Posted on 11/05/2004 11:04:00 PM PST by ambrose
Kerry Supporters Dealing With Stress, Depression
Psychologists Reporting Patients Distressed About Election
POSTED: 8:06 am EST November 5, 2004 UPDATED: 8:11 am EST November 5, 2004
NEW YORK -- It's a long way from the Manhattan office of psychoanalyst Sherman Pheiffer to the Cambridge, Mass., practice of psychologist Jaine Darwin. But both are in blue states that voted heavily for John Kerry, and on the day he conceded, they heard plenty of distress about the election.
"My patients were incredulous, depressed, angry, very frightened," Pheiffer said. "Everyone talked about feeling frightened (about) the future of this country."
Darwin heard the same kinds of reactions. At the end of the campaign, Massachusetts Democrats "kind of let themselves hope Kerry would pull it out," she said, so patients felt "the roller coaster had crashed. I think we all had a little post-Red Sox magical thinking."
And among Kerry campaign volunteers, of course, the loss was still stinging the day after the concession.
"If I happened to be on a tranquilizer or Prozac, I would have to triple my dose," joked Sam Feldman, a 75-year-old retired businessman who lives on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts but who volunteered for Kerry in Florida.
Elizabeth Marshall, a volunteer at the Centre County Democrats headquarters in Pennsylvania, said people there showed "bereavement, almost. People feel that something they had, which was hope for imminent change, has been taken from them."
The good news, mental health experts say, is that most Kerry supporters will get over their disappointment on their own. In fact, maybe sooner than they think.
"Right now you've got them at the depths of their despair," said Daniel Gilbert, a Harvard psychologist who has studied voters' emotional reaction to elections. "They're not going to feel worse in a week. They're going to feel better."
In fact, Gilbert said, his work has shown that voters get over their election-day disappointments faster than they predict they will.
"They don't think they'll be over it in a month, but they will be," he said.
Even now, Pheiffer, Darwin and other mental health professionals said they weren't getting any new patients because of the Kerry defeat. And Dr. David Rissmiller, chairman of the psychiatry department at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Osteopathic Medicine, said there's been no election-related jump in calls at two New Jersey crisis centers he's familiar with.
Temporary sadness, anxiety and concern about the future are understandable responses among Kerry supporters, said Dr. Charles Goodstein, a psychiatrist at the New York University Medical Center.
So when is it time to call a mental health professional? "When something goes on longer than you're comfortable with, then talk to somebody," Darwin advised. "You don't have to have major depression to talk to somebody."
Healthy reactions to post-election disappointment include talking about it with others and becoming or remaining politically active, experts said.
"I think it's important to give yourself a little bit of time to grieve," said Mary McClanahan, a psychologist in State College, Pa., who volunteered along with Marshall at the local county Democratic headquarters.
She described herself as "incredibly disappointed" but also galvanized.
Her fellow volunteers felt the same way, she said. And for both civic and psychological reasons, she said, such people should re-invest that energy in politics.
"Whenever we suffer a disappointment, and there's a chance to have a future success experience and we don't take advantage of that, it leaves people with greater regrets in the long run," she said.
And we should feel sorry for these liberals because........
Oh, but you are completely missing the point! These people have REASON to feel depressed. Their sadness and fears for the future need to be validated by numerous articles BECAUSE all the people writing them AGREE with the idea that we are now doomed because W is President for 4 more years.
Any upset we may have had in 92 simply wasn't valid. We didn't REALLY have anything to fear from Clinton- he was saving us from ourselves. Better to ignore it, dear.
(( ping ))
-I am deeply deeply profoundly utterly saddened... I would hope that all efforts for mental healing are attempted prior to self euthanasia... I have heard rumor that irregularity is also wreaking havoc among those who would have crowned thier queen jean francis kerry...
Perhaps they should just kill them selves, if they could get the job done.
For all of you that squirmed like mad during Clinton's years, this must feel so good :D
Lilly makes Prozac, but it's gone generic. Sorry.
Dennis Miller probably had to say, "Life sucks, get a f***ing helmet!" to a lot of his lefty pals.
Genghis Khan actually, not Conan.
But it was a great line in the movie, and perfect for Arnold. Inspired.
Sheesh. Grief counseling?
Would they like a little cheese with that whine?
Now they know how I felt when Clinton was elected.
Hey, lets not be offensive to psychologists. I am one, and I am very conservative...so please don't paint all with that broad brush.
Why is it that we didn't hear similar stories in the news after the 1992 and 1996 elections when Slick Willy made it into office? Is it because Republicans are inherently more stable people?
Can I jump to conclusions here and assume you are not the one acting as call-in grief counsellor on NPR? (I heard that on Howie Carr yesterday.)
Actually, Howie Carr was making the point yesterday that libs have lost elections before but he doesn't remember them ever taking it this badly. What exactly is different?
They have a foreboding they'll be locked out of power for a generation. That's why they're terminally depressed. In earlier elections, they had a hope of being able to rely on Congress or the courts and now the last crutches are gone. So its understandable why its tough to be a liberal these days. After all, they used to run the show.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.