Grief Over Election Results
It’s days after the election results and you are still in a fog, till in shock. How did that happen? Is this really possible? How can it be? What are we going to do now?
Recurrent feelings of anger, sadness, malaise, hopelessness, disappointment. You begin questioning your relationships with people and then question humanity entirely.
Difficulty focusing on tasks, quick to be irritated by people acting in otherwise normal ways.
Yes, grief reactions are real. Someone doesn’t need to die in order for you to feel this lousy.
For many, the election results activate injustices and losses earlier in their lives. They have a hard time doing daily tasks without thoughts surfacing that impair their concentration and incite a myriad of emotions.
And anxiety for the future comes and accompanies all of the feelings with loss. What is going to happen next year? What freedoms will be taken away? How am I and my loved ones going to be affected?
What to do?
As with grief from other losses, it is important to allow yourself the time and space to acknowledge your feelings and give them a safe place for expression. These feelings are powerful and are tethered to our values and beliefs. they deserve to be attuned to.
Writing can be a powerful medium for expression. Writing in journals, writing letters, writing poems, all help you express what is chunrnng in you body mind and spirit.
Drawing or painting, coloring, sculpting can also be mediums to express. Creating works of art that get to the core of your pain is healing.
Moving in any way, exercising dancing, all help release some of the energy that is activated from the anger, resentment you may be feeling.
Talking with others who can lend a compassionate ear can be highly supportive. Healing takes place in community.
Staying in the present with mindfulness activities, like grounding exercises through your 5 senses (pick 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste) helps connects you with the here and now so you are not going down the “what if” and “if only” rabbithole.
Find some things in your life you have control over, like what you read, how you conduct work and homelife activities, how you show up for others in conversations.
Meditation and prayer can be supportive at this time. There are many resources online that are free that you could use to help yourself.
It may take a while for you to regain some sense of being “ok” - being kind to yourself through self compassion and give yourself grace.