I think I'm suffering from political depression...

[AntsyVee]

This time of year I always get a little more depressed than normal due to the days being shorter and the stress of the holidays, but now I think I have political depression.

I already have PTSD, which causes me to struggle to feel safe in this world, but Mr. Trump makes me feel unsafe like no other.

When I was growing up, I spent time in a very conservative state. I was picked on a lot for being a minority. Now I feel like those same people who picked on me for being different have now elected a president who affirms their beliefs. Whether or not Trump is truly xenophobic and prejudiced, his being elected president has proved to those people that being xenophobic and prejudiced is acceptable.

After moving to more progressive state, I felt I had gotten away from the prejudiced community in which I used to live. Now I feel like there is no escaping. I'm tired of turning on the news and seeing new negative attacks, swastikas being drawn on things or people feeling scared that their rights or health care will be taken away.

How do I explain to my 14 year olds that it's not appropriate to say some of the same things that the president of our country has said? How do I make them feel better when think their president hates them? I teach history. It's not like I can just stick my head in the sand for four years and wait till it goes away.

I've been down these past few days, and I just tanked today.

Sigh. Thanks for letting me vent, everyone.

[eva82]

Well I can relate even though I'm on the other end of the spectrum, but I hope I can still offer some encouragement. I'm a conservative Hispanic female that lives in California (super liberal state) and for many years I felt political depression because my views don't match the views of a lot of my friends and family. The great thing about our country is that every four years, there is hope for change if you are upset with the current situation. Sometimes our candidate wins and sometimes they lose, but rest assured that any President who is elected is occupying a TEMPORARY position that is chosen by the great citizens of this country.

You have to stay positive by living the best life you possibly can.. always sharing your beliefs and morals with your children, staying active in the campaigns and issues that are most valuable to you. It's important instead of letting depression sink in, to give your time and money to the causes you believe in. Stay focused on what is most important to you! Don't spend too much time watching politics or reading articles if it's causing you more strife. Stay out of those social media arguments that just end up giving you a migraine. Keep your head up and remember to take care of yourself!

[MyNameIsTerry]

I think you have to consider the many variables and beware media generalisations of your people.

From my experience of Brexit I've seen people who wanted to stay in the EU call those who didn't racist (even though it's Europe ), xenophobic, bigoted, little-Englanders, etc. The same vitriol is thrown back. It's unpleasant to see. I've watched this on political forums for nearly a year now and there is so much stereotyping. Eva shows that above in that she is a minority on the other side and would be open to abuse in not standing with minorities in the way they wanted to vote.

It's never simple with politics. We have experienced increased hate crime since Brexit because it brought out the racists that already existed, and some who weren't as open. They must have felt empowered, validated. But that's rubbish because I voted Leave in the end (I was a "soft" remainer) but I certainly didn't vote because I share the beliefs of those scumbags. That's for the police to stamp out. Zero tolerance in all cases on both sides, because it won't be one - sided. Ours spiked and calmed down but the media manipulated it in favour of their bias. We rarely hear of those spikes now...there is a reason for that and some of it was misleading.

Was it a "light vs dark" issue? Or was it two dirty candidates? How many people voted one way because they thought the other was worse but disliked both?

I've never bought Trump's words on the more bigoted areas. I thought he might be mobilising the millions who do believe that who are disenfranchised by your political system. Many over here don't vote citing it doesn't matter as nothing ever changes.

So, perhaps things won't be what we perceive? His campaign became more moderate. He even seemed to get religion... was it just to scoop up religious voters? They don't kiss babies because they like it.

Look at Germany. Right now Merkel is banning the burqa and clamping down on immigration. That's a complete reversal of her time in office. But then the polls are showing public support for this and elections are coming up. Is she just trying to grab votes or has she completely changed over night to coincide with the start of an election campaign?

So, I think you have to wait and see with some of this. Will it happen? What changes in policy? Politicians seldom deliver their manifesto. It's still a democracy, you have checks & balances. And how much can you change in 4 years?

