By Becky Gillette
Some people are experiencing something akin to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the wake of the election of Donald Trump, despite him receiving about 1.7 million fewer popular votes than Hillary Clinton. Many people are feeling anxious, fearful and upset about the election and its ramifications for civil rights, women’s rights, the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and even the future of Earth where the climate is changing rapidly due to greenhouse gas emissions.
Dorothy Crookshank, a local attorney, said she is having nightmares almost every night.
“It feels as though the bottom is dropping out and I have no way to stop it,” Crookshank said. “I feel so helpless just watching it all take place. I’m frustrated because I feel so powerless.”
Crookshank said it isn’t just the outcome of the presidential campaign, but the shift that has given Republicans control of the House and Senate, too. She is particularly concerned about what will happen with the Supreme Court appointees because those could have a very long-term impact.
Crookshank was floored when she heard that Trump plans to appoint Sen. Jeff Session as head of the U.S. Department of Justice. She said Sessions was passed over for a federal judgeship in the past because of his racist leanings and background. And she cares very much for the millions who stand to lose healthcare if the candidate follows through with promises to eliminate ACA.
“You can’t just eliminate Obamacare without replacing it with something or you will have millions without health insurance,” she said.
To cope, she has taken advice to get out and exercise more, and is determined to be active opposing changes that would take the country backward in social justice.
Trump campaigned that, unlike other Republicans, he wouldn’t touch Medicare and Social Security. But there are recent reports that he intends to replace Medicare with a voucher system to buy private insurance. There are also concerns that the Republicans now have enough votes in Congress to privatize Social Security.
“If he really does gut Medicare and Social Security, I’m hoping the country will rise up in absolute protest,” Crookshank said. “Perhaps the pendulum will swing back. But we are short on time.”
Tracellen Templin Kelly, retired manager of the Good Shepherd Thrift Stores, said her initial reaction after the election was feeling depressed and despondent. She kept switching back from being very melancholic to extremely angry.
“I am normally a person who gets over things like this in a few hours and bounces back,” she said. “I am not bouncing back this time.”
She has great concerns about stepping back in time to when racism was rampant and abortion was illegal.
“Now I’m focused on wanting to make a difference,” Kelly said. “I might not be able to make a big difference, but I will make a difference somewhere. When I think about the damage this new administration could do the environment in the next four years, I wonder how that might affect my grandchildren for the next fifty years.”
Kelly feels things happen for a reason, and perhaps the “reason” for this election was for people who have been complacent to get up off the couch and do something about getting rid of the Electoral College.
“It is archaic and should have been done away with a long time ago,” Kelly said. “I always heard the Constitution as a living document. It is time to change some of it.”
Psychotherapist Eugenia “Gigi” Cottrell said many people are experiencing significant grief as they are mourning the loss of balance in our government following the election. She suggests small group meetings with like-minded people who want to positively impact our community, our country and the future.
“Few of us are hermits,” she said. “By our very nature we are pack animals. We have to become each other’s family now. We need to rally around one another. We are all suffering together. And we are all in this together.”
Cottrell said the election could be particularly hard on older people, even those who are Republican. She has worked with geriatric clients who had Fox News on all day long. She said that constant diet of negativity contributes to making people anxious and depressed.
“Fox News was unhealthy for my geriatric clients,” she said. “Fox News has been divisive for years. It is worse when people use it as background noise bombarding their minds unconsciously on a daily basis.”
Some local residents report they have placed themselves on a news diet. They aren’t reading, listening or watching the news as frequently as in the past. Cottrell said people might need to take breaks from the news while staying tuned in to advocate for justice and fairness, and checking in on their neighbors.
The stress is worse on groups targeted by Trump.
“Our Hispanic and Muslim communities are terrified of being separated from their families,” she said. “Women and LGBTQs stand to lose their rights and choices as human beings. Children have reported an increase of bullying in the schools. Children are tearfully asking their parents ‘how can he be our President, he’s a bully! We’re not supposed to be bullies.’ But we can’t just focus on that. We have to focus on who we are as a creative community and what we want to accomplish together. When we hold hands with one another, shining our light, we are stronger and love wins.”
Local therapist Sally Williams Gorrell said many people are upset or sad.
“I’m deeply concerned, too,” she said. “My heart goes out to people.”
She recommends meditation, including group meditation such as that available at the Heart of Many Ways, discussing the issue with trusted friends, and working to limit negative thoughts.
“We have had other controversial presidents, by the way,” Gorrell said. “If you get together with a group of people to talk about this, it is important to express your fears and worries, then conclude by praying for the highest good for the world. Focus on the positive aspects of lives: We have safety, food and homes. Move your attention back to what is still working well in our world. People get stuck on the negative and fail to see positive.”
Gorrell said some New Age therapies work very well. She recommends “tapping,” (see EFT.org) to help get out of the fight or flight mode.
“Tapping, exercise, being around a peaceful person, singing, dancing, looking at a beautiful tree –there are a lot of ways to get out of being caught in a ‘fight or flight’ mode,” she said. “Singing takes us to our heart, and brings us there to remember joys. Look at lovely art, look at nature, meditate and send worries into the earth. In Eureka, we are so blessed because so many people are seeking peace.”
She also recommends action that can help: Do something constructive. Write a letter to the editor or Congress. Work on protecting the Buffalo River. Do something that is going to help.
And maybe take heart from living in the most liberal town in Arkansas, a place where people voted against discrimination against LGBTQs and has a high percentage of environmental activists, artists, writers and musicians.
“Can we insulate ourselves here from the rest of the nation?” asks Diane Garrett Newcomb. “Support one another locally and on our own small scale without being subjects of the great orange buffoon and his tragic reality show?”
Take action today
Here are some calls you can make:
- Call Senator Lindsey Graham’s office at (202) 224-5972, Push 2 if you get the recording. Tell the staff member, “I support Senator Graham’s investigation into Russia’s participation in the election of Donald Trump.”
- Call the Department of Justice, Voting/Civil Rights Division: 1-800-253-3931. Tell them you want to make sure the DOJ is investigating any possibility of voter fraud or tampering.
- Call the House Oversight Committee tell them you support the call for a bipartisan review of Trump’s financials and conflicts of interest. (202) 225-5074.
- Call Paul Ryan’s office express your concern about Trump’s business conflicts of interest, his appointments of racists to his cabinet, voter fraud and Trump repealing the Affordable Care Act. (202) 225-3031.