Fear, Anxiety, and Depression in the Age of Trump - Therapists/Patients Struggle

[á´…eparted]

Trump-induced anxiety is a real thing.


Mods: I wasn't sure if this was better suited for psychology or politics, but I thought it was more fitting in psychology since that's the focus and put it here, and the focus I want to try and foster. Please move the thread as you see fit.

Note: I really, REALLY do not want this thread to turn into a defense of Trump, attacks on Hillary, or an overall political debate. That is NOT the focus I want here. Not everything needs to be a debate. Please try and keep it focused.

I am very happy that one of my facebook friends shared this. It's kinda validating for me. Many of us on the forum (myself included), and many out in the world have a real, visceral fear of Trump, and an even further fear of his supporters. Mine didn't really settle in until Bernie lost the primary, and Trump announced his desire to deregulate some primary infrastructure and announced Pence as the VP with the intent of having him run the show. I am so stressed and overwhelmed by all of this that it is causing me day to day stress, and I have lost sleep and social enjoyment from it. I feel like my life is going to be royally fucked, and that if I want to be safe I need to be elsewhere. I don't want to, but I feel may have no choice but to move to Canada or Germany when I graduate. I am counting my lucky stars that my degree should enable me to do that.

This article discusses how therapists and their patients are struggling to cope with the anxiety, depression, and fear that Trump, and particularly his followers are feeling. I see a therapist regularly as ongoing support of my mental ailments, obviously other stuff comes up as well. I'd say in about 1/4th of my sessions, the 2016 election has come up. In a few sessions it's all I talked about, because I did not know how to manage my fear and anger associated with it. My therapist informed me that quite a number of her patients have been bringing it up.

The article goes on to explain that a lot of therapists are reporting having a large number of patients discussing the stress associated with trump. Dozens reporting that they are overwhelmed with how much it has come up, often in the majority of their patients. Some old ones have come back after long absences to discuss and manage these very things. The therapists themselves are frequently overwhelmed and need additional support groups. It's anectodal, but it's extremely difficult to deny this is a large systemic thing that is hard to deny is valid, and it's very hard to deny the validity of these peoples feelings.

I think this paragraph captures the article overall:

Liz hasn’t agreed with past Republican candidates, she says, but she didn’t think they would “ruin my country, or cause civil war, or cause World War III.” But her fear also stems from her incredulous realization that so many of her fellow citizens inhabit a reality that barely intersects with her own. “I can no longer see where they’re coming from,” she says of Trump supporters. “I feel like I’m in The Twilight Zone.” Even if Clinton wins, she’s terrified of Trump’s followers responding with violence. “We’re getting closer and closer and closer to something that seems so insane,” she says, “The thought of him winning, or even the thought of her winning and parts of the country imploding in chaos as a result—it all just seems like a nightmare.”

I am not entirely sure how to facilitate this discussion, but considering how many of us are having genuine concern, or out and out fear associated with the election, Trump, and his supporters, that there should be a discussion on this with the focus of the psychological and stress impact. Maybe as a vent, maybe a a discussion of what to do and how to manage, or a discussion of the issues associated with it. We'll see how it pans out.

 

[Totenkindly]

I can't really delve into it tonight aside for a few comments....

It just bothers me that when a candidate is actually unqualified for a position but is still in a position to get it anyway? I don't even care about the party, per se... Laying aside any regular political positions I might have or what party anyone is from, I'm just incredulous that this completely incompetent individual (and who doesn't even care about competence) is essentially bullying his way into office. If this country is an airplane, what we're seeing is instead of a choice between two actual pilots with different flying strategies (so even if you hate the pilot or think they are too risky or too reserved, you can still trust they know how to fly the plane and eventually land without killing everyone), you've got a guy with no actual flying lessons under his belt and who doesn't even care about knowing how to fly a plane pushing his way into the cockpit and insisting he will fly the plane mainly to make his own name bigger.

I guess it will be a litmus test for how important the presidency actually is, to be honest, if he would happen to win. Either way we're kind of fucked -- either the presidency is irrelevant to the country's functioning and now we'll all know it (so watch for doubling in political apathy), or he'll create some major catastrophes that will take the country into shaky area at best. I also think the lines have drawn SO severely that no matter who wins, there's just going to be a lot of shit. No one can accept a loss at this point, because the fevered pitch has become a "life and death" struggle of good vs evil. (This was the same problem the Democratic party faced during the primaries, when Sanders made Hillary into as much of an evil as Trump, and after he lost, now somehow all those Sanders voters are supposed to support Hillary after coming to view her as evil, even if that derails their own long-term goals. The lines have just been drawn too deep.)

