Political anxiety & therapy thread

[fluffycookie]

I just went and voted.  I feel bad for the poll workers.  They had a guy was being overly aggressive towards them earlier today.  Most of the workers are elderly.  

I am stressed out, especially now that it's coming out that Johnson plans to repeal Obamacare if Trump is elected and strip away coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.

I am also stressed about the comments Musk is making about crashing the economy to build it back up and people should expect financial hardships during this time. He is too close to Trump and it's unnerving.

[rubytue]

I needed a refill of a med the doctor has to send in every month. As I was looking at the screen in mychart to find what I needed, I saw my old xanex script. Which I haven’t filled for 18 months. So I tagged that as a refile request, and in the comment box I wrote “election.”

[noodleoo]

Oct 30, 2024 12:06:31 GMT -5 lust2hart said:

Skim back through this thread, starting on page 77: pandce.proboards.com/thread/622627/results-thread?page=77

We can do this!

OMG that thread was 123 pages and we didn't know Biden won until Friday???  I forgot already.  I've been happily thinking it will be over Tuesday next week, but ugh I think the wait between Tuesday and when the results are final are going to be worse than this week... <sob>

[lust2hart]

Oct 31, 2024 9:56:13 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Oct 30, 2024 12:06:31 GMT -5 lust2hart said:

Skim back through this thread, starting on page 77: pandce.proboards.com/thread/622627/results-thread?page=77

We can do this!

OMG that thread was 123 pages and we didn't know Biden won until Friday???  I forgot already.  I've been happily thinking it will be over Tuesday next week, but ugh I think the wait between Tuesday and when the results are final are going to be worse than this week... <sob>

NoNoNo, don't look at it that way! Anticipate all the hope and excitement as the rest of the votes start rolling in... we got this!

[noodleoo]

Oct 31, 2024 10:13:48 GMT -5 lust2hart said:

Oct 31, 2024 9:56:13 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

OMG that thread was 123 pages and we didn't know Biden won until Friday???  I forgot already.  I've been happily thinking it will be over Tuesday next week, but ugh I think the wait between Tuesday and when the results are final are going to be worse than this week... <sob>

NoNoNo, don't look at it that way! Anticipate all the hope and excitement as the rest of the votes start rolling in... we got this!

I'm *really* hoping it is going to be an unexpected landslide and it won't be as close as last time.  Fingers crossed!!!!

[timorousbeastie]

Oct 30, 2024 9:51:36 GMT -5 glitzy07 said:

underwaterrhymes I love seeing Morgan St. Jean on other people's radar! She is fantastic and I LOVE her lyrics. I saw her live last month and it was the best.

I had never heard of her until these posts, but I have now been listening to her nonstop all day. OMG, both her voice and her lyrics are exactly what I needed to get through the next week. Thanks so much,glitzy07 and underwaterrhymes!

[underwaterrhymes]

Oct 31, 2024 10:43:28 GMT -5 timorousbeastie said:

Oct 30, 2024 9:51:36 GMT -5 glitzy07 said:

underwaterrhymes I love seeing Morgan St. Jean on other people's radar! She is fantastic and I LOVE her lyrics. I saw her live last month and it was the best.

I had never heard of her until these posts, but I have now been listening to her nonstop all day. OMG, both her voice and her lyrics are exactly what I needed to get through the next week. Thanks so much,glitzy07 and underwaterrhymes!

Her song Not All Men is a gut punch. Her voice and lyrics are stunning.

[aurora]

Oct 31, 2024 9:56:13 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Oct 30, 2024 12:06:31 GMT -5 lust2hart said:

Skim back through this thread, starting on page 77: pandce.proboards.com/thread/622627/results-thread?page=77

We can do this!

OMG that thread was 123 pages and we didn't know Biden won until Friday???  I forgot already.  I've been happily thinking it will be over Tuesday next week, but ugh I think the wait between Tuesday and when the results are final are going to be worse than this week... <sob>

Holy moly, I did not remember the 123-page thread (though I do remember being on tenderhooks for days waiting for the results to be confirmed).

Wonder what we'll reach this year? And who might come out of the woodwork to join the conversation?

[redheadbaker]

H is driving me insane. Every other phrase out of his mouth is "What's wrong?" Even when I'm not actively panicking. I'm just ... not smiling. Like, do I need to be smiling 24/7? Sorry I'm not making your view more pleasing?

[SwimDeep]

redheadbaker - liked because same.

ETA- to fix the tag. And also - H and I have been fighting because all *waves hands* this doesn't affect him... directly. And he just doesn't get why I'm worried and anxious about *waves hands* all this... so my reactions to the nightly news are of course "over the top" and "extreme." And why won't I just chill while we eat dinner and watch the nightly news?

He does not follow the news like I do. He never has. So we're sniping... I'm sniping at him like it's 2016.

I am terrified. Not of him. He's fine.

He has no fucking clue what could happen. And he does.not.listen.to.me

Yeah - I'm not doing good.

