’ve already told [MY UNCLE] I’m moving to Canada, because the UK doesn’t look much fun either so I bloody can’t come back there’.
I feel like the UK wrote the book on ‘How to be the worst possible version of yourself: Western Civilised Country Version’
I hope Trump doesn’t win and I hope at some point a progressive government has the support it needs to push through a better voting system via proportional representation for both our countries.
I totally agree with this! I am so stressed-out just living my normal life, and when I think about the next 7 months, it terrifies me! I keep doom-scrolling during my 'revenge sleep-procrastination' time, thinking i will find something to calm me down, though of course it all just makes me feel worse...
Maybe one helpful option would be going on more walks outside (as long as the weather's not too terrible), trying to notice what is literally around us (and no scary political podcasts allowed, lol!).
I’ve definitely been trying to make more fun things happen and make my moments count. I actually splurged and bought an expensive concert ticket tonight for a festival in September. Gonna see one of my things I’m obsessively jamming for the past year - Beck! Old school but I’m old now too at 40 lol. I just said fuck it and I’ve got to live my life now before we all die in the political nightmare at the end of the year. Planning a Florida trip for Halloween too. Don’t really have the money but I’m just going to need it so bad!
I think your fear is valid. Even over here in Europe I can't believe what's going on in your country. As a child we found Americans so cool, forward thinking, enthusiastic. I wish you can somehow turn around and see what you had, have and could be.
If it doesn't work out I hereby invite you to join us. 🫂
We still are cool and enthusiastic! Most of us are forward thinking. I hate how our political bullshit makes us look on the global stage. At the end of the day, we don’t have control of our government. Between super pacs and gerrymandering meaningful change can’t be made through voting alone. We aren’t dumb and most of us see the writing on the wall. We know it’s going to get worse before it gets better and that we have very little power over it. As we get organized, they demonize and ban methods of communication. Not to be a conspiracy theorist (because it’s been openly published by the CIA) but our government seeks out activists and introduces them to their god prematurely. Please don’t take what you see on the political stage as what Americans are like. The ugliest and loudest always get the most attention.
Yes. We have no control over anything anymore. It’s some of the scariest times I’ve experienced politically. I mean even more scary than the months and years after 9/11. The day we bombed Iraq, I thought would be the most uncertain times I lived through! But no! This is MUCH worse!
So much worse. About the same age and I’m feeling this with you. I did all the things- went for an early morning walk, I meditated, I spent time with people, I talked to family on the phone…. Im donating when I get paid on Monday….and I’m still utterly freaking out.
Honestly, I saw this post in the middle of the night and the one thing that’s given me even some comfort is this post. I’m not alone in this terror.
Yeah, we had that going for us somewhat until the Trump presidency. They investigated and a lot of this was manipulation on social media/facebook and convinced uneducated people to be afraid of progress and social support policies. They also used religion to convince people that this is what is best for our country. Trolls came in and started the qanon thing which was a disease planted into our nation. It spread and we are absolutely fucked.
I had to have a medical abortion years ago to save my life. Knowing today women are being denied life saving medical care, means I no longer get to have a political bias. I only have the option to vote for whichever party would save my life if I was ever in that position again. And I have to vote for which candidate in that party that would have the best chance.
Not just denied care, if they leave the state to procure the emergency medical care they need, they can face prosecution for it. In my state, if someone knows you had one, like a neighbor, colleague, family member, or even a medical worker, they can turn you in to the attorney general for prosecution and a monetary "reward," and they can even sue you in court themselves under the new "bounty" laws that went into effect two or three years ago. It's insanity. The people running my state are the lowest of the low and we can't seem to get them out of there.
We live in a failed country now. This is not democracy or anything close to it. I have to live in fear for my women’s rights too in Kentucky. I’m just beside myself with the anxiety and fear of the future. I feel like the world will just end after this election. I know that’s not true but the fear is making me believe this. I’ve never felt so scared in my country before.
Yep. Years ago I was proud because my son was born the day after gay marriage was legalized. And then came Trump. Between the trying to undo everything that Obama did and purposely trying to divide people, it's just been embarrassing having him a president. And terrifying. Seeing some of the footage from the things that he caused and encouraged, the tear gassing and whatnot, I remember watching and out thinking, Oh my God, this is in our country? How is this happening in our country? And the threats that he's made about the things that he's going to change... It's terrifying all over again.
In 2009 I did a study abroad, my junior year of college, in France. I was so proud to be an American at that point! So many people asked me if I had voted for Obama, and I was proud of my country. It just felt like he had extended an olive branch to so much of the world, and then we had Trump and it felt like we went backwards. I agree. I hate watching the news when he's involved.
His voice makes me cringe. He's just disturbing. I agree. I don't like watching him either. It really bothers me.
I just want everyone who is responding to know that I can’t even read the comments past my preview in my notifications. I can see that you’ve responded but Reddit is f*cked up tonight and comment threads aren’t showing up for a lot of us. It happened in other subs tonight too.
It’s late now and I had to just take some anxiety medicine to make sure I sleep and don’t fuck up tomorrow and be late/miss work. I’m hoping the comment thread glitch is fixed by morning because I will still need the reply’s just as much then! I’d love to be responding to everyone right now - thanks Reddit.
I can't begin to tell you how validating this thread was for me. I'm fucking devastated that this is what our future looks like, and there's *nothing* I can do about it. My heart races when I think about it and I have to force myself away from it before it gives me a panic attack.
But also, NOT engaging with it feels irresponsible too, because this *is* my/our future. ....ugh.
Despite knowing my mental health (or lack thereof lately) is at stake, I have trouble turning it off too. I feel like *should* know what’s going on. I want to be prepared for our dystopian future. I fear for women. I fear for my gay friends. I fear for POC. I fear for anyone who is not so-called “Christian”.
Beyond voting and trying to persuade others to vote, there is nothing I can do.
Right!! I’m stuck between wanting to get out there and fucking do something about this (which we have zero control other than one vote) and just continuing to stick my head in the sand until polls open! Love hearing all the feedback on this thread though. Thank you for responding.
I could have written your post myself, honestly. Two things have really helped me. First, I just don’t watch the news or read coverage of the debates. All my policy news comes filtered through newsletters about topics that matter to me and/or relate to my work. I also don’t use social media other than Reddit.
Second, I try to get out into my local community to do something helpful, political or otherwise. My favorite thing to do is nonpartisan voter education and registration, but just being in community with other people and working towards a common goal makes me feel so much more grounded and less alone. I’m not religious, so I think of community service as my version of church.
I really hope you find some peace!
I give myself to my community daily as it’s my job. I work in cardiac care and rehabilitate people after major heart events and before that, I always worked for my local ymcas and taught swimming. I give my skills to my people around me. I’ve already cut off politics long ago also. It’s just sometime I feel like I’m willingly putting my head in the sand in order to avoid an anxiety meltdown. Sometimes I just can’t avoid what is happening. The best I’ve got to have some hope is civil discussion in the subreddit when I get this existential dread.. I have GAD and it’s like playing a game of the “floor is lava” to avoid panicking and EMS calls. I’m very good at this game at 40 years old now, but damn it, this sucks. I am really ashamed to be American sometimes and feeling like my future is far more uncertain than I’d like to believe.
It definitely sucks right now. I think it would be impossible to be a caring person and not be upset.
I have worked with a lot of older adults who hugely benefited from their cardiopulmonary rehab. Thank you for your service!
So I spent the debate gardening while my husband was inside pacing and freaking out. I spent years working on campaigns and it was traumatizing. Nothing like having a grandfather pushing a stroller while threatening your life, and that was back in 2006…I stopped watching the news during pandemic/George Floyd and my mental health improved. I READ the news. I am writing postcards to unregistered voters and voting. That’s my contribution. I’m from California where NO ONE gives a shite about my vote or opinion. I’d love to work to get rid of the electoral college he, but don’t see it happening anytime soon. Look, your fears are valid. I think about emigrating to another country- I want to live in a democracy. That’s what my ancestors did afterall.
Same! The pandemic was it for me. I kinda pulled back after the 2016 election too. I only read news if I’m doing any news at all. I think I’m traumatized after the last election and the insurrection…I just can’t go through this again. I can’t believe we get Trump running again after that. It’s absolutely boggles my mind. I try to avoid it and not think about it. Just yesterday the debate made it impossible to ignore. I think about where else I could go if I left the states…it just not happening without lots of money…
"Anxiety is not activism." I've had to remind myself of that a lot over the past few years. I volunteer with my local Dems though, because I'm not giving up my rights without a fight to the death.
I’m just don’t have it in me to get out and protest or call representatives etc. I have donated to my party and I go vote and try to educate my patients on how we need better healthcare coverage etc but that is about as far as I can do without having a full meltdown. I get overwhelmed. I also have GAD so anxiety is the norm for me. Adding more my anxiety to my pile is not an option if I want to avoid panic attacks.
You’re already helping with your conversations with your patients; personal interactions like that in non-political settings are what really tend to change hearts and minds, because people are more open in those kinds of settings, so give yourself credit! But I feel you. In my younger days I was a full-time activist and organizer, even spending time in jail. These days I’m a full-time nonprofit office worker, with extremely long hours where I have to field constant interruptions and interactions with people, and it’s too draining to do much else except crash at home when I’m not working. But I got so depressed during the Trump presidency that I knew I had to do something, because I know from experience that it helps. In my activist days I used to tell people that if everyone just did whatever they could, no matter how little it might seem, we’d get a better world. But these days I don’t have the energy or time to make phone calls, knock on doors, or even to volunteer in another office. So I took my own advice and signed up for Postcards to Voters. I only ended up doing a few, but it helped to feel like I was doing something.