But getting this back to psychology: I guess I'm dealing the way a Five deals... I've basically withdrawn into my own smaller world and focused on the things I can control and trust my ability to ride out any turbulence over the next four years if the worst happens. Aside from my single vote in November, I don't have any real control over the outcome of what happens. So I'm getting my own life in order and am prepared to carry on no matter what happens. It stresses me out, but I choose to not focus on it because there's no point in derailing my own efforts to maintain my own life. And then I'll deal with the fallout of whatever happens in November and redetermine my level of investment in terms of what to fight for and who to help, etc. I do feel stress, but I've been dealing with underlying stress in situations I can't control since I was five, so... I've had lots of practice.

 

[ceecee]

I'm not at all surprised you and others are having real problems due to the election. I said it would make people crazy and it has, good and bad. One thing that's concerning to me is seepage of right wing, anti-Semitic, anti everything rhetoric, much more than I ever saw before. I came across this one on Twitter but if that stuff bothers you, don't click.

Grandpa Lampshade (@pawpawlampshade) | Twitter

To be fair, Trump isn't saying any of ^^ those things. But his constituency is. He won't go against them now, of course but if he is elected and still doesn't, that will be a problem.

I started thinking - instead of getting mad or upset that this sort of fucked up mentality exists, I should be happy that I can see and read this stuff and exactly where it's coming from. Free speech aside, they're entitled to it. If I saw a confederate flag on a house, I read anti-Semitic shit or racist vomit - I'm aware of who and where they are. Who I want to know and who I don't. That feels better to me than having them hidden and protected as they have been in the past. That's a great thing about the internet, you know?

In no way am I trying to belittle your concerns, they are valid. To be honest, I think the people at the other end of the spectrum, the ones posting as much info as possible to sway others, they have a parallel set of issues. They're equally anxious about Hillary, it just comes out in a different way.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

The safe space is crumbling.

 

[á´…eparted]

To be fair, Trump isn't saying any of ^^ those things. But his constituency is. He won't go against them now, of course but if he is elected and still doesn't, that will be a problem.

This gets to the root of it for me. At the end of the day, it's Trump supporters that scare me more than Trump, and their reasons for why they support him. It has on a number of cases made me feel physically ill, like a number of the patients mentioned in the article. I am even having a difficult time even leveling with people who support him in spite of Hillary (whom I hate). [MENTION=7]Totenkindly[/MENTION] expressed this quite well in her analogy; he doesn't have any qualifications, and that's ignoring everything else that is wrong. How that can be overlooked I don't understand, and don't think I ever will.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Meh... I don't know. People told me the world would end if Bush was re-elected. I was young enough to believe them, and it seriously fucked me up. I've heard the same thing pretty much every election since then. I have to wonder if it's just crying wolf.

 

[á´…eparted]

Meh... I don't know. People told me the world would end if Bush was re-elected. I was young enough to believe them, and it seriously fucked me up. I've heard the same thing pretty much every election since then. I have to wonder if it's just crying wolf.

It did: middle east wars. The collapose of Wallstreet. Considering how Trump is hundereds of orders of magnitude worse, and with all of the issues he's supporting, pushing, all of the lies, hatred, and everything in between, I do not see how this is crying wolf even if the best case scenarios turn out.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Power passes back and forth. No one gets to be in the sun forever.

It's our turn now, and we are an equal and opposite reaction to the last 8 years. Behold what you hath wrought.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

It did: middle east wars. The collapose of Wallstreet. Considering how Trump is hundereds of orders of magnitude worse, and with all of the issues he's supporting, pushing, all of the lies, hatred, and everything in between, I do not see how this is crying wolf even if the best case scenarios turn out.

I'm still alive. I guess there was a time when I thought being really politically engaged would make people like me... and now I'm smart enough to know that's not the case.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

There is a lot of anxiety about both candidates for different reasons, and in some ways I wonder if Trump is the manifestation of social political fears. There has been an ongoing cultural change that is more angry, anxious, and hateful of certain demographics. I was noticing even the race issue in movies from the 1990's and everything felt more relaxed in the social presentation of various races, genders, etc. Now there are actually more prejudicial undertones in some movies and shows. I'd have to think through more of the specifics because right now it is a general impression.

I have an underlying feeling of urgency to move to Canada, but I don't see a way to work it out logistically. By the time I can it will likely be overrun with immigrants and it will no longer be an option. I feel like the world is unimaginably corrupt.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I dislike Trump but mixed with that is a certain ambivalence towards the major political questions of the day. The only reason I'm really voting is against him. I certainly know that in recent years I haven't felt as free to express myself as I used to, and I'm kind of resentful of that. I feel like I've had people turn against me for not being sufficiently outraged about certain things.