[stuffandthings]

Oct 31, 2024 14:49:25 GMT -5 SwimDeep said:

redheadbaker - liked because same.

ETA- to fix the tag. And also - H and I have been fighting because all *waves hands* this doesn't affect him... directly. And he just doesn't get why I'm worried and anxious about *waves hands* all this... so my reactions to the nightly news are of course "over the top" and "extreme." And why won't I just chill while we eat dinner and watch the nightly news?

He does not follow the news like I do. He never has. So we're sniping... I'm sniping at him like it's 2016.

I am terrified. Not of him. He's fine.

He has no fucking clue what could happen. And he does.not.listen.to.me

Yeah - I'm not doing good.

This was us in 2016. My husband kept saying, "Why are you so worried? She'll beat his ass and then we'll never have to hear from him again." He learned his lesson most spectacularly that year.

@@@@@

This year we have a kid who is gender expansive, so my husband is more aware of the danger than he was in 2016, frankly. I definitely know that people should NOT need to be personally affected by stuff to care about it, but I've seen how much a personal connection can really hammer home the real consequences of political action.

[redheadbaker]

Oct 31, 2024 14:49:25 GMT -5 SwimDeep said:

redheadbaker - liked because same.

ETA- to fix the tag. And also - H and I have been fighting because all *waves hands* this doesn't affect him... directly. And he just doesn't get why I'm worried and anxious about *waves hands* all this... so my reactions to the nightly news are of course "over the top" and "extreme." And why won't I just chill while we eat dinner and watch the nightly news?

He does not follow the news like I do. He never has. So we're sniping... I'm sniping at him like it's 2016.

I am terrified. Not of him. He's fine.

He has no fucking clue what could happen. And he does.not.listen.to.me

Yeah - I'm not doing good.

My H is the opposite! I'm more *active* (volunteering to register voters, working at my polling location), but he's politically aware. 

But when a commercial comes on, he'll make comment after comment after comment, just pointing out the obvious flaws and outright lies in the ads. And I'm like, dude, stop, you're preaching to the choir. I KNOW ALL OF THIS. 

[mala]

Oct 31, 2024 11:03:50 GMT -5 underwaterrhymes said:

Oct 31, 2024 10:43:28 GMT -5 timorousbeastie said:

I had never heard of her until these posts, but I have now been listening to her nonstop all day. OMG, both her voice and her lyrics are exactly what I needed to get through the next week. Thanks so much,glitzy07 and underwaterrhymes!

Her song Not All Men is a gut punch. Her voice and lyrics are stunning.

Skin and Bones makes me cry about 50% of the time I hear it. And it's on my current hyperfocus playlist so I hear it a lot.

[pugz]

an entire bag of mini butterfingers didn't cure my anxiety, huh.

[sonrisa]

In 2016, it was all still hypothetical. He had said some of the awful things out loud, but so many people thought he couldn’t / wouldn’t actually go there -it was all bluster or regular republican assholes would prevail against his shiftiest ideas.

We know better now.

[cous0226]

Oct 31, 2024 9:56:13 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Oct 30, 2024 12:06:31 GMT -5 lust2hart said:

Skim back through this thread, starting on page 77: pandce.proboards.com/thread/622627/results-thread?page=77

We can do this!

OMG that thread was 123 pages and we didn't know Biden won until Friday???  I forgot already.  I've been happily thinking it will be over Tuesday next week, but ugh I think the wait between Tuesday and when the results are final are going to be worse than this week... <sob>

Shapiro said on CNN a few weeks ago that they will be counting votes straight through for PA. Not taking breaks at night and coming back in the morning. I assume they’ll rotate people. Hopefully she does well in other states that were not all hanging on PA. Musk and his shenanigans has me worried.

[cous0226]

Definitely anxious where I look for hope on posts on Twitter from people I follow. Trying to avoid Nate. David Plouffe giving me hope. The women outpacing men in early voting has definitely calmed me down a bit at times. I just don’t think they are rushing to vote for him. I think it’ll come down to abortion because we saw how the special elections went after the ruling. So so curious how the Texas senate race will go down.

[lilac05]

One silly thing that is helping my anxiety: Going on Threads and seeing it full of “I’m a blue dot in [red state] and I completed the assignment.” Obviously that’s a trend and Threads skews left, but it’s still a great reminder that there are people who care everywhere!

[rubytue]

I had a dentist appointment for next Wednesday. They called me yesterday to say they are going to be closed and rescheduled me (luckily, to Monday, I have FSA money to spend).

I just got an email that my vet is going to be closed next Wednesday, too.

I’m taking the day off, as are several of my friends.

Is this anxiety? For me, personally, I Al ost always take at least the morning after an election because I stay up way too late. But seeing two businesses close is… interesting and new.

[Scout'sHonor]

I'm worried too bc I hate the orange turd, especially now that he thinks RFK Jr should be in charge of public health...

[sju]

Social media posts from veterans help ease my anxiety a bit.

I don’t know how most military personnel feels but I know there are many that support the opponent. I just hope the majority follow the lead of the generals that have spoken.