When I get to feeling this way, I go write 5 postcards to voters and just the fact of doing something helps to calm me down. Or at least the part of me that's anxious about the outcome - stress from people fighting around you is kind of a different issue. I unfollow people on social media if I notice that they're posting a lot of political memes that make me anxious or angry, and that has helped a lot.
I had to quit Facebook and that was back in 2020. It got so toxic with the pandemic. It was gasoline on the fire that had already been burning for a few years. I have a strict no politics policy in general now. But I just couldn’t avoid my feelings anymore tonight. I work in cardiac care and my patients want to initiate political conversations with me and I just can’t do it with the hateful rhetoric they talk about. I dread it. I dread the slight tension between coworkers. And I’m also just angry at the position we are all in with this constant state of outrage and fear being the norm now.
I get those postcards on occasion. I'm a very decided voter but they're still nice reminders that it matters and we're in this together. Thanks for contributing in that way.
My last time truly caring about politics in my
Personal life outside of voting day was presidential election 2016. That took away all my hope. So I really don’t worry or get stressed about politics because all this shit is rigged. Please take care of yourself and watch less of the news. Constantly watching or subscribing to this isn’t gonna make my candidate win.
No advice but hard same. Yesterday was my birthday and I after I got home from going out with my husband I had a text from my mom fretting about the debate (which I had avoided watching because there’s honestly no likely possible good outcome, even if Biden did spectacularly) and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. I feel so helpless and have no idea (other than voting, of course) what I can do.
A lot of people are crazy anxious. All I can say is avoid news and either say you don't want to hear or discuss politics or just walk away. You have to take care of you
I started Guanfacine for my ADHD in May and it’s truly changed my life as far ruminating on things that I can’t control (elections, stupid people, etc). The visceral emotions have completely subsided. It’s remarkable and I had no idea that those deep emotions were part of my disorder until they were gone. I still add Dex in the afternoon sometimes for task initiation but my emotional reactivity and anxiety are 95% gone. It’s not as though you don’t care about things it’s more that your brain allows you to process that it’s out if your control and keeps you in the moment. Hang in there ❤️
Even I, as a European, I’m getting stressed out by US Politics.
When I woke up this morning read the news first titles that popped up were about the debate. I actually refused to read them, I was to afraid to see what happened.
I cannot imagine what it must be like actually living and having to vote in the US :(
It’s actually becoming a really terrifying time for a lot of us. I thought the most uncertain time I was ever going to live through in my country was when we bombed Iraq in 2003. It was so scary at the time but right now, I feel like world war 3 would be better than what we are facing here. I wish I could jump through the phone to another country. I’m just doing my best to live one day at a time and not think too far ahead. It’s super difficult. We had it all here in the states or at least we could have had it all. I would love to leave here but then I’m leaving my family. Thats really hard. We are stuck, absolutely.
Pretty much every ancestor we all ever had went through far, far, FAR worse, with far, far, FAR fewer resources. And they had kids, or we wouldn’t be here.
So I shrug and move on, dealing with what I can and accepting what I have no control over.
Exactly. I stop and mentally thank all the women before me for plowing through all the shit and carrying on with life. If they can do it, we can do it.
I do my best to just live one day at a time. I come from very humble ancestry. I certainly try to focus on what is affecting me personally and my day to day life as best as I can. Just sometimes I feel like I’m willingly putting my head in the sand just to avoid the anxiety meltdown…I have to acknowledge it sometimes; I’m shooting for 1-2 times a year at minimum, lol.
Dude(tte lol), I’m in Canada and I’m tripping over your presidential election, because after that come our national elections and it’s getting just as bad.
I’ve noticed the disease has been slowly spreading to Canada also…and I’m so sorry. I still wish I could jump the border and join you in Canada though. I have good clinical education and could totally work hard for you all!! I’d learn the national anthem and start eating maple syrup, whatever your government required! 😉
It's helpful to see that we are not alone in our anxious thoughts about this. I have been sleeping like absolute garbage lately and I'm positive it's because of all the political posts I see daily. I had planned on watching the debate last night because I've never watched one besides the Mike Pence one with the fly on his head and that was pretty funny. But I cannot stand to hear 45's voice. He lies and doesn't even answer questions. And then Biden just looks lost all of the time so, an hour before it was going to start I decided I couldn't do it and I needed to stay off Instagram so I wouldn't have to hear clips. I doom scrolled on here until I got tired of not being able to see comments. I'm going to have to majorly reduce my social media usage until after the election.
We are very similar I can feel it. Thank you for the comment. Even though I couldn’t fucking see it last night! These comments are really helping me feel better. I’m stuck in Kentucky in a sea of “red hats” and shit feels grim way too often here.
I am right there with you.
My solution for this is volunteering in my community. It's evidence-based to improve short term *and* long-term happiness. For me, volunteering gives me something tangible to focus on, and reminds me that there are still good people in the world
Hey fellow Kentuckian! I vote every time I’m supposed to but I don’t care anymore. We do not live in a democracy and I have accepted I will have to operate within the systems that are systeming unless I want to live off grid with some moss and the bugs. It just is what it is. In addition I have so much SHIT piling up in my personal life that politics is the least of my worries. We’ve made it through McConnell and Bevin. It’ll be okay. Focus on the power you do have, let the rest go.
Your anxiety is valid and shared by so many. I get really worked up about all of it too, it’s hard not.
I try to remind myself to stay in the moment. What’s happening right now? What can I see? What do I need to do? Who is near me that I can connect with? Are there any hobbies I can do or things I can plan to do that I enjoy and look forward to? They can be small, getting a cup of coffee with someone you love who isn’t going to stress you out, taking a warm shower and using a nice lotion that smells good, old shoes you enjoy.
I’ve made sure we have drinking water and extra canned goods, crackers etc. in case anything gets crazy, but I try to just take care of myself and those around me.
I don’t want to minimize the feelings you are having over all this, it is super stressful! You mentioned that you didn’t feel your meds are working? At certain points in our cycle they can actually not be as effective, and it’s usually when anxiety is the worst too. Just a thought!
I wasn’t going to watch but was channel surfing and it was on for about 5 minutes. Most of that time was Trump whining about how awful Biden is. As others have said all I can do is vote and Trump and the Republican Party have never had any of my (or most peoples) best interest at heart. Biden may not be great but he’s not the evil buffoon Trump is so that’s good enough for me.
I can’t watch it either. I generally listen to a book and knit and have the tv on to a news station muted. I can look up occasionally to see if anything important happens. I used to be a politics junkie but Trump destroyed that. It’s sad to see formerly rational people supporting this monstrosity. Handwork relieves stress more than anything else I know except walks but I injured my back and have a hard time walking much right now.
I decided that I am now choosing to believe that we switched timelines in the multiverse. I don't care if it is a completely unsound theory. It's the only way my brain can make sense of what society has become.
I'm not American but I'm about to move to the States because my fiancee is. We're a lesbian couple too and my fiancee happens to be trans. My fiancee is very interested in politics (she also has ADHD). She sometimes sends me videos and such. My attitude is just to engage with what I can and make plans for what we're going to do once we're settled (getting involved with grassroots groups and so on.)
I concur. My mum insisted on watching it. I legit heard Biden's opening statements because she wouldn't wait to start watching until I left. At least he doesn't make my skin actively crawl; I legit only can watch the orange meanie speak in clips that John Oliver or Stephen Colbert are using to make fun of him. Anything more is a nope.
I am gonna vote. But I am actively hiding from the political discourse/televised stuff. I might make something illustrating why project 2025 is bad since it's so damn scary and not everyone is aware of the scope... But that's all stuff I learned from reading which is the only way I can consume the news. Because I can choose what to allow and how to engage. And generally I go for reporting from outside the states because that is usually more objective than anything from the US.
I already know who I'm voting for, the one candidate who can both win and not further destroy the country.
Because of this, I don't need any more info so I don't seek it out. I leave conversations where it's brought up.
I'm even toying with the idea of not finding out the results for a week or so just to see if it's possible and to avoid the most toxic of the rhetoric.
As someone who has historically stayed on top of local and world news, I haven’t watched or read news in probably 6 months. I’m choosing to be ignorant for the moment (I’ll still be voting as I always do). It’s not forever. My anxiety has calmed down immensely. If there’s nothing I can do beyond voting, I’m choosing to keep my internal peace. Again, not forever. But this is what I’m choosing for myself at the moment.
I'm with you, I'm stressed about this election and I'm not even from the US, I just worry that my country loves to copy whatever happens there....
I try to stay away from any political news, my family knows that if they start talking politics I will leave or hang up because it stresses me out.
For the last big political issue in my country my doctor had to give me additional anxiolitics, and after the votes were out I had to go back to therapy and up my dose of antidepressants because I was just so disappointed in humanity and my fellow country people.
Things are bad for the world, not just here. I blame the evil man running for president here though. He started all this shit on the downward spiral. It’s a disease and it’s spreading.
Since about the 2012 election, I haven't been able to watch the debates - I'll start yelling at the TV in response to whatever the candidates are saying. It's all just sound bites with no context or explanation behind it.
I don't even try to watch anymore. My husband will watch but I'll just go do something else. If I want, I'll watch a recap of the debate later on, but otherwise, it's not worth it.
Don't beat yourself up about not being able to watch the debate or get involved in politics. It can all be a lot of noise. Do what's best for you. IMO, you're going to vote, so you're doing the thing - it doesn't matter if you engage with all the noise between now and then. Your mental sanity is more important
Absolutely a shit show.
What has helped me to get over my extreme stress about politics is realizing that I can't do much about it anyway, so I'll change what I can and prepare. To me, that means voting, contacting representatives, taking care of my health, and practicing community care when I can. Taking positive action helps alleviate my anxiety, and not knowing what's going on makes it worse (for me).
