Posted on 05/11/2017 5:58:26 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
It’s still surreal—horribly surreal—and we aren’t about to wake up.
The Trump presidency confronts the majority of Americans with a situation that has rapidly degenerated from shock and disbelief to rage and dread. The op-ed page of the New York Times has been reduced to perpetual teeth-grinding. Faint signs of hope from Donald Trump’s lips have proved to be illusions, the vagaries of a flimflam artist soaking up adulation for what amounts to a despicable regime. The last slender thread of hope, that the Republican-run Senate will stand up to him, is likely to snap soon.
When there’s no escape, what can you do to survive and remain sane? I’d like to argue that perpetual rage isn’t the answer.
In any situation of maximum stress, a person’s coping skills are severely tested. Stress is maximized whenever three elements are present: repetition, unpredictability, and loss of control. Repetition is supplied by Trump’s constant presence on all media. Unpredictability is at an all-time high, thanks to his policy flip-flops and neck-wrenching mood swings. Loss of control has been mandated by the right wing’s take-no-prisoners, make-no-compromises stance.
Maximum stress can appear harmless on the surface but is potentially lethal underneath. In classic laboratory experiments, mice were placed on electric plates that delivered innocuous shocks at random intervals. The mice had no control; the shocks were repetitive and unpredictable. Within a few days the animals’ immune systems were degraded, they exhibited abnormal behaviors, and some quickly died.
This means, at the very least, that being intensely angry at Trump, the normal response to him, is a form of self-harm. Of course a human being isn’t a 150-pound mouse, and what makes the most difference is that we can cope psychologically with a stress, perceiving and interpreting it in a wide variety of ways. The most obvious proof of this fact lies in the response of Trump supporters who not only don’t regret their vote but would elect him again over Hillary Clinton if given the chance. Their positive interpretation is based on the same news stories (i.e., external stressors) that horrify members of the Resistance.
Since no one doubts that resistance is called for, the trick is to resist and cope at the same time. That’s no mean feat, and I speak as someone who felt my stomach fall to my feet when the House passed their heartless, dishonest health care bill this week. Coping skills are real things, and it’s time to embrace this fact; rage and dread have already lost their utility, and exhaustion is widespread.
So what coping skills will actually work? Here are seven ways to climb down from Trump outrage:
1.Catch your negativity early.
Once you are sunk deep in gloom or anxiety, it’s more likely that you will find it hard to lift yourself up. So be on the lookout for the first signs of negativity. As soon as you spot a mood shift toward irritability, anger, frustration, worry, or pessimism, pause immediately. Take a few deep breaths, and center yourself. Let the emotion pass, and get yourself somewhere quiet and pleasant, such as going outdoors for a walk.
2. Avoid external stressors.
Dark thoughts usually occur in reaction to a new stress, and if you can, you should get away from the stressor, whether it’s a negative person, a tense political argument, or bad news on TV. Dark thoughts set in when they are reinforced, so don’t let anyone or anything reinforce your bad mood if you have the choice to avoid it.
3. Develop a supportive inner dialogue.
About 75-80% of people talk to themselves in their heads, and a small minority even hear inner conversations. When the voice in your head starts saying things, pause for a moment and say to the voice, “I don’t need this. It doesn’t serve me.” Repeat until the mental voice stops.
4. Keep company with positive, optimistic people.
We all have friends and family members who are downers, and the current political situation worsens the effect. Some people insist upon seeing worst-case scenarios, and in general they indulge their gloom rather than taking helpful action. Often sheer inertia keeps us from walking away; in the Resistance it’s hard to avoid becoming part of the despair. But you will be better off finding people who can contribute to changing things while not dwelling on the dark side of things. Realistically, we’ve heard the bad news a thousand times already.
5. Try a “thought replacement” strategy.
A technique that lies at the heart of cognitive therapy (an approach that addresses thoughts and beliefs rather than feelings) is to question negative thoughts by asking if they are actually true. For example, if you begin to feel frustrated and think, “What’s the use? Things never work out,” these thoughts are tested against reality. You say to yourself, “Actually, things sometimes do work out. I’ve succeeded by persevering. This might be one of those situations.” The secret here is to be specific and honest with yourself. When any negative thought arises, you challenge its validity. Instead of “The worst possible people are in charge,” you replace that thought with “No one’s all bad. Some good people still have influence. I’m not helping myself by exaggeration and self-pity.” Once you get accustomed to a thought-replacement approach, you’ll be impressed by its effectiveness. Moods follow thoughts, which is why it does no good to ruin your mood with dismal thinking. In the face of the atrocious repeal of Obamacare, I replaced the thought, “Oh my God, the ship is sinking” with “There’s a long way to go yet. The right people are in opposition. The public will have its say. We’re barely into the first act.”
6. Develop being centered and detached.
Being detached can be a positive state; it’s not the same as being indifferent or surrendering. Instead, you are centered inside yourself, which allows you to view situations as a witness/observer, without being emotionally rattled. Detachment develops naturally through the regular practice of meditation, because once you experience the centered, quiet, unshakable level of your mind, you easily learn how to return there at will.
