Are You Anxious about the Election Results?

Well, America has spoken. Trump will once again occupy the White House. If you find yourself anxious or grieving, you are not alone.

I can tell you that there are lots of neurotypical people who are having a very difficult time responding to the election results. So if you deal with anxiety or OCD or trauma, chances are very good that this has been a difficult time for you. So here are some thoughts to make it easier for you to move forward with your days.

Have Compassion for Yourself

1st, please have compassion for yourself. Understand that anxiety is an understandable response to the election results. Leading up to the election, each candidate laid out the dangers if the other assumed leadership. So today, half of Americans see themselves as safer because they believe that Trump was a safe choice. Now when we think we're unsafe, our nervous system prepares our body to fight, flee, or freeze.

When that happens, you might feel your heart racing.

You might find yourself taking shallow breaths. Maybe your skin crawls. So if you are experiencing this danger response, you are also not alone. This is a response that helps us get back to safety when we feel that our lives are at risk.

But there is a cost to the danger response. Remember, this was designed to help us escape the saber-tooth tiger and get back to the safety of the cave. This was not intended as a sustained response to an existential threat. So the problem is that we make poor choices when we feel unsafe, and we make better choices when we feel safe. So when we perceive ourselves in danger, our nervous system prepares our bodies to flee, fight, or freeze.

In so doing, the nervous system leaves the calm regulated state and becomes dysregulated. And if you want to understand what a dysregulated state looks like, think of a toddler having a temper tantrum. You know that you cannot talk to the toddler until the toddler calms down. So the very first thing we need to talk about is what to do when you feel dysregulated.

How do you get from dysregulated to calm?

Well, first, you can simply notice. When you experience yourself in danger, what sensations do you feel in your body? What are the very first signs that your nervous system is dysregulated? So the you can now name it. A lot of people say, I'm anxious when they feel their nervous system being dysregulated.

And when you do that, now anxiety becomes part of your identity. Instead, I invite you to say, I feel anxious. Or better yet, simply describe the sensations you feel in your body. When I think about Trump becoming president, my start be my heart begins to race.

Next, explain it.

Say, okay. My nervous system is just responding to its perception that I am in danger. And then move to calm. And here are a number of strategies that you can try. The first is to just put your hand over your heart and say, right here and right now, I am safe.

Nobody is here to kill me. I am not going to die. Then there are body-based intervention. My favorite is conscious breathing. When you're running away from that saber-toothed tiger, you don't have time to exhale.

So you can breathe intentionally and make the exhale longer than the inhale. This says to your nervous system, see, I'm safe. I am not in immediate danger. Some people run their hands under hot or cold water to bring them back into the moment. Some other exercises like looking all around the room and naming things in the room or touching parts of your body and naming them can help too.

This is my arm. This is my hand. This is my thigh. This is my shoulder. Now if you find that you are responding to the election results with new obsessions and compulsions, then you definitely wanna turn to ERP. This is the single best intervention for obsessions and compulsions.

Next, remember that catastrophizing is not useful.

We do not know what will happen because the future hasn't been created yet. Our worst fears may come to pass or they may not. And remember that your actions matter.

You have a vision of the kind of country you wanna live in, and you can still be part of the solution to create that future. So right now, I'd like to argue that your most important job is to learn how to actively manage yourself. We just talked about the importance of recognizing when your nervous system is dysregulated and getting it back to calm. But managing yourself also means managing your brain. It's recognizing that your thoughts that you choose create your feelings, which inspire action that creates the results that you get in life.

The biggest mistake that people make is thinking that their circumstances are responsible for their feelings. Will we have a new circumstance? Trump was elected our next president. Now if the circumstances created our feelings, then we would all feel the same, but we all don't. Half of America is celebrating.

Half of America is having a hard time. It's our thoughts about the circumstances, not the circumstances themselves that lead to our feelings. And we always have the power to choose our thoughts. I'll be speaking more about some self-coaching skills to help you better manage your brain and choose the kinds of thoughts that are gonna help you get the results that you want. I'd like to end with a hopeful message.

I believe that America is filled with people of strength and resilience and creativity.

We have a long history of getting through adversity, and we found a way through it every time. I'm inspired by a comment that Bill Clinton made. He said, there is nothing wrong with America that can't be cured by what's right with America. So I think we all have a job being the best version of the American patriot and the best version of ourselves.

We can all strategically manage ourselves so that we can then become part of the solution to whatever unfolds. I appreciate your commitment to helping yourself and to helping those you love who are navigating OCD.