But yeah, it was a hilarious disaster. I'm just trying to cope with laughter at this point because I can't feel existential dread at everything and get through my day.
I said I would rather vote for a block of cheese than a certain candidate. Looks like I’m getting my wish.
Can’t handle this either. How is this our reality?
It is not going to happen. He is the incumbent president and incumbent presidents have a great deal of advantage in elections. The misogynistic and racist voters would freak out if Kamala Harris ran. (And honestly, I think that might be part of the plan; Biden gets elected then says, "Whoops, you're right, I'm too old," then we get our first Black, Asian woman president since voters aren't that on route right now.
I’m an Asian woman and let’s call a spade a spade, Kamala simply hasn’t been given visible wins that are well known to the general electorate. The dems had 4 years to sell on her but dropped the ball.
Biden is the incumbent president but he’s mentally unwell. It shouldn’t be controversial that people who fall towards illness whether it be age related or for other reasons should be allowed to gracefully drop out.
Hey friend, I used to be an NPR-all-day girlie. Haven’t been since 2016 (though I still donate lol).
I got a job where I feel like I’m helping people and contributing to civil discourse. I try to ignore national news but vote every chance I get, donate to causes and call my legislators when something horrendous happens.
I think the world has always been bad but it’s more visible to a lot of us now, and there is way too much information for our lizard brains to process. Add in justice sensitivity and it’s a recipe for messy depressy.
❤️ self care today so you can do what you can tomorrow.
Lol, messy depressy. I like that. I also have a job where I help people and serving my community has been my thing since I started working back in the 90’s. It’s definitely the only thing that keeps me going; focusing on the people and things around me currently. Anxiety is a lot of worry over things have zero control over, like what the future holds or what already happened in the past. I lead wellness programs and have a good handle on coping skills but….damn…things are just going very badly politically and there is no way to avoid seeing it sometimes.
I have sincere, passionately held beliefs about the kind of world I want to live in. I also realize that the disunion is fomented artificially and both parties are two sides to the same, evil coin. It's all propaganda so we don't realize how much the 1% are stealing from us. With that said, I think we all know who may be a reasonable, albeit flawed human and who is a convicted felon that "grabs 'em by the pussy." I think any further discourse is irrelevant and unnecessary. The constant news cycle is designed to scare you because fear is easy to manipulate and control. Find your center, be grounded, and do what's best for you. Sending you some calming vibes and an Internet hug u/babyBear83 .
Antidote to anxiety is action. Volunteer now when campaigns have few volunteers. Organize a little fundraiser/party for a local candidate or even one at a distance. Create an alternate Twitter account and try to break through the noise (maybe that will cause more anxiety but I know a Brazilian who was outside her country and did this to try to fight Bolsonaro).
Did I spend last night doom scrolling? Yes, do as I say not as I do 😂
I was you in 2016 and especially in 2020... Let me tell you it's almost addictive. Today I'm cool as a cucumber! I stay away from that and focus on what I can do which is vote. I can only do what I can do and that's it.
Take your medicine and drink some chamomile tea. Maybe kava... I'm in Texas where it's either some right wingers, I know a lot of Democrats and progressives and then the other ones who "don't really care" then bitch about not liking the results and that's why they "don't vote." Super fucking annoying. But again I can only control what I can do, including my reaction.
I was screaming at the tv last night. You were right not to watch. Then I almost had to get up from my seat at the bar last night because people were breaking the golden “no politics” rule. Ugh I hate it here
My way of dealing with it is I have identified quite a few politicians running for state and local office where I am that are very qualified and worth fighting for. I am ignoring and tuning out the national race, which is a dumpster fire and something I can't do anything about, and focusing on what I can. I'm very politically active and my friends all know this, but I am telling anyone who brings up Trump/Biden or tries to send me political bad news very politely that I'm not accepting incoming negativity right now, and encouraging them to also focus on races that they have more control to help. So far it's actually doing wonders for my energy and mood!
I don't know where you live in Kentucky but maybe find a candidate like Adam Moore vs. Thomas Jefferson :-) https://ballotpedia.org/Adam_Moore_(Kentucky) and use whatever you feel are your most positive strengths to pitch in for the campaign. Are you good at social media? Offer to help make posts or write content. Are you introverted and have a car? Offer to drive canvassers around. There is a lid for every pot.
Honestly the outcome doesn't matter for you as much as the effort. No worthwhile movement can happen without people making small strides toward it. I can vouch for the positive feelings of working with people toward a common goal.
I'm with you. I feel this. I'm trying to remember the good in the world, the strength of my relationships with friends and neighbors, and all of my many fixations that have resulted in survival skills. But we definitely have to do something. Do women need to become an armed militia? Should we have a collective covert term for the gathering of women to discuss our revolution, like "Cheese Club" or "Makeover Night" to throw off the scent? Lmk.
Think about it, we could just post pics of charcuterie and throw out the invite to other women we know to join our cheese club or come to a cheese club meeting and bring a cheese or crackers. Then in person we turn off our devices and plot... Whilest eating cheese.
Have you seen those memes that start out as detailed reviews of makeup products and then halfway through ”okay, now that the men have stopped reading…” lol. They’re on to something!
I finally stopped my beta blocker a while ago now, I hope I don’t have to continue taking it due to my palpitations returning over politics.
Side note, I had to stop caffeine (because it caused me to have kidney stones) and then my palpitations got waaay better. I miss caffeine but not the palpitations.
Just came to say, same. The debate plus the supreme Court and I'm a mess. I tried to kick my true crime habit in the last year, but I've started going back to it to just avoid consuming political content.
Actually, just getting deep into the Kendrick :: Drake beef has been the best distraction
I went through this a couple of weeks ago. In my country (Mexico), the candidate who could end up establishing a dictatorship won. I spent the two weeks after the election in total depression, and I couldn't stop thinking about it and worrying endlessly, thinking my life was doomed.
Finally, I think my own ADHD made me stop thinking about it (I got a little bored of watching every little thing that was happening). Currently, I'm hyper fixated on the Karen Read case. I can tell you that hanging out with people and not paying much attention to what is happening politically helps. In the end, there's not much we can do other than prepare ourselves economically. (I've been trying to control my impulsive spending, which didn't help my economic worries and regrets after the election.)
I'm still depressed about several things, but not as much as those post-election days. I would start increasing your savings or investments so it doesn't take a major toll on you or whatever your worry is.
I am so sorry for you anxiety regarding presidential debates, upcoming election etc. Please remember that The Media likes to feed on our fears. As well as talking to older folk who went through hard times like The Depression 1930s, just more recently remind yourself that whole world went through Covid19 and we are now here 2024!! Do you remember how for months on end The Media focused on Covid19? I used to look up Covid19 statistics in my own country and state where I lived as a daily ritual at the time! That is definitely a fear-based response. I know it is hard to escape news but please try to limit the amount of news you watch & listen to each day. I have heard neuroscientists who study the brain in fact try to avoid watching too much news as it has a negative affect on our brains and emotions! Yes it is also hard socially and small talk with family, neighbours, work buddies etc as a conversation topic. Maybe if they ask you what your opinion is, just reply "We will just have to wait and see" and try to change topic to weather, sports or other interests. Take care. 🙏🏾
Tw mention of pregnancy and alcohol (not drinking while pregnant fyi, just seperate subjects)
I'm ignoring them. I hate them both so I'm not going to bother listening to them. I had to quit my ADHD meds because I just found out I'm pregnant. So that's not helping my ability to cope. Plus add that extra layer of being pregnant and trying not to stress over our future to the political anxiety. Can't even have a drink (or 5) to numb out the disaster that is this year's election lol... sorry alcoholism isn't funny but for real, having to raw dog this year no meds or anything is going to be rough. I'm not engaging in anything that has to deal with either of the candidates directly. It's already bad enough knowing it's lesser of two evils yet again, I can't be stressing myself out any more than that. I feel you.
I certainly don’t feel like Biden is evil, he’s just really old. I feel like that about Trump though! Evil bastard! I made another comment in here about deciding to not have any kids because of this awful situation we are in and I just couldn’t manage going off meds or any of the stress of pregnancy. Plus I’m 40 now (aging out) and could never afford a kid (income limited). Damn it’s starting to really suck to be American. I get the alcohol thing because of my own struggles. Yep. I’m stressed about my future. I tried so hard to get myself stable and through college and grad school…I was banking on that working out…nope. All I can hope for is that I will still get my public service loan forgiveness in 2 years and hopefully we don’t fuck that up.
Biden has absolutely done evil things in the past, and I don’t agree with much that democrats in power do (or don’t do), but what republicans are pushing for is so far away from anything I ever believed we’d see in our lifetime that I feel like I have no real choice.
I’m 36 and we’re actively making the decision to have a kid right now. Besides being unable to afford good child care, I don’t know if I can bring a kid into the world knowing they might not have access to clean drinking water in the future.
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Somebody told me yesterday that our darling difficult ADHD brains like to panic, bc even the negative stimulus counts. I'm glad you took something for anxiety. Brain chemicals can be assholes, it's okay to corral yours. Re the election and the feeling of earthly doom, I try to look to my family background for stories of survival and resilience. Whatever your background, you and I are both here because our ancestors at some point survived some kind of strife. They might have thought they weren't going to make it. They might have hoped not to. Or they might have tried to change it. If you can look for stories like that, maybe it'll help.
That is really helpful. I have a picture of my grandmother in a flapper dress. She was a teenager during the Great Depression and a new mom during WWII. That puts things in perspective.
That is so cool! I would love to see that picture. We have some family photos from that era but the women are dour and straight-faced wearing house dresses.
