Political Trauma: How to Cope if You’re Overwhelmed by Current Events

This past year has been incredibly tumultuous. The COVID-19 pandemic turned 2020 into a year of uncertainty. Then, to top it off, the divisive Presidential election left many feeling overwhelmed.

After several weeks of volatile events, you may be reeling from the political trauma. It’s easy to underestimate how much politics may affect you, but many of us seldom go a day without hearing about political events.

While it may be unavoidable, it doesn’t mean you have to feel miserable or stressed all the time. If politics have you overwhelmed and burnt out, there are ways to cope and manage the stress.

Be Mindful of How Much Political Media You Consume

It is normal and healthy to want to stay up-to-date with current events. When an election looms, you want to research and figure out the best candidate to vote for.

Unfortunately, the consumption of political news and information can become quickly overwhelming. Before you know it, you may be refreshing your news app or reading story after story about a breaking news event. While it’s good to be informed, too much information can be draining and more stressful than rewarding.

To combat this stress, be mindful of how much time you spend consuming political media. You may watch the news or read it on your phone — whatever the case, note how often it takes up time in your day.

This sentiment is especially true for social media. It’s one thing to read reputable, researched articles, but it’s another to fall into a political rabbit hole on Twitter. Spare your mental well-being and figure out boundaries when it comes to consuming news and social media.

Don’t Be Afraid to Step Away From Conversations

Political conversations are tricky. While the discourse is important, the conversations can easily become heated and overwhelming. If you’ve ever talked politics with someone who has different views than you, then you know first-hand how frustrating it can be.

It’s especially challenging when you and your loved ones have differing political views. Recently, many people have found themselves at odds with some of their closest family members and struggle to know how to navigate it. It can be even harder to step away because the desire to see find a way to see eye to eye is even stronger.

Yet sometimes walking away is a form of protecting the relationship or preserving it from possible damage of a political debate that devolves into a bitter fight. You may feel inclined to argue for what you believe in, but it’s not easy to change other people’s political opinions. Instead of feeling good about the conversation, you may feel flustered and more overwhelmed than before.

Removing yourself from a toxic conversation isn’t anything to be ashamed of when it spares your mental well-being.

Increase Your Self-Care Routine

When you’re reeling from stress or trauma, self-care can help you cope. Self-care doesn’t have a single definition and means different things to different people. For some, self-care means going for a run to clear their mind. For others, self-care involves turning off the news and turning on a feel-good movie instead.

It’s easy to feel like self-care is selfish or a waste of time, but this isn’t true at all. Self-care has great value, especially when it comes to taking care of your mental health. The next time you feel stressed about politics, consider stepping away from the situation.

Instead, opt for a self-care activity that will help you feel calmer. It isn’t selfish to prioritize your mental well-being, especially if it encourages you to recover from political trauma.

When to Seek Help

When it comes to politics, many people eagerly await for news to blow over and events to come and go. While you may feel a sense of calmness as talk of politics dies down, trauma may creep back up over time.

If you’re overwhelmed by current events, you may benefit from seeing a therapist. Therapy can help you make sense of your trauma and offer productive ways to cope and move forward. Politics are hard to avoid, but that doesn’t mean you have to suffer through current events.

If political trauma is disrupting your well-being, consider therapy as a way to cope and restore peace.