[lostrn]

Nov 1, 2024 9:19:27 GMT -5 rubytue said:

I had a dentist appointment for next Wednesday. They called me yesterday to say they are going to be closed and rescheduled me (luckily, to Monday, I have FSA money to spend).

I just got an email that my vet is going to be closed next Wednesday, too.

I’m taking the day off, as are several of my friends.

Is this anxiety? For me, personally, I Al ost always take at least the morning after an election because I stay up way too late. But seeing two businesses close is… interesting and new.

It might be anxiety. I was originally only taking off Tuesday but I went back and added Wednesday too. I knew I'd spend the whole day completely distracted...either happily or with fear lol.

[scm1011]

My sister is a lifelong Republican. She voted 3rd party in 2016 and sat 2020 out. She's all-in for Kamala this time around. Last week I texted her a picture of a Harris sign I saw that said "I'm a Republican but not a fool" and said jokingly "if you had a sign lol" and 5 minutes later she texted me back a photo of a sign in her yard that said "Harris/Walz, obviously". Guys, I almost died. Here's hoping there are more like her who are seeing the light.

[mags]

Ill be on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, I'm hoping I can enjoy and not feel the need to jump overboard.

[abs]

Nov 1, 2024 9:59:03 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

My sister is a lifelong Republican. She voted 3rd party in 2016 and sat 2020 out. She's all-in for Kamala this time around. Last week I texted her a picture of a Harris sign I saw that said "I'm a Republican but not a fool" and said jokingly "if you had a sign lol" and 5 minutes later she texted me back a photo of a sign in her yard that said "Harris/Walz, obviously". Guys, I almost died. Here's hoping there are more like her who are seeing the light.

One of my neighbors is a pastor and deeply conservative and Republican. She voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020. She is now also one of the most outspoken supporters of Kamala Harris that I know. Her latest post filled me with so much hope. So many neighbors chimed in agreeing with her. It appears that more people than we think remember the insurrection and are voting accordingly. I’m still super anxious but am also really hopeful. It seems different this time.

[pixy0stix]

@@@-ish

Last night when wandering around the neighborhood in my blow up cow costume following my kid, my Trumpy neighbor stopped me and wanted to have a political discussion about how she "loves her neighbors" and doesn't understand why politics has divided us so. (I've known her basically all my life. We've never been friends, but my grandparents were friends with her parents.) I told her that if she really wanted to know, no bullshit, why then we could get together sometime and I'd tell her.

@@@@ end @-ish part of the story

SHE SHOWED UP ON MY DOORSTEP AT 8 AM THIS MORNING! WTF!

I put on my nice face and invited her in. I'm WFH today, so I figured I'd just move around my lunch hour and have coffee with her.

I reiterated that I can't do bullshit, and then proceeded to lay it out for her. Her side of it is that Trump is Republican, her family has voted Republican forever, blah blah blah. Long story short, it was a very long and tough conversation where I used my laptop a lot to pull up clips of him speaking, and "non-biased" websites (in her estimation) discussing his record et al.

She's already voted, so it doesn't make much of a difference. Sigh... at least she listened and left looking pensive.

I'm sad I didn't have this conversation with her before, as in general I've tried to avoid her for years. We're just fundamentally different people.

[stuffandthings]

Nov 1, 2024 9:19:27 GMT -5 rubytue said:

I had a dentist appointment for next Wednesday. They called me yesterday to say they are going to be closed and rescheduled me (luckily, to Monday, I have FSA money to spend).

I just got an email that my vet is going to be closed next Wednesday, too.

I’m taking the day off, as are several of my friends.

Is this anxiety? For me, personally, I Al ost always take at least the morning after an election because I stay up way too late. But seeing two businesses close is… interesting and new.

A fairly large number of folks at my company are also poll workers and we’re all taking off Tuesday and Wednesday, including me. This place is gonna be a ghost town next week. I think a lot of people remember how shitty it was to have to show up at work on Wednesday morning in 2016 and are planning accordingly.

[Nugget T. Brain, The OG]

Neither my mom nor I have been sleeping well the past week. I'm extremely glad I went in and got sterilized a few weeks ago because of the shit Johnson is pulling about Obamacare (sterilization is considered one of the birth control methods that has to be covered under ACA).

The idea of Musk, Thiel and Putin having a direct influence on the White House for the next 4 years is terrifying.

[wambam]

I talked in therapy a couple weeks ago that I cannot spend all my waking time listening to and watching coverage. I did that in 2020 and I was physically and mentally miserable for those few days in between Election Day and PA being called.

My mom is being harassed by her sister and her sister’s children over who she’s voting for. She blocks one number and another one pops up in a day or two. They are sending her awful things and it’s really sad they have nothing else going on their lives, so they have to harass a 75 year old woman with terminal cancer about who she’s voting for.

[mala]

My regular therapy appointment is Tuesday morning and I"m sure the election will be a big part of the session. I wish I could take Wednesday off but I stupidly scheduled a full day of psych testing for official diagnosis the next day.