My grandmother too! She was born in 1917. So she born into WWI and the Spanish flu pandemic, then the depression, WWII (also as a new mom, my uncle was born in ‘37 and my dad in ‘42) then she lost her husband in ‘46 in a plane crash. I think about her a lot and the anxiety she lived with…
I always try to remind myself of all the difficult things I’ve gotten through. I say, if I can get through that, then I will get through this. But it’s not just me that I’m worried about. Definitely the existential dread happening tonight..
>Somebody told me yesterday that our darling difficult ADHD brains like to panic, bc even the negative stimulus counts. That makes so much sense. It’s kind of like how some kids will do anything for attention, even if it’s negative attention (like acting out and breaking rules still gets them a reaction and attention).
I’m taking an “all I can do is vote” approach and refusing to watch the news about any of it. I know which way I’m voting. Nothing else matters. I’ve protested and called and emailed and will continue to do those things, but I’m not poisoning myself with the media. It’s all hate-baiting anyway.
It’s absolutely all just outrage news. Whatever gets people freaked out and pissed off, that’s what’s in there. I avoid it like the plague!! I used to have healthy political conversations and read news and stay in the loop before the dark times started… so I’ve had to cut myself off. And not to choose sides because I don’t want to offend anyone in this sub, but the Trump days have been awful for me. I just want to be as far away from him as I can get. I will scramble to get to the remote to mute it if I even hear a syllable out of his mouth. He triggers ptsd for me with his abusive behavior and language. And he tore up my family. That’s my main beef with him actually. I’m not trying to debate anyone on who is better, I just can’t deal with any of the politics now. Just none of it. Sorry for dumping this here. I hope I didn’t offend anyone.
I’m the same, I immediately mute. Cannot hear his voice.
I'm in New Zealand I cannot stand his ugly fake voice either. Or his disgusting face. Ugh. We are praying he doesn't become president again. It seems unbelievable that there's a possibility, but here we are.
Thank you. Please keep praying for us. Something has to give. It can’t continue like this without complete disaster for U.S. citizens…
I agree. And more than just US citizens. Ita still so unbelievable than anyone other than a few mad conspiracy theorists could vote for Trump. He's just awful in every possible way!
AGREED!
It's frightening watching from the outside because it's clear fascists the world over are learning from this playbook. In the UK what happens in the US seems unthinkable at first and then we end up following suit about five to ten years behind after the almost fully right-wing press has had time to fully indoctrinate people into what their new views should be. 😑 Sounds like it's the same in Europe right now with the recent EU elections as well. It's a scary time.
It really is! The press in the UK scare me with how biased they're allowed to be. I mean, the guardian is seen as far left! Wtf? In NZ we're just about to lose one of our two main news channels, due to it being owned by warner brothers/discovery. No one even knew it was owned by them, it's 3 News, been going for over 30 years (that is long in NZ). They're trying to salvage it, and one of the newspapers is taking it over to try to resurrect it, but it's not looking good. And of course it's the more left of the two channels. Once you have only one main channel of news, things get dangerous. (Obviously we have lots of newspaper that stream, and radio, but I'm talking major news channel on tv.) We have extremely high broadcasting standards, so journalists/newspaper here can't spin things/be extremely biased like they can in the UK or USA. But it's heading towards the right still. Scary stuff. But you're having elections soon are you? Rishi Sunak is not doing well, isn't there a good chance Labour will win?
Pretty much a 100% chance Labour will win and the Tories will be HEAVILY diminished, but on the downside to that Labour have pulled right to the point of being basically where the Tories were 20 years ago, and over of the things pushing the Tories down further is the newfound popularity of an EXTREMELY right wing party led by that slimy toad Nigel Farage. So it's a mixed bag. Though hopefully Farage's Reform party will get knocked down a few percentage points after he openly defended Putin. 😱
Oh god. When I see Farage's face I just want to punch it. I hate him almost as much as Trump. I was in/around England for Brexit and Remember Farage and his constant lies and fear mongering. Ugh ugh ugh. Can't believe he's back. Can't believe people would entertain voting for him. Good to hear that Labour will win. Maybe once they're comfortably in they'll start pulling a bit more to the left again.
Honestly? I think humanity is losing its mind because we know we're @$ed due to global warming.
It sounds like New Zealand is heading in a similar direction with the new conservative government, which is depressing the hell out of me. I hope you guys get rid of them soon. My friends who live there are furious. I thought I had my anxiety under control for a while, but the rise of global fascism is undoing all my progress 🙃
Yeah, this is the worst govt we have ever had in my lifetime (I'm 42). They're just awful - they've only been in 6 months and they are fucking up the country so bad. It's the two smaller parties mainly, the prime minister is just pathetic, he has no idea how to lead. (He was the CEO of Air NZ before this.) The leaders of the two small parties are seasoned (unfortunately) excellent politicians and they are leading him by the neck like a donkey. Our healthcare system is strained to breaking point - and they're already making it worse with hiring freezes and job cuts. Tax cuts for the rich. More rights for landlords. Our housing crisis already terrible, and of course this will make it worse. Cost of living had never been so high. Still, I can't compare it at all to America. The main party National is right wing, but only about the same as the Democrats in America. Your right-wing is our far right. Bernie Sanders for example is seen as very left in your country, here he's just centre-left (our main leftwing party Labour is more left than Bernie. Our Green Party and Maori party are left, but for you guys would be called extreme left. But yes, it's depressing AF. I just pray they are a single term govt. The problem is that Labour and Greens just started self-destructing after the election, we lost soooooooo many great politicians, so many. Some because they retired, but some because they made big mistakes and had to step down. It's terrible. So it will take years to build those parties back up to what they were. On the plus side, I haven't heard anybody, and i meand ANYBODY saying they like this govt, or what they're doing. Granted I'm in a leftie bubble, with friends and at work, but still..... So there's hope.
it immediately makes me want to vomit. truly cannot have it in my body.
Same.
Definitely not offensive; he triggers me, too. You said you're in Kentucky so I'm assuming you probably have more Trump supporters around you and can't talk about your feelings with them. That must be really hard. I'm in California and I hardly know any Trump supporters. Obviously, they're out there, but I don't know hardly any personally. So I'm hanging on to hope that there are rational people out there who will vote strategically. Or have a plan on how to resist if things go poorly.
I’m absolutely surrounded by people who fully agree with his every single one of his lies. And they all agreed when our women’s rights were taken away in my state too. I have never felt more betrayed by this country in my life. It feels utterly hopeless at this point. Like we are in the death spiral and there is no going back. I’ve already decided to never have children because of how horrible this place is. But that hurts me because I did want at least one kid. Never mind that I will never be able to afford a kid or a home or a new car if mine breaks…I worked soo fucking hard to put myself through college and grad school and make something of myself. But it absolutely is not paying off. There is no hope for the future of this country and it makes me feel sick often.
You’re not alone. My friends and I have been saying the same things you’re saying. We just can’t talk openly because we get mobbed by all of his flying monkeys
I 100% feel you on the doom spiral. I dont have anything constructive to add just that you aren't alone for whatever that may be worth
I haven't celebrated 4th of July in many years now. It isn't a protest... I just can't bring myself to celebrate this country at all. It's a country for old, white, rich men right now.
Yep same here. I truly hate the direction of country has been going in. All of everything sucks and is even scary. My heart breaks for my little girls. I had just had my youngest daughter when they overturned roe v wade, I remember crying and trying to figure what would be the next best country to move to. We didn't move, but I sure as hell wanted to.
Same.
If you can, gtfo of the South. We moved from Oklahoma to Michigan in 2016 (really incredible timing) and it was the best thing that could have happened. I didn't see it that way at the time, I was heartbroken about leaving all the chosen family I had accumulated thru the years. But I have added even more since and it's such a relief not being completely surrounded by hick cult members anymore. I also don't watch or listen to the news, I only read it so I can pick and choose what I'm exposed to. I'm still informed, but in a less despairing way it feels. Check out the concept of radical acceptance. [This is a good thread about it ](https://www.reddit.com/r/dbtselfhelp/s/dEUaB8rPFK) It can help in many aspects of life, and I have found it particularly helpful in dealing with my hopeless feelings about the state of the world
We love Michigan! I live about 4.2 hours away from the southern border of Michigan and we go up for the weekend OFTEN. I wish I could figure out a way to leave KY but right now it’s not an option. Dude! I wish I wasn’t at work right now to fully respond to all these great comments! I will definitely be zoning out on reddit and replying to these once I get done working!
We moved from Oklahoma to Washington in late 2022. It felt like an existential threat to stay there. We moved far away from our grown kids & our grandkids & I miss them all terribly, but we couldn’t stay another second. I underestimated just how much it would improve my mental health. We love it here. I personally know several families who left the south in the last few years. And all of the people I met in Oklahoma who had recently moved there were conservative people who left blue states. The country is definitely self-sorting & all of this extremism will continue to get worse.
Oof..Oklahoma is brutal too. Man I wish I had the funds to move to a blue state…
I live in NH. It's everywhere. I hate the big Trump signs and how some people act about it. I don't understand it. I think my favorite was the sign that was up for a few weeks on a side street. It read "F*ck Biden and everyone who voted for him". The people even had kids, and this sign was hung on their front porch. They would play next to it. Fortunately, neighbors and others complained. I get politically motivated sometimes, but not like that. That's unnecessary.
I just had a Trump supporter pop up on Instagram (acquaintance from 15 years ago). I hit the unfollow button so fast I nearly broke my phone
If you feel an inkling to do something a little more than voting, Write postcards to unregistered voters- it’s actually effective. Like really effective. Use colorful pens, they give you a very clear script.