7. Get “sticky” emotions to move.
Negative feelings have a mind-body connection, which you can feel physically. After a bout of getting angry or crying, it takes a while before your body settles down. This is due to various hormones, the stress response, and other biochemicals that do not clear immediately. You can help the clearing process by various means:
- Taking deep steady breaths- Lying down and resting- Walking outside- “Toning,” the technique of letting spontaneous sounds arise as they will (low groans, moans, shouts, etc.). This technique is best learned in person to get the knack of it.- Deep, repeated sighs- Discussing your feelings with sympathetic listeners
In the Trump era, everyone needs to have a set of coping skills, and these are among the most useful and effective. Heavy thoughts don’t have to cloud your day. I imagine my recommendations won’t quell the upsurge of anger that sweeps over all of us as the Trump outrage wends its reckless course. But in time we’ll want to preserve our sanity and remain resilient emotionally so that politics doesn’t turn into perpetual torment. When that time comes, the most effective resistance is likely to begin.
He's telling them to hang with Trumpsters. MAGA!!
Which number that he listed says “kill yourself”?
I only made it through the first few sentences.
Rush has it right. The Democrats, Leftists, Progressives and the other Mentally Ill Scum have no respect for the Electoral Process if they lose.
I think it’s a Chinese Drive-Thru...
#1 - Keep looking for Russians behind every tree for the next two years.
Agree and he can take a few thousand Indians with him.
I think lefties are in far worse mental shape than that. Most of them don't even recognize our existence, except as some faraway hostile tribe, that few 'real' people have ever encountered.
It's evident in the way liberals like Chopra speak. They say things like, "The majority of Americans are repulsed by Donald Trump." What they really mean is that, those inside the bubble world they inhabit, are repulsed by Trump.
I really don't think there's much cognitive activity going on in the minds of most liberals. A diagnosis of cognitive dissonance would at least mean that there's some kind of mental function, and therefore, some smidgen of hope for the afflicted.
LOL...I’ve, of course, heard the name before, but I haven’t a clue as to what he does...
But, I’ll look him up...
If you have a Deepak Chopra lasting more than 4 hours call your doctor.
He's done it. I swear, Trump has managed to drive these self-absorbed Great Thinkers into total batshit Nazi UFO chemtrail territory here and it isn't getting any better. I had lunch with a good friend who is a hopeless liberal who couldn't summon an opinion on politics without checking in with The Daily Show first, who was definitely looking more than a little frayed, muttering furiously that Comey's firing was a direct result of his zeroing in on Russian influence and I finally had to interrupt him and ask him pityingly "You don't actually believe in all that stuff, do you?" in the tone of voice you might use with regard to the Tooth Fairy. He does. Had to change the topic because he was starting to grind his teeth and his eyes were going red.
It may be more than neurosis, in fact. I note the capitalization of "the Resistance" as if it were actually something more than a playpen shared fantasy world on the order of Star Wars or Harry Potter. The Resistance, every liberal a hero in his or her own mind. We have megalomania here, delusions of grandeur, delusions of persecution, in short, what used to be described as paranoid schizophrenia. At the very least this stuff simply isn't mentally healthy.
Here are the facts: they had a crap candidate and lost an election, and as a result certain of their cherished programs are going to be rolled back. That's it. No trumpets sounding, no cavalry charging, no Maquis blowing up Nazi railway bridges. It's a perfectly natural blowback to excesses they refuse to recognize. We can't help them there, they have to admit there's a problem first.
Deepak Chopra:
India born author, public speaker, alternative medicine advocate, and a prominent figure in the New Age movement...
Alternative medicine and New Age...
That says it all......
He actually spouts new age style
HEALTH Care ideas in 30 seconds spots on my AM radio in the morning.
With a hint of leaning left ...
This article is truly
Hilarious!
Chopra is a real lightweight. I have seen him once with a group of very fine pastors and they made him look like a total idiot.
It wasn’t hard to do.
Yep...Got it...
Wow! The Marxist leftists have gone through 3 months of a far smaller dose of what I went through for 8 years under the Obama regime. What a drippy pack of beotches they are.
The same way people used to say ‘Goobledeegoop!’
To call it “The Resistance” and liken it to the French Resistance who bravely fought Hitler and the Nazis during their occupation is off the hook as the kids would say. I hope there aren’t many Resistance fighters still alive who might stumble upon that comparison. It’d be like comparing my late father’s actions in the Battle of Okinawa to Bowe Bergdahl.
When the voice in your head starts saying things, pause for a moment and say to the voice, "I don’t need this. It doesn’t serve me." Repeat until the mental voice stops.
The media are driving them insane; voices in your head is a symptom of schizophrenia
Imbecises all, as the fires of hell rise up to meet them. Deepak is one of a large cult of demonic teachers.
I’ve always said that a food addiction is the hardest to kick, unlike drugs, alcohol or whatever, because you can’t get away from food.
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