Navigating Election Anxiety

Cadresphere, how are you? If this is your very first time here on Cadre, welcome. I'm Dr. Charisse Johnson, a licensed clinical mental health therapist, mindfulness practitioner and author. And as I what's the word? Survey, fill out, take inventory of what's happening in the world around us, which is a big part of what we do as clinical mental health therapists. I thought it might be great to come into this space and spend a little time centered around how do you navigate and manage election anxiety.

So come into the space, let me know where you're joining from and then maybe use a reaction, whatever works best for you to let us know that you're here. I want to take a moment and to kind of level set this time. We're a diverse community, so, so there's going to be a lot of diverse opinions, right? And so let's recognize that this time and space isn't about debate or right or wrong, but it's a collective opportunity for us to come together, to notice, to track, to educate and inform how we can take care of ourselves and the people that we love.

Good morning to all those who are joining from Georgia, from Canada, from Minnesota and all the other places that I've seen. I love finding out where we are because I think there's something that will never stop being powerful about reminding ourselves that we're not alone in our experience and that there are people all across the world who are feeling similar things. So as we go through this time, here are some ways that you can engage very similar to what you would normally do. If you want to maintain your anonymity, use the reaction buttons in any way that you want.

I won't be offended by any of them. You can also share in the chat your thoughts that might be around when you hear something that resonates with you, or maybe you're going to share a tool or a tip that you've received somewhere else that has been helpful for you or you want to show that something has resonance and gratitude. But most importantly, I want this space to feel safe, as safe as possible. This is our time and what happens in the codrosphere stays in the chirosphere. I'm going to split this up into two parts so that you're also aware of what's coming.

I'm going to talk a little bit about election and anxiety, some common signs that you might see and how to manage it. And then I'm going to move us into maybe a quick three to five minute time of a little bit of breath Work and a simple meditation. I always separate the two because everybody's not into meditation and breath work. And that way you can get what you need. And then as you come back to the replay, you can fast forward or move up and down to get what you need. How does that sound? If you're ready, send me your heart reaction so that I know that we're ready to go.

Election anxiety, essentially, is going to be the feelings of stress, of worry or unease that we experience during times of election periods. And it's really challenging not to. You may find yourself on a spectrum anywhere from feeling numb and like you can't feel, and maybe you're in a little bit of what we call freeze, all the way over to the other end of the spectrum where you may be feeling some very strong thoughts and signs and symptoms that things are not okay. Your anxiety, if you're already predisposed to anxiety, may be higher than ever before.

You may not want to hear commercials. You may be in a place where every time you notice your phone going off, you're thinking, is it going to be another political text that none of us ask for? That can feel very invasive. So one of the things that I will say just on that, I encourage you, as much as you want to, to choose, stop and opt out, or silence those things or block them so that they can't be recurring. And the good news is those things will end soon. Wherever you find yourself along that spectrum.

A freeze all the way to highly activated. Know that you're allowed to feel whatever you feel. And one of the most important things that you want to do is give yourself permission to acknowledge. How am I holding what's happening in my mind by the thoughts that are occurring? How am I holding it in my body? What do I notice about the position of my shoulders or my stomach or my appetite or my heart rate? It could be a number of things wherever you find yourself. We can't acknowledge and take care of ourselves if we aren't honest.

So I want you to take a moment and just ask yourself, what have you noticed about your election anxiety or activation? You can do this two ways. If you're comfortable and you want to put it in chat, you're more than welcome to do that. Or if you want it to be kind of a personal reflection that you just think about or you write down, you choose which is best for you. This is your time and your opportunity. But first thing I want you to do is what have you noticed lately about how this time, this season, and us coming upon this Change and transition is showing up in your life.

I'm going to give you 30 seconds. You can take longer at another time, but for the sake of time, I'm just going to give you 30 seconds to think about that. I'll take a water break while you do. People always think that I am making this up, but it's interesting because I'll ask a question and there really is this part of me that I believe can kind of feel when you start reflecting. There's something about reflecting that just makes us go, okay, it feels amazing. Just to put it out there. Now, let's talk about common symptoms of election anxiety.

Now I'm going to give you a few. You add to this list based on what you're feeling. You may notice sleep disturbances. Oh, wow. And I said that. And immediately somebody put in there about their sleep patterns. So it can be two different ways. You may need. You may notice a need for more sleep. Sometimes that is just an exhaustion, a fatigue. It's a, I want this to stop. And so the body will cue more sleep, because when we're sleeping, the belief is that everything stops and goes away. Others may notice that you toss and turn, that you don't feel like you're getting good quality rest.