 

[ceecee]

This gets to the root of it for me. At the end of the day, it's Trump supporters that scare me more than Trump, and their reasons for why they support him. It has on a number of cases made me feel physically ill, like a number of the patients mentioned in the article. I am even having a difficult time even leveling with people who support him in spite of Hillary (whom I hate). [MENTION=7]Totenkindly[/MENTION] expressed this quite well in her analogy; he doesn't have any qualifications, and that's ignoring everything else that is wrong. How that can be overlooked I don't understand, and don't think I ever will.

But Trump didn't cause any of this with his supporters - they were always there. The chaos caused Trump and the GOP has had this shit sandwich coming for some time. Now we are starting to care, now we see the huge fissures that have been growing for decades. Had Trump not showed up, I don't think that would have happened.

I read this back in July, it made a lot of sense and explained much about the way people are feeling and less about the politicians. Reading it is voluntary, of course.

How American Politics Became So Ineffective - The Atlantic

 

[á´…eparted]

There is a lot of anxiety about both candidates for different reasons, and in some ways I wonder if Trump is the manifestation of social political fears. There has been an ongoing cultural change that is more angry, anxious, and hateful of certain demographics. I was noticing even the race issue in movies from the 1990's and everything felt more relaxed in the social presentation of various races, genders, etc. Now there are actually more prejudicial undertones in some movies and shows. I'd have to think through more of the specifics because right now it is a general impression.

I have an underlying feeling of urgency to move to Canada, but I don't see a way to work it out logistically. By the time I can it will likely be overrun with immigrants and it will no longer be an option. I feel like the world is unimaginably corrupt.

To the bold, it really is. If the social fears Trump is riding on weren't there, and weren't such an immediate threat, then I think this election would have a much different focus and outcome. Social issues have become so important and prominant demanding attention that they have become the focus. The climate is such we can't even discuss economic issues, and for many they can't even be considered. The article goes onto to show that it's nearly all social fears that the clients are having. Very little of it is economically focused. As I see it, there is a lot of reactivity from people over change moving faster. It isn't one singular cause, it's a lot of small factors adding up.

 

[ceecee]

Power passes back and forth. No one gets to be in the sun forever.

It's our turn now, and we are an equal and opposite reaction to the last 8 years. Behold what you hath wrought.

Yeah I've seen you say this before, it shows how little you care about the country as a whole and the health of democracy itself. But you're being honest, I appreciate that.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Yeah I've seen you say this before, it shows how little you care about the country as a whole and the health of democracy itself. But you're being honest, I appreciate that.

Yep I don't care at all.

Now I've gotta get back to being histories greatest monster.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I mean I used to be such a passionate person politically, but that passion always seemed to be too much to handle. Now that it's kind of fashionable to have excess passion about these things, I just feel ambivalence beyond anti-Trump feelings. Go figure.

 

[á´…eparted]

But Trump didn't cause any of this with his supporters - they were always there. The chaos caused Trump and the GOP has had this shit sandwich coming for some time. Now we are starting to care, now we see the huge fissures that have been growing for decades. Had Trump not showed up, I don't think that would have happened.

I read this back in July, it made a lot of sense and explained much about the way people are feeling and less about the politicians. Reading it is voluntary, of course.

How American Politics Became So Ineffective - The Atlantic

To the bold, I should have been more clear. Trump has enabled that to come out, and for people to feel safe in expressing it and articulating it beyond what had been done in their heads. It seems like he's brought many out of the woodwork who had never conscious thought that way before, or realized that it was how they felt. He's effectively been like "hey. Those things going on. those changes? You don't like that do you." and people are responding with "yeah... you're right, I don't!". It's sickening and shocking.

I have seen an implosion withing the GOP coming since the tea party wave of 2010, but I expected it to stay contained. I didn't expect it to bloom into this giantic monster that would involve everyone. I don't have time to read the article at the moment as it's too long and I am coming and going from my computer tending to a purification of one of my reactions.

 

[Showbread]

Trump-induced anxiety is a real thing.

I'm not sure if this will make you feel any better, but, I figure it's worth a shot.