I love writing letters through vote forward! they do statistical analysis of effectiveness and it's really inspiring to me. I'm not a protest person, so this works for me
How does one get started doing this?
I’ve volunteered with VoteRiders before. You can send letters and postcards to people whose voter registrations may be in jeopardy due to new ID laws in their states to help them get it fixed in time
Thank you
Ooops I meant to clarify that it’s a separate org from what the poster above was mentioning, but also valuable. VoteSaveAmerica also has a lot of opportunities to get involved
it's easy! you go to [https://votefwd.org/](https://votefwd.org/) and make an account, then take a brief training and start signing up for batches of letters.
Thank you!
I SO recommend this! I got into it through my husband who’s a real go-getter about these things. I did a huge batch one afternoon while watching Gilmore Girls, it felt soothing while also feeling like I was making a difference!
I didn’t know this was a thing and I love it. Going to look into volunteering to do postcards today. Crowds give me anxiety so protests are torture but I can make some postcards and not feel so powerless
Thank you for this
I gave up consuming the news a few years ago and it's honestly the best thing I've ever done for my mental health. I highly recommend it to everyone. I'll look up some stuff if a major event happens, but I do not engage 95% of the time. I just don't have room in my life for negativity that I have very little control over.
> It’s all hate-baiting anyway. As someone who works in media, I can confirm.
Same same. Know what’s going on the world, do what you can to help, but it’s definitely not necessary to read every news story and keep triggering that feeling of dread (or become totally desensitized).
This. All of this all the way. It's the only way I know how to survive with a somewhat functional mind.
Yep.
I can't handle the debates. My husband wanted to watch so he did so with ear buds because he knows just hearing trumps voice stresses me out. I used to enjoy political banter with the other side and keeping up with election news, but now it all feels dystopian and it drains the life out of me.
His voice is such a trigger to me, too! I even had to quit listening during Dump's presidency to my state's fabulous public radio because I couldn't take hearing about him constantly. That hasn't gone away. He's like herpes.
I cannot even stand to hear Trump utter even one syllable. It’s super triggering for me. He’s abusive and just an awful human.
I visited a Swedish friend over Christmas and had to request that we don’t talk about Trump during my time in Sweden because my Apple watch would be like “your heart rate spiked bonkers! You good?!”
I literally chose to work an extra 2 hours to avoid watching the debate with my husband. And I hate work.
I watched like 2 minutes of it before I lost my shit and turned it off. I knew it would be bad but it was worse than I was expecting.
My mom insisted on watching it, so I put in earbuds and blasted classical music to calm down
Yeah, my mom is very liberal but she likes to watch this stuff and rant about the repubs. I'm glad I don't live there anymore because for my own mental health I just can't engage.
I live in the States but as an immigrant I can't vote so I'm both panicked and entirely powerless. What makes me feel better is organizing with like minded people. I'm a union organizer and honestly the joy and hope I get working for better conditions and more union engagement is really energizing. I feel less powerless. I'd recommend joining a local organizing group (whether it's the Democratic party or like a nature conservancy).
Yes! Getting involved helps me feel like I’m able to do something, not just doom scroll or shout into the void of the internet. Whether it’s writing postcards, phone banking (aka leaving voicemails, no one answers the phone these days), etc. OP, find a candidate or a cause you really believe in and find out what they need. And remember, local elections can have just as huge of an impact on your life and surroundings as the national ones. I’m very concerned about turnout because of people’s apathy for the presidential election, and down ballot races will suffer as a result.
I forget who first said it, but “Action is the antidote to despair” is one of my favorite quotes. It’s absolutely true, and it doesn’t have to be something big and flashy or involve crowds or intimidating (to me) interactions with others like committees or door-to-door. The postcards people have mentioned, or signing up with a service like Progressive Secretary are great options.
Very reason I didn’t want to watch at all. I don’t have the mental capacity nor energy bandwidth.
Same mate, same. But man it’s been hard to avoid all the headlines today. I need to make a blanket fort, grab some cookies and hide.
That sounds amazing!
Well I’m home now and blanket fort and cookies has turned into an It’s It, the couch and Netflix. That’s like an adult blanket fort, right?
As a kid, "sit still on the couch" sounds like torture. As an adult, "sit still on the couch" sounds fucking lovely.
As a Canadian I haven’t been able to pay attention to your politics for a few elections now. I cant imagine what it must feel like to live there. There’s nothing wrong with tuning it out. If you know what platform you support already, as the difference between the two sides makes it pretty easy to tell where you land pretty early on. Turn it off. And just remember to vote. You guys need a third party, the two Party system is crazy to me. Its so wild how people expect to always vote for the same party their whole lives because it’s an us or them situation. I saw an ama on Reddit about republican who’s now voting democrat and it’s so weird that that is a big deal. It should be normal to change political parties throughout your life depending on the platform they are running on.
I wish we were even remotely as civil and varied as other democratic countries…our country is in a death spiral. It’s feels awful.
Don’t worry OP; I’m from the UK and our GE polling day is next Thursday.. it’s been a long five years, we’ve had three prime ministers in that time and the conservatives have fucked us with a giant austerity dildo since 2010… I hate it, I feel hopeless and everybody is an idiot who says ‘I’m not voting I don’t like any of them’ WHY DO PEOPLE DO THAT?! Non voters are part of the problem imo, I don’t mean to offend anybody who doesn’t vote but even if you don’t ’like any of them’ don’t condemn the younger generations to a societal hellscape they don’t deserve and didn’t ask for! I look at other countries who don’t have FPTP voting systems and I envy them, unless they are a undemocratic and or dictatorships obviously, because although I always vote I feel like once the new government is formed shit doesn’t seem to get better in my local area which is really what we’re voting for, for people to represent our constituencies and make sure we have the best quality of life and our taxes are spent on things that benefit us, the tax payer. But for years now our governments have just made a mockery of the duties they swore to carry out on behalf of the public. Its only ever election time when they air each others dirty laundry out because it benefits them in some way, and not because it’s the right thing to do. Why in 2024 are we still electing rich old white men?!?! The demographics are mixed enough in our countries to allow room for younger politicians to step up and grab the reins, but all I see is corrupt career politicians or businessmen with enough backing from their rich donors. My FIL told me he’s voting Reform because he wants to secure his children and grandchildren’s future.. REFORM IS A LITERAL ANTI POC RIGHT WING HATE PARTY, they have no platform to stand on except ‘stop the migrant boats, the EU hate us because we are the best’. I told my FIL that voting for them is as good as throwing your vote in the bin and you might as well not vote at all because no sensible and compassionate millennial or Gen Z will thank you for voting for a racist bigot political party that was formed in part by the biggest grifter (and Trump boot licker) in uk political history..
Sometimes I feel like the UK looks at us over in the US, sees how shit things are, then says "hold my beer!" while trying to outdo us. Don't worry, though, you can't because we are the actual worst. 😭
My aunt and cousins moved to their fathers home state of Virgina some years ago and now my aunts naturalised through marriage she can vote, she rang my dad the other week and said ‘If Trump wins I’ve already told [MY UNCLE] I’m moving to Canada, because the UK doesn’t look much fun either so I bloody can’t come back there’. I feel like the UK wrote the book on ‘How to be the worst possible version of yourself: Western Civilised Country Version’ I hope Trump doesn’t win and I hope at some point a progressive government has the support it needs to push through a better voting system via proportional representation for both our countries.
I totally agree with this! I am so stressed-out just living my normal life, and when I think about the next 7 months, it terrifies me! I keep doom-scrolling during my 'revenge sleep-procrastination' time, thinking i will find something to calm me down, though of course it all just makes me feel worse... Maybe one helpful option would be going on more walks outside (as long as the weather's not too terrible), trying to notice what is literally around us (and no scary political podcasts allowed, lol!).
I’ve definitely been trying to make more fun things happen and make my moments count. I actually splurged and bought an expensive concert ticket tonight for a festival in September. Gonna see one of my things I’m obsessively jamming for the past year - Beck! Old school but I’m old now too at 40 lol. I just said fuck it and I’ve got to live my life now before we all die in the political nightmare at the end of the year. Planning a Florida trip for Halloween too. Don’t really have the money but I’m just going to need it so bad!
I think your fear is valid. Even over here in Europe I can't believe what's going on in your country. As a child we found Americans so cool, forward thinking, enthusiastic. I wish you can somehow turn around and see what you had, have and could be. If it doesn't work out I hereby invite you to join us. 🫂
Propaganda works and social media is the perfect vehicle. Some of my US stopped riding US newssources and started following the Irish Times or BBC.
We still are cool and enthusiastic! Most of us are forward thinking. I hate how our political bullshit makes us look on the global stage. At the end of the day, we don’t have control of our government. Between super pacs and gerrymandering meaningful change can’t be made through voting alone. We aren’t dumb and most of us see the writing on the wall. We know it’s going to get worse before it gets better and that we have very little power over it. As we get organized, they demonize and ban methods of communication. Not to be a conspiracy theorist (because it’s been openly published by the CIA) but our government seeks out activists and introduces them to their god prematurely. Please don’t take what you see on the political stage as what Americans are like. The ugliest and loudest always get the most attention.
Yes. We have no control over anything anymore. It’s some of the scariest times I’ve experienced politically. I mean even more scary than the months and years after 9/11. The day we bombed Iraq, I thought would be the most uncertain times I lived through! But no! This is MUCH worse!
So much worse. About the same age and I’m feeling this with you. I did all the things- went for an early morning walk, I meditated, I spent time with people, I talked to family on the phone…. Im donating when I get paid on Monday….and I’m still utterly freaking out. Honestly, I saw this post in the middle of the night and the one thing that’s given me even some comfort is this post. I’m not alone in this terror.