And it may not be that you wake up in the middle of the night and you're thinking about the election, but there's something inside of you that doesn't have the same level of rest. Or maybe you are the person that's waking up in the middle of the night and then you're going to check things. I will say this, I highly encourage you not to go online if you're waking up with a sleep disturbance for a few reasons. One, we tend to then go find what's making us anxious, and that's adding fuel to the fire.

Two, the blue light and the activation that you will find even from just watching something different sets the brain into a space where it thinks, oh, we're supposed to wake up now. And then you'll find that you're up even longer. So if you have sleep disturbances that are happening through the night and you're tossing and you're turning, just lay there, do some deep breathing, try to quiet your mind. But try to resist the urge to pick up online because you really have no ability to filter what's coming unless you're in a space like Cadre, where you know what you're getting and nothing's coming at you.

That would honestly be the only exception to the dynamic. Other things that you may experience is an increased irritability. So this part of you that's like, I don't want to hear about it. I don't want to be in spaces that people are talking about it, but that's challenging. You could hear it at the grocery store, you could hear it at the gas station, you could hear it at the coffee shop. And so finding that even when other people are talking about it, that you notice that it's an irritant to you because you really are just over it, is a sign you might have physical symptoms.

This could be headaches, could be stomach issues, it could be fatigue that's linked to the stress around it. Especially if you're in a role or a vocational role where you kind of have no choice that it's a part of the conversation and you can't get away from it. So don't ignore the random physical symptoms that are all of a sudden come into your life. You may notice and be able to trace those to when you're hearing discussions, when you're seeing things that are coming across your television or across your phone.

Pay attention to those physical symptoms and we'll talk about how to help the physical body in just a moment. And then social withdrawal. I actually had someone just yesterday talk about not wanting to be in a specific space that they once used to love, because that space has now become overwhelmed with conversations and debate, and they just felt like it was too much. So you may notice that you're socially withdrawing. If you notice that, that's okay. You have the right to disengage from spaces and discussions that feel like it's too much, even if those spaces and discussions include family.

So if you see yourself in that situation and in that dynamic, do what's best for you. And not just today, not just tomorrow. You may need to do that for weeks after we have the results from this current election. So what do you do if you're experiencing any type of anxiety or overwhelm or just noticing that you feel off? Because it might not just be anxiety. You might be depressed, you might feel numb, you might feel sick. Whatever it is, you fill it in. Anxiety was just our kind of open door to the conversation.

So limit media exposure. I cannot say this enough. Choose one trusted resource that is not overwhelming for you, that if you need to know some important information or results, you know, I can go to this space, find the answers that I need without tons of extra commentary or coming across things that will be challenging. You might decide that you pause your Facebook or you pause your Instagram or your TikTok or anything else that you're on for a little while, but decide how much media exposure is too much for you.

That may also mean that you limit the amount of news that you consume or the channels that you consume. Whatever it is you decide. And how will you know if it's too much? Because you're going to start to feel changes activating in your nervous system. There will be physical signs of your physiological and psychological need. So if you start to feel uneasy, honor that and back away. You can find the information that you need without being overwhelmed. 2. Engage in self care. This is one of those that when we hear self care, we think, oh, I don't have time to go get a massage or something random.

That's not the kind of self care that I'm talking about. Caring for yourself means anything that you do that helps bring a sense of calm, a sense of groundedness, a sense of peace or a sense of joy. So caring for self self care is anything that you do or you participate in that, you know, when I engage in this, this shifts the way that I feel. So for some of you, that might be exercise. For others that might be an ice bath or red light therapy, which is like getting in this warm, infrared, red light spa that helps penetrate the body.

For some, maybe that means you just get outside more and you go for a walk. It could also include other people that, you know, we can be in connection without this being a conversation. So maybe you engage with a friend that always makes you laugh and has a really good understanding for where you are. And you all know, hey, we don't want to talk about politics right now, but we do want to enjoy our time together. If you have children, it might mean, let me remind myself what's important. Let me go play with my kids and really be present and get in their moment and remind myself what's in front of me.

And then the last thing that I will say is, if you have a pet, engaging in some pet therapy is a phenomenal way to care for yourself. So take the whole, you know, spa wellness thing out of your mind and really think about what nourishes your soul. What are the things that you do that after you do them, you always feel better? That's self care and it is essential. Here's why. When we're activated, when we're overwhelmed, when we are anxious, it fires off the pain center of the brain. So we're going to have a need for dopamine, which is a happy neurotransmitter to help Balance out the overwhelm that we feel.