Fiancé and I had a lengthy discussion with a friend of ours who has a PhD in political science. Her default is lean leftish libertarian, so she's pretty much screwed for this election. Even though she finds Trump and his supported absolutely despicable, she things that Trump actually has the capacity to do less damage than Clinton. When I heard that, I was like "Um, wuh?". But, she said that having someone so grossly unqualified in the executive branch would likely because Congress and the Senate to seriously step up their game and take back a lot of the power that recent Presidents have kind of "stolen" from them with executive orders. The bills he would propose likely wouldn't even make it through for him to sign. Because if you look at the Republicans in the House and Senate, most of them don't actually support Trump's politics.

Does this mean I'm going to vote for him? NO. I'll still probably end up voting for Clinton (unfortunately). But, it does make me feel a little bit better about the chances of him winning. As for his supporters, I don't really know how much I can help you there. Other than saying they're pretty few and far between in PNW. If you lived in Alabama, sure, I would be concerned. But in Portland or Seattle, you're not likely to run into many. I literally don't know a single person who supports him that lives in Oregon. Maybe a couple times a month I'll see a bumper sticker. But 95% of the political paraphernalia I come across is Sanders or Clinton.

 

[á´…eparted]

I'm not sure if this will make you feel any better, but, I figure it's worth a shot.

Fiancé and I had a lengthy discussion with a friend of ours who has a PhD in political science. Her default is lean leftish libertarian, so she's pretty much screwed for this election. Even though she finds Trump and his supported absolutely despicable, she things that Trump actually has the capacity to do less damage than Clinton. When I heard that, I was like "Um, wuh?". But, she said that having someone so grossly unqualified in the executive branch would likely because Congress and the Senate to seriously step up their game and take back a lot of the power that recent Presidents have kind of "stolen" from them with executive orders. The bills he would propose likely wouldn't even make it through for him to sign. Because if you look at the Republicans in the House and Senate, most of them don't actually support Trump's politics.

Does this mean I'm going to vote for him? NO. I'll still probably end up voting for Clinton (unfortunately). But, it does make me feel a little bit better about the chances of him winning. As for his supporters, I don't really know how much I can help you there. Other than saying they're pretty few and far between in PNW. If you lived in Alabama, sure, I would be concerned. But in Portland or Seattle, you're not likely to run into many. I literally don't know a single person who supports him that lives in Oregon. Maybe a couple times a month I'll see a bumper sticker. But 95% of the political paraphernalia I come across is Sanders or Clinton.

You are absolutely right. I have had these very same thoughts a while ago, and I still hold them. Trump getting in would be better in the long term for the Democrats. However all this has changed in priority for me and it makes me sick, because I have plenty of fears of Clinton as well, but trump has announced too many things that make him feel catastrophic to me.

+ He wants to deregulate the FDA. That alone sinks me, because I will no longer feel safe in my day to day life.
+ He will stack the supreme court, which terrifies me and feels like any progress we might try to make will be haulted for decades.
+ He elected Pence, one of the most socially conservative and backwards people in politics right now, as the VP and is vehemently anti-gay. Trump says his intent is to let him run the show largely. It's hard to not feel worried by that.

Those are just three things, but those three things have sent me into panic. Without them, I might be ok-ish, but not anymore. Also unfortunately it looks like my odds of staying in Oregon are low given the job trajectory I want/need to take. It's comforting to live in this state, but it's not permanent/certain for me. Thankfully my adviser will likely do everything in his power to help ship me off to a safe place if Trump gets in (I am gonna gradate in the spring).

 

[Showbread]

You are absolutely right. I have had these very same thoughts a while ago, and I still hold them. Trump getting in would be better in the long term for the Democrats. However all this has changed in priority for me and it makes me sick, because I have plenty of fears of Clinton as well, but trump has announced too many things that make him feel catastrophic to me.

+ He wants to deregulate the FDA. That alone sinks me, because I will no longer feel safe in my day to day life.
+ He will stack the supreme court, which terrifies me and feels like any progress we might try to make will be haulted for decades.
+ He elected Pence, one of the most socially conservative and backwards people in politics right now, as the VP and is vehemently anti-gay. Trump says his intent is to let him run the show largely. It's hard to not feel worried by that.

Those are just three things, but those three things have sent me into panic. Without them, I might be ok-ish, but not anymore. Also unfortunately it looks like my odds of staying in Oregon are low given the job trajectory I want/need to take. It's comforting to live in this state, but it's not permanent/certain for me. Thankfully my adviser will likely do everything in his power to help ship me off to a safe place if Trump gets in (I am gonna gradate in the spring).

Uh. Yeah, none of those are good things. The Supreme Court situation is what genuinely worries me the most... I think it would probably take him quite a while to do serious damage to the FDA though. I don't know much about Pence, but the little I do know does not inspire confidence.

Congratulations on your upcoming graduation, though!! That's got to be exciting.