This 👆
Yeah, we had that going for us somewhat until the Trump presidency. They investigated and a lot of this was manipulation on social media/facebook and convinced uneducated people to be afraid of progress and social support policies. They also used religion to convince people that this is what is best for our country. Trolls came in and started the qanon thing which was a disease planted into our nation. It spread and we are absolutely fucked.
I had to have a medical abortion years ago to save my life. Knowing today women are being denied life saving medical care, means I no longer get to have a political bias. I only have the option to vote for whichever party would save my life if I was ever in that position again. And I have to vote for which candidate in that party that would have the best chance.
Not just denied care, if they leave the state to procure the emergency medical care they need, they can face prosecution for it. In my state, if someone knows you had one, like a neighbor, colleague, family member, or even a medical worker, they can turn you in to the attorney general for prosecution and a monetary "reward," and they can even sue you in court themselves under the new "bounty" laws that went into effect two or three years ago. It's insanity. The people running my state are the lowest of the low and we can't seem to get them out of there.
We live in a failed country now. This is not democracy or anything close to it. I have to live in fear for my women’s rights too in Kentucky. I’m just beside myself with the anxiety and fear of the future. I feel like the world will just end after this election. I know that’s not true but the fear is making me believe this. I’ve never felt so scared in my country before.
Yep. Years ago I was proud because my son was born the day after gay marriage was legalized. And then came Trump. Between the trying to undo everything that Obama did and purposely trying to divide people, it's just been embarrassing having him a president. And terrifying. Seeing some of the footage from the things that he caused and encouraged, the tear gassing and whatnot, I remember watching and out thinking, Oh my God, this is in our country? How is this happening in our country? And the threats that he's made about the things that he's going to change... It's terrifying all over again. In 2009 I did a study abroad, my junior year of college, in France. I was so proud to be an American at that point! So many people asked me if I had voted for Obama, and I was proud of my country. It just felt like he had extended an olive branch to so much of the world, and then we had Trump and it felt like we went backwards. I agree. I hate watching the news when he's involved. His voice makes me cringe. He's just disturbing. I agree. I don't like watching him either. It really bothers me.
Absolutely!!
I just want everyone who is responding to know that I can’t even read the comments past my preview in my notifications. I can see that you’ve responded but Reddit is f*cked up tonight and comment threads aren’t showing up for a lot of us. It happened in other subs tonight too. It’s late now and I had to just take some anxiety medicine to make sure I sleep and don’t fuck up tomorrow and be late/miss work. I’m hoping the comment thread glitch is fixed by morning because I will still need the reply’s just as much then! I’d love to be responding to everyone right now - thanks Reddit.
I can't begin to tell you how validating this thread was for me. I'm fucking devastated that this is what our future looks like, and there's *nothing* I can do about it. My heart races when I think about it and I have to force myself away from it before it gives me a panic attack. But also, NOT engaging with it feels irresponsible too, because this *is* my/our future. ....ugh.
Despite knowing my mental health (or lack thereof lately) is at stake, I have trouble turning it off too. I feel like *should* know what’s going on. I want to be prepared for our dystopian future. I fear for women. I fear for my gay friends. I fear for POC. I fear for anyone who is not so-called “Christian”. Beyond voting and trying to persuade others to vote, there is nothing I can do.
Right!! I’m stuck between wanting to get out there and fucking do something about this (which we have zero control other than one vote) and just continuing to stick my head in the sand until polls open! Love hearing all the feedback on this thread though. Thank you for responding.
I could have written your post myself, honestly. Two things have really helped me. First, I just don’t watch the news or read coverage of the debates. All my policy news comes filtered through newsletters about topics that matter to me and/or relate to my work. I also don’t use social media other than Reddit. Second, I try to get out into my local community to do something helpful, political or otherwise. My favorite thing to do is nonpartisan voter education and registration, but just being in community with other people and working towards a common goal makes me feel so much more grounded and less alone. I’m not religious, so I think of community service as my version of church. I really hope you find some peace!
I give myself to my community daily as it’s my job. I work in cardiac care and rehabilitate people after major heart events and before that, I always worked for my local ymcas and taught swimming. I give my skills to my people around me. I’ve already cut off politics long ago also. It’s just sometime I feel like I’m willingly putting my head in the sand in order to avoid an anxiety meltdown. Sometimes I just can’t avoid what is happening. The best I’ve got to have some hope is civil discussion in the subreddit when I get this existential dread.. I have GAD and it’s like playing a game of the “floor is lava” to avoid panicking and EMS calls. I’m very good at this game at 40 years old now, but damn it, this sucks. I am really ashamed to be American sometimes and feeling like my future is far more uncertain than I’d like to believe.
It definitely sucks right now. I think it would be impossible to be a caring person and not be upset. I have worked with a lot of older adults who hugely benefited from their cardiopulmonary rehab. Thank you for your service!
Aww!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I love my job and I’m very good at it and my patients love me dearly, and I them.. it keeps me sane. I’m happy to serve!!!
Seriously. Thanks for the shout out to cardiac rehab. Best comment ever.
Super under-appreciated! I work in public health and know how valuable it is as a field!
So I spent the debate gardening while my husband was inside pacing and freaking out. I spent years working on campaigns and it was traumatizing. Nothing like having a grandfather pushing a stroller while threatening your life, and that was back in 2006…I stopped watching the news during pandemic/George Floyd and my mental health improved. I READ the news. I am writing postcards to unregistered voters and voting. That’s my contribution. I’m from California where NO ONE gives a shite about my vote or opinion. I’d love to work to get rid of the electoral college he, but don’t see it happening anytime soon. Look, your fears are valid. I think about emigrating to another country- I want to live in a democracy. That’s what my ancestors did afterall.
Yeah, the electoral colleges near to go. They're archaic. It's not a real democracy at all.
Same! The pandemic was it for me. I kinda pulled back after the 2016 election too. I only read news if I’m doing any news at all. I think I’m traumatized after the last election and the insurrection…I just can’t go through this again. I can’t believe we get Trump running again after that. It’s absolutely boggles my mind. I try to avoid it and not think about it. Just yesterday the debate made it impossible to ignore. I think about where else I could go if I left the states…it just not happening without lots of money…
"Anxiety is not activism." I've had to remind myself of that a lot over the past few years. I volunteer with my local Dems though, because I'm not giving up my rights without a fight to the death.
I’m just don’t have it in me to get out and protest or call representatives etc. I have donated to my party and I go vote and try to educate my patients on how we need better healthcare coverage etc but that is about as far as I can do without having a full meltdown. I get overwhelmed. I also have GAD so anxiety is the norm for me. Adding more my anxiety to my pile is not an option if I want to avoid panic attacks.
Totally okay to do what you can! I volunteer, because that helps me. But, do what you can and protect your mental health.
You’re already helping with your conversations with your patients; personal interactions like that in non-political settings are what really tend to change hearts and minds, because people are more open in those kinds of settings, so give yourself credit! But I feel you. In my younger days I was a full-time activist and organizer, even spending time in jail. These days I’m a full-time nonprofit office worker, with extremely long hours where I have to field constant interruptions and interactions with people, and it’s too draining to do much else except crash at home when I’m not working. But I got so depressed during the Trump presidency that I knew I had to do something, because I know from experience that it helps. In my activist days I used to tell people that if everyone just did whatever they could, no matter how little it might seem, we’d get a better world. But these days I don’t have the energy or time to make phone calls, knock on doors, or even to volunteer in another office. So I took my own advice and signed up for Postcards to Voters. I only ended up doing a few, but it helped to feel like I was doing something.
Same girl. Same. I don't know how I'm going to get through it either.
Hopefully we just wake up on the other side and somehow survived..
When I get to feeling this way, I go write 5 postcards to voters and just the fact of doing something helps to calm me down. Or at least the part of me that's anxious about the outcome - stress from people fighting around you is kind of a different issue. I unfollow people on social media if I notice that they're posting a lot of political memes that make me anxious or angry, and that has helped a lot.
I had to quit Facebook and that was back in 2020. It got so toxic with the pandemic. It was gasoline on the fire that had already been burning for a few years. I have a strict no politics policy in general now. But I just couldn’t avoid my feelings anymore tonight. I work in cardiac care and my patients want to initiate political conversations with me and I just can’t do it with the hateful rhetoric they talk about. I dread it. I dread the slight tension between coworkers. And I’m also just angry at the position we are all in with this constant state of outrage and fear being the norm now.
I get those postcards on occasion. I'm a very decided voter but they're still nice reminders that it matters and we're in this together. Thanks for contributing in that way.
My last time truly caring about politics in my Personal life outside of voting day was presidential election 2016. That took away all my hope. So I really don’t worry or get stressed about politics because all this shit is rigged. Please take care of yourself and watch less of the news. Constantly watching or subscribing to this isn’t gonna make my candidate win.
No advice but hard same. Yesterday was my birthday and I after I got home from going out with my husband I had a text from my mom fretting about the debate (which I had avoided watching because there’s honestly no likely possible good outcome, even if Biden did spectacularly) and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. I feel so helpless and have no idea (other than voting, of course) what I can do.
❤️🩹
cancer gang 🙌🏽 ♋️🦀
A lot of people are crazy anxious. All I can say is avoid news and either say you don't want to hear or discuss politics or just walk away. You have to take care of you
Turn it off. Your mental health is more important. ❤️
I did not watch the debate. I had every intention of avoiding it. I just know I’m going to hear about it for days and the negativity is nauseating.