Just because your politics change doesn't mean your people do too. Your society would have to be incredibly fickle to change from tolerance to intolerance simply because of this. Do you really think your friends & neighbours who are not an ethnic minority will change towards you? Why would they? And close to 50% votes either way plus those who couldn't vote at all or voted for other candidates.

This is a very uncertain time for many of us and even more so for ethnic minorities, and again more so in the US as his campaign appealed to people I wouldn't want to know who were bigoted (racist types) as opposed to many who voted for other reasons.

Do you feel maybe it's too early and anxiety is playing it's part too? Are you catastrophizing?

[Noivous]

We have a phrase in these parts called Trump Derangement Syndrome. Where is this off the rails fear coming from on the left (of course this is an anxiety support site I know)? I think it's more about the society we've created than it is about Trump or Hillary or any other elected official. I've been through 11 presidential elections and nine presidents and have never seen this really weird reaction. Though I do think much of the extreme reaction is being driven by evil people behind the scenes.

N.

[MyNameIsTerry]

We have a phrase in these parts called Trump Derangement Syndrome. Where is this off the rails fear coming from on the left (of course this is an anxiety support site I know)? I think it's more about the society we've created than it is about Trump or Hillary or any other elected official. I've been through 11 presidential elections and nine presidents and have never seen this really weird reaction. Though I do think much of the extreme reaction is being driven by evil people behind the scenes.

N.

Same here. Professional protest whipping up the masses.

We started with marches post Brexit and very quickly numbers fell. It won't be the same for you as the issue is more extreme emotionally for the US but the current time is when protest groups will mobilise. Then life calls them back to reality as the bills need paying and things settle down.

[AntsyVee]

Eva: You bring up a good point about it being temporary. I live in CA also, and I think that is both a good and bad thing to do with this. It's good because I feel that CA is so progressive that it will protect us from many of the policies Trump supports. But the bad thing is that I'm surrounded by so many people who are catastrophizing about what Trump's presidency will mean for us...my husband especially, and sometimes it's hard not to let that bring me down.

Terry: No, I'm not catastrophizing, but as I said to Eva, many around me are...and my husband brings something up every 5 minutes. I do think that as you mentioned, the uncertainty is part of what we're dealing with that makes us anxious.

PanickyGuy: Yes, it is the unknown that is more nerve wracking.

Noivous: I have been through several elections myself and I have never felt this way. While I may not have liked the outcome of other elections, I never felt this sense of sadness. I think it's less to do with what I think Trump is going to do, as how many Americans think that his being elected means it's okay to be prejudiced and xenophobic. I hadn't seen swastikas painted on anything since I was a child, then three days after the election, we have a truck spray-painted in our neighborhood that says "Trump USA. USA for Americans" with swastikas and American flag designs.


I went out today and joined one of the local womens' protests for a time this afternoon. It was very uplifting. It was nice to feel that I'm not alone, that many other people are also concerned, and

[Noivous]

How do you know those swastikas weren't painted by people anti Trump who were trying to make him look bad, which is more likely. His daughter and her children (his grandchildren) are all Jewish. He had a rabbi pray at his inauguration - first one in 32 years. He is going to be an unbelievable friend to Israel. To compare President Trump to Adolf Hitler is simply ridiculous. It's insane.

N.

[AntsyVee]

The guy who painted it is a Trump supporter. He's my neighbor. He's lived down the street for years. He painted his own truck.

No one is comparing Trump to Hitler here.

[AntsyVee]

Now that might not bother you or even I the way Trump acts and talks at times, but for them, it's being afraid and worrying about what he's really going to do.

Yes. For me, my biggest issue is about feeling safe. I don't feel safe when the neighbor down the street paints his truck with swastikas because he thinks it's acceptable now that Trump is president. I never had an issue with that neighbor before; now I know he probably thinks I shouldn't be living in the US...even though I'm American.

I worry about what Trump will do, but I worry more about what some people will do in the name of "Trump".

[AntsyVee]

Yeah, I know. It just reminds me of being picked on as a kid for being different. I just felt like I got away from that living out here in CA and this election just brought it all back.