7 Stress Coping Tips in a Politically Charged America

Copyright 2017                                                               Aleasa M. Word

 It’s no secret that we are living in some stressful times. Every day we hear a new story on the news about our current administration. Whether you agree with the policies or not, there’s no way to deny that the line has been drawn in the sand on many sides. There is a us and them mentality that has caused so much stress for those on both sides of things and it can be downright scary. President Trump is not the most liked president in my humble opinion, but he is the current president and if nothing else, his administration has made lots of headlines. 

In addition to the political environment the United States has recently been ravaged by large scale brush fires, hurricanes, protests and fights about everything from healthcare to education.  How do we turn it off when this is all that we see on television, hear on radio and read on social media? How do we escape it all? Should we escape it all? The sad part is we really can’t escape it. It is in our workplaces, it is in public, it’s at our kids schools and in our doctors offices. It is like a contagion we want to ignore while knowing we still need to be informed about what’s going on.
So how do we cope? Below I’ve outlined some basic strategies to help you cope no matter where you stand in your beliefs on the issues.

1. Step back and know that YOU are not in charge of changing the world all by yourself. That’s a big job and we have lots of players. You can only do your part and not take on the role of the savior because you will burn out faster than you will fix things.
2. Embrace change and differences.  Sometimes we become afraid of what we don’t know and are uncomfortable with. This creates stress and defensiveness.  Different is not always bad or good. Sometimes it needs no word of judgment at all and instead a simple realization that things are just different.
3. Acknowledge you like to have some feeling of control. The truth is we all like to have some feeling of things being controlled or being in control from time to time. This helps us know what we can expect instead of being blindsided and then having our body see the new issue as a threat that causes stress. Know that control can be bad and good but some things will be out of our control
4. Find some self-soothing techniques. What do you do to relax? Did I hear you say you don’t have time to relax? It’s a necessary thing to help us keep our body healthy an healing. Don’t believe me? Look at the impact of trauma on the body long term according to the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study from the 90’s.  You’re probably not a kid anymore but If trauma and stress can impact a child’s long term health, what can it do to yours at you current age?
5. Surround yourself with compassionate people. We often get stressed because those around us don’t share our core values. It’s ok to not have the same values all the time as long as we show compassion towards each other as humans and respect the boundaries of our values.
6. Live a little.  Take some time away from it all to spend with those you love and leave the conversations about all the ugliness in the world behind. 
7. Take a technology break.  News is all over your smart phone! It is on social media and in your email as well as on your television and radio.  Schedule an intentional break to get back to being mindful about your own life.

We want unity and harmony in the world. People have wanted that for centuries and it has never happened. There is no harm in hoping for it; however, there is harm in stressing about it and trying to control it every day. Take time to make you own self-care a priority. It may change your life and could certainly at least make it better. 

Photo: Pixabay/Ronny K

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