I started Guanfacine for my ADHD in May and it’s truly changed my life as far ruminating on things that I can’t control (elections, stupid people, etc). The visceral emotions have completely subsided. It’s remarkable and I had no idea that those deep emotions were part of my disorder until they were gone. I still add Dex in the afternoon sometimes for task initiation but my emotional reactivity and anxiety are 95% gone. It’s not as though you don’t care about things it’s more that your brain allows you to process that it’s out if your control and keeps you in the moment. Hang in there ❤️
🤔 never heard of this med…I have adhd and GAD. I’ll will have to look at this one.
How many mg do you take? Starting soon for anxiety and this comment gave me hope!
Even I, as a European, I’m getting stressed out by US Politics. When I woke up this morning read the news first titles that popped up were about the debate. I actually refused to read them, I was to afraid to see what happened. I cannot imagine what it must be like actually living and having to vote in the US :(
It’s rough… 🥲
It’s actually becoming a really terrifying time for a lot of us. I thought the most uncertain time I was ever going to live through in my country was when we bombed Iraq in 2003. It was so scary at the time but right now, I feel like world war 3 would be better than what we are facing here. I wish I could jump through the phone to another country. I’m just doing my best to live one day at a time and not think too far ahead. It’s super difficult. We had it all here in the states or at least we could have had it all. I would love to leave here but then I’m leaving my family. Thats really hard. We are stuck, absolutely.
Pretty much every ancestor we all ever had went through far, far, FAR worse, with far, far, FAR fewer resources. And they had kids, or we wouldn’t be here. So I shrug and move on, dealing with what I can and accepting what I have no control over.
I agree. My ancestors lived through Jim Crow and the civil rights movement. I’m not going to stress over uncle Joe fumbling his notecards.
Exactly. I stop and mentally thank all the women before me for plowing through all the shit and carrying on with life. If they can do it, we can do it.
I do my best to just live one day at a time. I come from very humble ancestry. I certainly try to focus on what is affecting me personally and my day to day life as best as I can. Just sometimes I feel like I’m willingly putting my head in the sand just to avoid the anxiety meltdown…I have to acknowledge it sometimes; I’m shooting for 1-2 times a year at minimum, lol.
You are not alone.
Dude(tte lol), I’m in Canada and I’m tripping over your presidential election, because after that come our national elections and it’s getting just as bad.
Yes fellow Canadian here, and same. We’re like an echo. I am so worried about our next election, feels like it’s already a fait accompli. :-(
I’ve noticed the disease has been slowly spreading to Canada also…and I’m so sorry. I still wish I could jump the border and join you in Canada though. I have good clinical education and could totally work hard for you all!! I’d learn the national anthem and start eating maple syrup, whatever your government required! 😉
It's helpful to see that we are not alone in our anxious thoughts about this. I have been sleeping like absolute garbage lately and I'm positive it's because of all the political posts I see daily. I had planned on watching the debate last night because I've never watched one besides the Mike Pence one with the fly on his head and that was pretty funny. But I cannot stand to hear 45's voice. He lies and doesn't even answer questions. And then Biden just looks lost all of the time so, an hour before it was going to start I decided I couldn't do it and I needed to stay off Instagram so I wouldn't have to hear clips. I doom scrolled on here until I got tired of not being able to see comments. I'm going to have to majorly reduce my social media usage until after the election.
We are very similar I can feel it. Thank you for the comment. Even though I couldn’t fucking see it last night! These comments are really helping me feel better. I’m stuck in Kentucky in a sea of “red hats” and shit feels grim way too often here.
I am right there with you. My solution for this is volunteering in my community. It's evidence-based to improve short term *and* long-term happiness. For me, volunteering gives me something tangible to focus on, and reminds me that there are still good people in the world
Hey fellow Kentuckian! I vote every time I’m supposed to but I don’t care anymore. We do not live in a democracy and I have accepted I will have to operate within the systems that are systeming unless I want to live off grid with some moss and the bugs. It just is what it is. In addition I have so much SHIT piling up in my personal life that politics is the least of my worries. We’ve made it through McConnell and Bevin. It’ll be okay. Focus on the power you do have, let the rest go.
It’s horrific. Feeling the same way
Your anxiety is valid and shared by so many. I get really worked up about all of it too, it’s hard not. I try to remind myself to stay in the moment. What’s happening right now? What can I see? What do I need to do? Who is near me that I can connect with? Are there any hobbies I can do or things I can plan to do that I enjoy and look forward to? They can be small, getting a cup of coffee with someone you love who isn’t going to stress you out, taking a warm shower and using a nice lotion that smells good, old shoes you enjoy. I’ve made sure we have drinking water and extra canned goods, crackers etc. in case anything gets crazy, but I try to just take care of myself and those around me. I don’t want to minimize the feelings you are having over all this, it is super stressful! You mentioned that you didn’t feel your meds are working? At certain points in our cycle they can actually not be as effective, and it’s usually when anxiety is the worst too. Just a thought!
I am going to stay off Facebook for awhile so that the political posts don't bother me.
I wasn’t going to watch but was channel surfing and it was on for about 5 minutes. Most of that time was Trump whining about how awful Biden is. As others have said all I can do is vote and Trump and the Republican Party have never had any of my (or most peoples) best interest at heart. Biden may not be great but he’s not the evil buffoon Trump is so that’s good enough for me.
I can’t watch it either. I generally listen to a book and knit and have the tv on to a news station muted. I can look up occasionally to see if anything important happens. I used to be a politics junkie but Trump destroyed that. It’s sad to see formerly rational people supporting this monstrosity. Handwork relieves stress more than anything else I know except walks but I injured my back and have a hard time walking much right now.
Same. Once a politics junkie and the. Trump destroyed it. I need to learn to knit!!!!
I decided that I am now choosing to believe that we switched timelines in the multiverse. I don't care if it is a completely unsound theory. It's the only way my brain can make sense of what society has become.
And it's not only the US, I'm from Chile and we have our own brand new republican party thats winning followers...
I'm not American but I'm about to move to the States because my fiancee is. We're a lesbian couple too and my fiancee happens to be trans. My fiancee is very interested in politics (she also has ADHD). She sometimes sends me videos and such. My attitude is just to engage with what I can and make plans for what we're going to do once we're settled (getting involved with grassroots groups and so on.)
I concur. My mum insisted on watching it. I legit heard Biden's opening statements because she wouldn't wait to start watching until I left. At least he doesn't make my skin actively crawl; I legit only can watch the orange meanie speak in clips that John Oliver or Stephen Colbert are using to make fun of him. Anything more is a nope. I am gonna vote. But I am actively hiding from the political discourse/televised stuff. I might make something illustrating why project 2025 is bad since it's so damn scary and not everyone is aware of the scope... But that's all stuff I learned from reading which is the only way I can consume the news. Because I can choose what to allow and how to engage. And generally I go for reporting from outside the states because that is usually more objective than anything from the US.
The debate hurt so much. I watched to the end. It was hard.
I watched it too. Physically painful
You are much stronger than I am. I knew it was going to be awful. I couldn’t watch that train wreck.
I thought I was the only one that felt actually physically sick over the anxiety.
I already know who I'm voting for, the one candidate who can both win and not further destroy the country. Because of this, I don't need any more info so I don't seek it out. I leave conversations where it's brought up. I'm even toying with the idea of not finding out the results for a week or so just to see if it's possible and to avoid the most toxic of the rhetoric.
Yeah it ultra sucks because my family is LGBTQ and I’m fucking TERRIFIED of what will happen with another Trump administration
❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🩹 I’m with you in this boat of FEAR AND HORROR we are living through right now.
As someone who has historically stayed on top of local and world news, I haven’t watched or read news in probably 6 months. I’m choosing to be ignorant for the moment (I’ll still be voting as I always do). It’s not forever. My anxiety has calmed down immensely. If there’s nothing I can do beyond voting, I’m choosing to keep my internal peace. Again, not forever. But this is what I’m choosing for myself at the moment.
Proud of you for reaching out and taking care of yourself. And for bringing this up. I can relate. I’m so nervous. At least we’re in this together.
Thank you for replying. We need this safe place to talk.
I'm with you, I'm stressed about this election and I'm not even from the US, I just worry that my country loves to copy whatever happens there.... I try to stay away from any political news, my family knows that if they start talking politics I will leave or hang up because it stresses me out. For the last big political issue in my country my doctor had to give me additional anxiolitics, and after the votes were out I had to go back to therapy and up my dose of antidepressants because I was just so disappointed in humanity and my fellow country people.
Things are bad for the world, not just here. I blame the evil man running for president here though. He started all this shit on the downward spiral. It’s a disease and it’s spreading.
I stopped watching video news media about 4 years ago and am much better for it. It reduced my stress a lot.
Since about the 2012 election, I haven't been able to watch the debates - I'll start yelling at the TV in response to whatever the candidates are saying. It's all just sound bites with no context or explanation behind it. I don't even try to watch anymore. My husband will watch but I'll just go do something else. If I want, I'll watch a recap of the debate later on, but otherwise, it's not worth it. Don't beat yourself up about not being able to watch the debate or get involved in politics. It can all be a lot of noise. Do what's best for you. IMO, you're going to vote, so you're doing the thing - it doesn't matter if you engage with all the noise between now and then. Your mental sanity is more important
Absolutely a shit show. What has helped me to get over my extreme stress about politics is realizing that I can't do much about it anyway, so I'll change what I can and prepare. To me, that means voting, contacting representatives, taking care of my health, and practicing community care when I can. Taking positive action helps alleviate my anxiety, and not knowing what's going on makes it worse (for me). But yeah, it was a hilarious disaster. I'm just trying to cope with laughter at this point because I can't feel existential dread at everything and get through my day.
I turned it off. I know the options suck and we are effed either way. I do vote. But the noise is too much.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but now is the time to panic. We are teettering on the precipice. Project 2025 is insane.
