But what if we found a way to remove ourselves from this ride with humor?
I’ve been asking this question for the past few weeks, asking people across the political divide to crowdsource a handbook for improving election year health. You may not have a choice about the candidate at this point. But we have a choice in how we respond to them.
After all, we are all now experts on how to survive hyperpolarized elections. just presidential candidates. No matter what happens, we can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing.
Research by psychology professor Shevan D. Neupert shows that election outcomes are so bad that even anticipating them can be detrimental to your health. According to political psychologist Kevin B. Smith, a quarter of us have seriously considered moving because of politics. What’s worse, he is one in every 20 American adults who has considered suicide in connection with politics. “Politics is a chronic stressor that saturates popular culture and permeates our daily lives through social media, various entertainment platforms, and the 24-hour news cycle,” Smith said. It’s making people sick,” concluded the 2022 PLOS ONE study, aptly titled.
We cannot live like this. And the temptation, at least for me, is to retreat. But secession creates new problems, says theologian Russell Moore, author of Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America. “I’m worried about the numbness and fatigue,” Moore said. He experienced a very public split from the Southern Baptist Convention over his own positions on sexual abuse and racial reconciliation within the denomination. “I think it’s dangerous. I still want to receive some degree of shock. I was shocked, but I don’t think I was thrown out.”
How can you be shocked but not thrown off? Are you engaged but not furious? Trying to find this balance is what most of us do in the future 8 I think this is the most important thing you can do in a month. It’s more important than voting. (Yes, I said it.)
create a demilitarized zone
There’s one thing that Moore’s been doing lately that’s different. It is about ensuring that certain core relationships remain outside the realm of political discussion. “There are some relationships where you can’t win an argument,” he says. “But that relationship is really important.”
This feels counterintuitive. After all, the stakes in this election are high. We now know exactly what capabilities these two candidates have. The laws and policies we fight for, on abortion, borders, guns, and more, impact the lives of millions of people in deep and intimate ways. There is little room for denial or doubt.
So why do we avoid talking about politics? now, Are you always with someone?
For now, the answer I’ve come up with is: Staying connected is the only way to achieve lasting change. Difficult conversations are important, but some people aren’t ready for them. I’m not ready now. They don’t want to hear it, and you probably don’t either. When relationships are severed, our hearts become hardened and fixed. In the long run, this downsizing could isolate us from each other and make everything worse.
Even if your whole family agrees on politics, it’s healthy to have a no-fly zone. Kelly Corrigan, her podcaster and host of PBS’s “Tell Me More,” is trying to resist her urge to share breaking news with her husband this time around. Nothing good comes from a complaint exchange. She said: “We’ve been married for almost 25 years and we feel exactly the same way. We were just walking around like crazy.”
Goals are both spiritual and strategic. “I want my team to win,” Corrigan told me. “And I’m going to do anything to help my team win. I’m going to use my platform to say some things.” We want to make sure that those who disagree are also heard. “I don’t want to insult anyone,” she says. “I can’t approach people with a sense of disgust or superiority, trying to explode every argument.”
To maintain that equanimity outside of the world, you need to practice it at home as well. In previous election years, you might have told yourself that these grievance sessions would make you feel less alone. Now I know they will only cause me more pain. There is usually no good place for that energy to go.
Map your sphere of influence
Next, look around. Who will trust you? And what will you do? We can all let go of the grandiose idea that we can force Democrats to vote Republican, or vice versa. “I wish I could snap my fingers and get some change like Thanos, but that’s just not the case right now,” says Kesonga, a therapist and meditation teacher with the Headspace Mindfulness app.・Mr. Giscombe says. “You have to accept that there are things you can do and things you can’t do.”
Know your superpower, even if it’s a small one. “My purpose is to make this world a healthier and happier place,” Giscombe says. I very humbly believe that mindfulness can change the world. At least it’s a start, right? ”
If that doesn’t sound political enough, perhaps our definition of politics is too small. That’s the conclusion of Caleb Follett, a correctional officer and Marine Corps veteran in Lansing, Michigan.Are you a moral person doing good in the world? Are you teaching? [your kids] Good one? “
Previously, Follett liked to discuss politics on social media. He supported Trump in 2016 and 2020, but this year nearly everyone who supports him has already voted for Trump. “I’m like, ‘What more can I say?'” He also found that negative political posts kept him perpetually exasperated. “I realized that when I was posting all the time, it was fueled by anger.”
So far this year, he’s been posting fun, high-energy videos with exercise tips, including weightlifting for kids and how to build an inexpensive home gym. “It’s like I took a step back and found a problem that I could help people with,” Follett told me. “What’s more powerful? Getting one person to change their vote or getting one person to change their life?”
you do Ride the election roller coaster and pay attention. That way you’ll know when to get off. “I know exactly what I’m feeling when I’m watching the news,” says Giscombe, a meditation teacher. “And the moment you feel the anxiety creeping in, you’re like, ‘Okay, it’s time to stop.'” Back in 2020, he would have been trying to push through that pain. Now he immediately puts down the phone. “That was a game changer.”
Personally, I try to ask myself, “What do I get out of reading this story?” I don’t always have the discipline to do this, but I wish I had. Nothing can be done about a brutal murder in a far away area. The city I live in has many tragedies to consider. At the same time, I learned that I need to push myself to read less scary stories to help my brain see the bigger picture. Wait, America’s violent crime rate last year was near its lowest level in over 50 years? Even if the first thing you want to do is scroll down and read on, you need to know more about it.
Interestingly, Giscombe found that on some days he could read many alarming stories in a row in relative peace. But on other days, for example if you had an argument with your wife that morning, the alarm will go off earlier. The important thing is to listen.
Think in terms of years, not months.
This is a long game. Politically speaking, America’s situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. “There may be many, but many “This year has seen an attempt to colonize your imagination,” author Jake Meador recently warned in the magazine Mere Orthodoxy. “The reactionaries on cable news and political podcasts and morning radio and social media will all be there demanding your attention.”
Even if your favorite candidate wins, this roller coaster ride will not stop in November. As soon as one ride ends, another one comes jerking around the curve. The difference is that many of us are now less vulnerable to manipulation. We have some immunity, and that may be the upside of this déjà vu election.
“The story of this election is so familiar that it’s not all that compelling. And, strangely enough, it’s an opportunity,” said Braver, a depolarization organization that has been working for the past six years. said April Lawson, who has worked for the Angels. “We’re looking for something fresh, something different. There could be a new story, not about Trump and Biden, but about who we are as Americans.”
We crave a new kind of politics, a new story about ourselves. We need to carve out enough space in our heads to be able to imagine it and build it. I don’t know what it’s like, but I know I need to get off that old roller coaster ride.
Paradoxically, this teeth Important election.There teeth Real threats are at hand, and some of us face more risk than others. That’s why it’s so hard to pull away. But we’re all human. A temporary and intentional withdrawal is the only way to live to fight another day.
What has changed in your own life this election year? What have you learned about how to stay sane in a hyperpolarized country? Please let us know what you think.