So inducing positive enjoyment, which is a DBT skill, which is called self care for our conversation, is an actual tool. Here's my encouragement. I would love for you over the next two weeks to be as intentional as you can about caring for yourself. It could be five minutes, it could be 10 minutes, it could be 20 minutes. Depends on what you have for the day. Don't box it in, but I really want you to create a plan for how you can care for yourself. Other ways to manage your election, anxiety or emotions or overwhelm.

Talk about it in spaces where you can be heard, not debated. If you are a verbal processor and you have someone in your life that you know, I can go to them and just share what I'm feeling without it becoming contentious, utilize that. Ask that person, I'm not feeling great and I just need to get it out there. If you are a verbal processor, but also you don't feel like there's anybody that can really handle your feelings or that feels like too much for you. Journal writing it down is a phenomenal way to get it out of your brain.

And you don't have to create an election journal that you're not going to keep. But what you could do is you could take a few pieces of paper, write down what you're feeling unfiltered. You get to put it all out there because nobody's going to see it. But you notice how it feels to no longer be a part of how you feel, and then tear it up and put it in the trash so you don't have to worry about anybody seeing it. But when we move it from thought to paper, it actually relieves the brain of the stress of holding all of those thoughts in.

Trust me. Rip it. Burn it in a way that's not going to set your house on fire. Rip it. Put it in the toilet, down the trash. Those powerful actions give you a way of going, I am moving this out of my mind and I'm no longer going to carry this. All right? The last thing that I will say is focus on what you can control. There is a million things that are outside of our control, but what we can always choose. I use control and choice as parallel because I believe more in choice than control. We can always choose how we treat ourselves, how we treat other people, and how we respond.

We can always choose how we treat ourselves, how we treat other people and how we respond. And it's our responsibility to notice when we're responding in ways that do not line up with who we are. So if I notice myself being angsty and irritable and all over the place, then it's my responsibility to go, whoa, I need to take a moment and I need to calm down and I need to center myself, because that person didn't deserve that. Because I'm feeling anxious about what's going on. I'll leave you with this last thought before we move into a quick meditation.

One of the things that I want you to keep in mind is that even though the changes that are coming feel crazy, they're not going to be immediately. Shelley we write on paper everything that you are feeling about this season of uncertainty and change. So all of the emotions you have, all of the feelings, all the frustrations, all the fears, all the concerns, anything that you want to say that you feel like? I don't really feel safe saying this to other people. You put on that piece of paper so that you get it out of your head and then you decide how to dispose of it.

But I want to say this as a final thought. The changes that will come in life that we are certain of and uncertain of are never as immediate as our anxiety likes to make us feel. The election will be November 5th. We will not wake up November 6th in a world where everything has completely changed. Change is a process, and as a result of that, we typically do have time and warning for those changes to come. So remind yourself that the most important thing that you can do is focus on the here and now.

Focus on the everyday things that you do. Waking up, loving on the people in your life, going to work, being a good person, and trust yourself. We've had a lot of elections, and guess what? We've made it through every one of them. Think about that. We've made it through every single one and what has come after. And I have a tendency to believe we are incredible humans and we will make it through this one as well. If you need to pop off, please do so. If you want to stay on for the last two or three minutes, let's just take a moment.

If you're comfortable, I want to invite you to either find a soft place to gaze in a space around you, or close your eyes. And once you choose which feels best for you, I want you just to anchor into this moment. I'm going to close my eyes because I want that signaling to my parasympathetic nervous system to come rescue me and bring me down. Hands can be down to ground on top of your thighs. Depending upon your sitting, they can be up, laying on the desk or your lap. Or you can put one hand over your heart, which releases oxytocin, a love hormone, to ourselves and reminds us that we are okay.

And then let's take some cleansing breaths through the nose, in through the nose and out through the mouth, which again helps the body release into the nose and out through the mouth a few more times. Make that exhale as long and as slow as possible into the nose and out through the mouth. And then for a moment, just sit. Allow your thoughts to slow down. Notice any thoughts that are challenging or hard and just allow them to be there without responding to them. And maybe you say to yourself, I am capable of navigating this season.

Maybe that's the election season for you. Or maybe that's something else. I am capable of navigating this season. Take a few more breaths at your own pace. Allow your shoulders to hang down. Release your neck, any tension you feel in the body. And then, as you're ready, release your hand if it's on your heart, or wiggle your fingers. If your eyes are closed, open them back up and remind yourself that today will be what you make it. And despite the change and the uncertainty that's on the horizon, there are beautiful things that are existing here and now.

Don't miss them. Keep your eyes right here, okay? I look forward to being with you all soon. Have a good.