Other Managing PTSD within current political climate

[Muttly]

First off- this is *not* a post to debate politics.

The current state of politics in the US directly impacts me and people I care about. This is not a distortion. It also looks like things could get a whole lot worse for me and many others I know. Yes, things could get overturned. Yes, things could get better. My PTSD symptoms are high. I am assuming I am not the only person who is dealing with this? How are you all coping? Tips and tricks? Anyone want to vent?

(mods, sorry if this is in the wrong place)

 

[Charbella]

I’m trying to read the news, be angry, and then ignore it and hope we make it through the next 4 years. But then the laws being made don’t directly affect me…yet. I think it will be harder when I try to purchase something and it’s 4 times the cost or the department of education actually gets dismantled.

I can’t imagine being you with all the hate directed at LGBTQ+. All I can do is be thankful I don’t have a kiddo in my classroom struggling with it so I don’t have to follow laws designed to disenfranchise them. I don’t understand why republicans see fit to regulate the individual lives of people all while claiming to want smaller government. I guess smaller government only applies to straight men.

I do avoid the news if I’m already keyed up about something. Luckily the people in my life aren’t politically active or for that matter even involved in the news.

 

[Movingforward10]

I'm not in the US so it doesn't affect me in the same way. But, what helps me is:
Not having a TV (got rid of it in the pandemic)
And I barely keep up with the news now.
Remembering what I can control and what I can't.
What I have agency with and what I don't.
Thinking about how to stand up for my rights. (I've fought to have my rights in law, I can do it again should there be signs that my rights will be eroded).

There are things we can and can't worry about.

 

[Lost in the Woods]

I just registered my New Zealand citizenship and I am waiting on my passport. My wife and I just decided to call it quits so I will be moving back to Arizona where I have a place while we wrap everything up. We have a home to sell so that will take several months to get on the market.

 

[RainbowSearchParty]

It’s really hard for us, too.

What’s helping is not watching the news. I just panic every time I look or read or hear something and it’s super hard to sort out what is real and what is inflammatory. I use parental controls on my phone for news sites, too, which helps.

I lived in the US the last round, but now I live abroad. Living abroad is protective in someways. Less day to day reminders of everything, but because US politics are so central in the world I’m really surprised at how present it is here and how much it still affects me.

No real advice, but feeling the panic and pain alongside you.

 

[arfie]

i started addressing this very phenom in therapy in the 70's under the ford administration. the nixon years flat out drove me to epic psychotic breaks. it didn't seem to matter circus is running the show this season. political circuses make me crazier than i already am. i've lived on three continents and wherever there are politicians. no continent is free of those vermin. it is not good to bury my head in the sand, but news media gets me wanting to buy a semi-automatic rifle. the approach which resulted from that therapy is serving me to this day, all the better for the practice.

1) media fasts. this is where i abstain from mainstream news, social media, etc., for however long it takes to ground myself. when i catch myself shopping for assault rifles, i take a media fast to clear that media chaos from my head. it was bad enough in the 70's in pre-internet doses. now? ? ? i fast often. it helps allot.

2) doing my own research rather than letting the media giants agitate my world view. their ratings are based on sensationalism which drives nutjobs like myself even nuttier. i often review headlines for clues on what is going on, but i do my own research and draw my own conclusions on the topics which affect me and/or loved ones.

 

[Muttly]

Thanks for all the replies,

I haven't had TV for years (decades) so I already don't watch mainstream news. I do get news from the internet but am very picky about my sources. I am feeling resistant to all the suggestions of not checking the news and am trying to check myself on that. To be honest, I had said I wouldn't check the news after 8pm and haven't done a good job of keeping to that. There was a point last week where I was definitely checking way too much, and I have decreased that.

doing my own research rather than letting the media giants agitate my world view. their ratings are based on sensationalism which drives nutjobs like myself even nuttier. i often review headlines for clues on what is going on, but i do my own research and draw my own conclusions on the topics which affect me and/or loved ones.

Definitely been doing this for years. It drives me crazy that people don't fact check.

I guess though, I feel like if I don't follow what's going on I am going to be less prepared and part of the problem. For example, on being prepared, I have actually read the first executive order that came out about transgender issues. I know what the language of that has made possible. I don't think ignorance of that sort of thing is a good idea or safe for me. My husband and I are making decisions now on *if* the worst case comes to be. Also, I am Jewish by culture and heritage. I grew up hearing relatives and others talk, first hand, about nazi germany. I don't want to be the citizen who just goes through their daily life and doesn't trying to change what is happening to others. I want to be informed enough that I can be a part of the opposition in my own small way (protests, letter writing, whatever)

<Sigh> Now I feel like I'm just being difficult and argumentative.

 

[Charbella]

I want to be informed enough that I can be a part of the opposition in my own small way (protests, letter writing, whatever)

I get this. I’ve already written 3 letters to legislators this year about the asinine bills coming out. I just hate knowing it’s unlikely to make a difference.

You aren’t being difficult, the times are difficult and you’re dealing with them.

 

[RainbowSearchParty]

I think for me, it’s not about putting my head in the sand but managing my news intake so I don’t contribute to anxiety death-spirals. I still read the news. But often I find it’s more helpful for me to get the condensed version a day or two after, with more facts checked, than the breaking version of a story.

The parental controls help me not look at news on my commute to work, for example. I’ll end up spiraling and panicking all day if I do. Better to read it before I go to the gym and run off all the panic instead.

I’m thinking these days about the activist mindset that one must keep up self care in order to be effective. I want to fight for what I think is right. But I can only do so if I am still standing.

 

[arfie]

It drives me crazy that people don't fact check.

yup, this is part of why i feel more solidly informed when i do my own research. at least i know who to blame when the facts are a bit skewed. skew-ups happen.

I want to be informed enough that I can be a part of the opposition in my own small way (protests, letter writing, whatever)

i believe my own actions are far more effective without the mainstream hysteria i get from syndicated publications.

 

[Movingforward10]

You're no way anywhere being difficult. You're working out what will work for you.

And it's hard.
I do think there is something to be struck about how often you seek out news to be informed and prepared. Not looking after 8pm is a good thing. Bit also, do you need to see if every day? What of you give yourself a break for a few days when symptoms are spiked?

 

[Chris-duck]

am feeling resistant to all the suggestions of not checking the news and am trying to check myself on that.

I guess though, I feel like if I don't follow what's going on I am going to be less prepared and part of the problem

I'm not in the usa and am cis so feel free to disregard. I suggested the same stuff to my trans mate in usa who said same as you did. And I can't disagree really. But news like legal change doesn't change day to day. It can be restricted n maybe once a week you can check in that nothing new and dangerous is happening when you're in the right mind space. And then when you're not you can reassure yourself like "no it's okay last I checked and I'll check again on monday" or whenever.

Sorry, not in your situation so feel free to disregard but just chucking options out.