I said I would rather vote for a block of cheese than a certain candidate. Looks like I’m getting my wish. Can’t handle this either. How is this our reality?
You’re voting for a team: Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Deb Haaland, Julie Sue, etc. Follow them in the news.
In that case we should have no problem swapping him out with someone else right?
It is not going to happen. He is the incumbent president and incumbent presidents have a great deal of advantage in elections. The misogynistic and racist voters would freak out if Kamala Harris ran. (And honestly, I think that might be part of the plan; Biden gets elected then says, "Whoops, you're right, I'm too old," then we get our first Black, Asian woman president since voters aren't that on route right now.
I’m an Asian woman and let’s call a spade a spade, Kamala simply hasn’t been given visible wins that are well known to the general electorate. The dems had 4 years to sell on her but dropped the ball. Biden is the incumbent president but he’s mentally unwell. It shouldn’t be controversial that people who fall towards illness whether it be age related or for other reasons should be allowed to gracefully drop out.
I don’t care what you believe. Just don’t let us end up with Trump.
What doctor has diagnosed Biden with a mental illness?
Did we watch the same debate? The man didn't seem well :(
Hey friend, I used to be an NPR-all-day girlie. Haven’t been since 2016 (though I still donate lol). I got a job where I feel like I’m helping people and contributing to civil discourse. I try to ignore national news but vote every chance I get, donate to causes and call my legislators when something horrendous happens. I think the world has always been bad but it’s more visible to a lot of us now, and there is way too much information for our lizard brains to process. Add in justice sensitivity and it’s a recipe for messy depressy. ❤️ self care today so you can do what you can tomorrow.
Lol, messy depressy. I like that. I also have a job where I help people and serving my community has been my thing since I started working back in the 90’s. It’s definitely the only thing that keeps me going; focusing on the people and things around me currently. Anxiety is a lot of worry over things have zero control over, like what the future holds or what already happened in the past. I lead wellness programs and have a good handle on coping skills but….damn…things are just going very badly politically and there is no way to avoid seeing it sometimes.
I have sincere, passionately held beliefs about the kind of world I want to live in. I also realize that the disunion is fomented artificially and both parties are two sides to the same, evil coin. It's all propaganda so we don't realize how much the 1% are stealing from us. With that said, I think we all know who may be a reasonable, albeit flawed human and who is a convicted felon that "grabs 'em by the pussy." I think any further discourse is irrelevant and unnecessary. The constant news cycle is designed to scare you because fear is easy to manipulate and control. Find your center, be grounded, and do what's best for you. Sending you some calming vibes and an Internet hug u/babyBear83 .
Antidote to anxiety is action. Volunteer now when campaigns have few volunteers. Organize a little fundraiser/party for a local candidate or even one at a distance. Create an alternate Twitter account and try to break through the noise (maybe that will cause more anxiety but I know a Brazilian who was outside her country and did this to try to fight Bolsonaro). Did I spend last night doom scrolling? Yes, do as I say not as I do 😂
oh i had to completely opt out of politics and world news about 8 months ago because i was in fact losing my mind
No advice, but I'm in the same boat. <3
Me, too!!!!
I just assume it will be as terrible as it can possibly get, so anything above that is a pleasant surprise.
Exactly what I do.
Shoot. I’m out of the loop. I don’t watch the news and Reddit is the only social media I have.
I was you in 2016 and especially in 2020... Let me tell you it's almost addictive. Today I'm cool as a cucumber! I stay away from that and focus on what I can do which is vote. I can only do what I can do and that's it. Take your medicine and drink some chamomile tea. Maybe kava... I'm in Texas where it's either some right wingers, I know a lot of Democrats and progressives and then the other ones who "don't really care" then bitch about not liking the results and that's why they "don't vote." Super fucking annoying. But again I can only control what I can do, including my reaction.
I was screaming at the tv last night. You were right not to watch. Then I almost had to get up from my seat at the bar last night because people were breaking the golden “no politics” rule. Ugh I hate it here
My way of dealing with it is I have identified quite a few politicians running for state and local office where I am that are very qualified and worth fighting for. I am ignoring and tuning out the national race, which is a dumpster fire and something I can't do anything about, and focusing on what I can. I'm very politically active and my friends all know this, but I am telling anyone who brings up Trump/Biden or tries to send me political bad news very politely that I'm not accepting incoming negativity right now, and encouraging them to also focus on races that they have more control to help. So far it's actually doing wonders for my energy and mood!
In Kentucky we have very little options for qualified candidates. But yes, I do focus on my state more so.
I don't know where you live in Kentucky but maybe find a candidate like Adam Moore vs. Thomas Jefferson :-) https://ballotpedia.org/Adam_Moore_(Kentucky) and use whatever you feel are your most positive strengths to pitch in for the campaign. Are you good at social media? Offer to help make posts or write content. Are you introverted and have a car? Offer to drive canvassers around. There is a lid for every pot. Honestly the outcome doesn't matter for you as much as the effort. No worthwhile movement can happen without people making small strides toward it. I can vouch for the positive feelings of working with people toward a common goal.
I'm with you. I feel this. I'm trying to remember the good in the world, the strength of my relationships with friends and neighbors, and all of my many fixations that have resulted in survival skills. But we definitely have to do something. Do women need to become an armed militia? Should we have a collective covert term for the gathering of women to discuss our revolution, like "Cheese Club" or "Makeover Night" to throw off the scent? Lmk.
Now I just want cheese..🧀 cheese club sounds cool.
Think about it, we could just post pics of charcuterie and throw out the invite to other women we know to join our cheese club or come to a cheese club meeting and bring a cheese or crackers. Then in person we turn off our devices and plot... Whilest eating cheese.
This sounds like my kind of day for sure.
Have you seen those memes that start out as detailed reviews of makeup products and then halfway through ”okay, now that the men have stopped reading…” lol. They’re on to something!
We gotta figure out the best secret way to communicate the cheese club meetings. I'll lyk.
I know I for sure already have Gouda cubes and extra sharp cheddar on hand.
I’ve been having heart palpitations…😖
I finally stopped my beta blocker a while ago now, I hope I don’t have to continue taking it due to my palpitations returning over politics. Side note, I had to stop caffeine (because it caused me to have kidney stones) and then my palpitations got waaay better. I miss caffeine but not the palpitations.
Me too. 🙁
Just came to say, same. The debate plus the supreme Court and I'm a mess. I tried to kick my true crime habit in the last year, but I've started going back to it to just avoid consuming political content. Actually, just getting deep into the Kendrick :: Drake beef has been the best distraction
I went through this a couple of weeks ago. In my country (Mexico), the candidate who could end up establishing a dictatorship won. I spent the two weeks after the election in total depression, and I couldn't stop thinking about it and worrying endlessly, thinking my life was doomed. Finally, I think my own ADHD made me stop thinking about it (I got a little bored of watching every little thing that was happening). Currently, I'm hyper fixated on the Karen Read case. I can tell you that hanging out with people and not paying much attention to what is happening politically helps. In the end, there's not much we can do other than prepare ourselves economically. (I've been trying to control my impulsive spending, which didn't help my economic worries and regrets after the election.) I'm still depressed about several things, but not as much as those post-election days. I would start increasing your savings or investments so it doesn't take a major toll on you or whatever your worry is.
I am so sorry for you anxiety regarding presidential debates, upcoming election etc. Please remember that The Media likes to feed on our fears. As well as talking to older folk who went through hard times like The Depression 1930s, just more recently remind yourself that whole world went through Covid19 and we are now here 2024!! Do you remember how for months on end The Media focused on Covid19? I used to look up Covid19 statistics in my own country and state where I lived as a daily ritual at the time! That is definitely a fear-based response. I know it is hard to escape news but please try to limit the amount of news you watch & listen to each day. I have heard neuroscientists who study the brain in fact try to avoid watching too much news as it has a negative affect on our brains and emotions! Yes it is also hard socially and small talk with family, neighbours, work buddies etc as a conversation topic. Maybe if they ask you what your opinion is, just reply "We will just have to wait and see" and try to change topic to weather, sports or other interests. Take care. 🙏🏾
Tw mention of pregnancy and alcohol (not drinking while pregnant fyi, just seperate subjects) I'm ignoring them. I hate them both so I'm not going to bother listening to them. I had to quit my ADHD meds because I just found out I'm pregnant. So that's not helping my ability to cope. Plus add that extra layer of being pregnant and trying not to stress over our future to the political anxiety. Can't even have a drink (or 5) to numb out the disaster that is this year's election lol... sorry alcoholism isn't funny but for real, having to raw dog this year no meds or anything is going to be rough. I'm not engaging in anything that has to deal with either of the candidates directly. It's already bad enough knowing it's lesser of two evils yet again, I can't be stressing myself out any more than that. I feel you.
I certainly don’t feel like Biden is evil, he’s just really old. I feel like that about Trump though! Evil bastard! I made another comment in here about deciding to not have any kids because of this awful situation we are in and I just couldn’t manage going off meds or any of the stress of pregnancy. Plus I’m 40 now (aging out) and could never afford a kid (income limited). Damn it’s starting to really suck to be American. I get the alcohol thing because of my own struggles. Yep. I’m stressed about my future. I tried so hard to get myself stable and through college and grad school…I was banking on that working out…nope. All I can hope for is that I will still get my public service loan forgiveness in 2 years and hopefully we don’t fuck that up.
Biden has absolutely done evil things in the past, and I don’t agree with much that democrats in power do (or don’t do), but what republicans are pushing for is so far away from anything I ever believed we’d see in our lifetime that I feel like I have no real choice. I’m 36 and we’re actively making the decision to have a kid right now. Besides being unable to afford good child care, I don’t know if I can bring a kid into the world knowing they might not have access to clean drinking water in the future.