crippling anxiety about the election/project 2025. please help.

[we scared or whateva]

i've been keeping up with everything regarding Project 2025 (if you know what it is, if you don't then ignore this post) and the election on multiple subreddits, just because it's the easiest place for me to keep up. i deleted reddit yesterday, though, because i am now absolutely terrified of what will happen if Trump wins the election. it's so bad that I'm anxious from day to night. i can't do anything or function. i'm supposed to be planning for college but i can't being myself to be excited about the future. thinking about the future fills me with unfathomable existential dread. i've seen posts about people talking about voting third party thinking it's the right decision and my mom thinks i'm a crazy person. it all just makes me so nauseous. i don't think i've ever been so scared for anything in my life. i've had several mental breakdowns about this and, like i said, deleted reddit. i've now avoided all interaction with anything political. i have an appointment scheduled with my therapist. i've always been so excited about college and being independent but now i'm scared that i won't even get that opportunity. everything feels so pointless and hopeless to me right now. i don't know what i'll do if he wins. i don't know if there will be any purpose in staying alive if the future will be as bleak as it looks right now.

i guess i just need to calm down and know that it's not hopeless and that there is a chance. i need good news and to feel hopeful.

 

[Health anxiety suxs]

I'm certainly no fan of Donald Trump. No way! However, if he is elected, the reality of what may happen will likely in no way affect you personally. If you are a young woman, the courts may continue to block needed medical treatment associated with conception and how to deal with pregnancy problems. Even then, it is likely that many "blue" states will still be able to address any needs in that regard.

Otherwise, if he wins, I would bet my bottom dollar that a Democrat will win in 2028; that's what our country does; they alternate. Trump is an outlier. Once he is gone, politics will revert to the same old same old, liberal v. conservative, like back in the Reagan/Clinton days.

I suggest you go ahead living your life. Look out for yourself and your interests. Sounds selfish, but we just can't do what you're doing, or have been doing, watching every little twist and turn on the political landscape.

Everything will be OK (EGBOK). By the way, if you happen to know Caroline Kennedy, please ask her to run if Biden decides not to continue...or Michelle.

 

[Jonathan123]

Today in the UK is polling day in the General Election. We have this event around every five years although that can vary a lot. Whatever the outcome it will be decided by the voters and we will have to accept that, like it or not.
I gave up on politics years ago. I am of an age where I have seen and heard it all. Promises, promises, promises!!
Very few of which materialise. It's all about power. Power is an immense driving force. The psychologist, Adler. suggested it was THE main motive in us humans, and I am sure he had a point. That and making money which goes with power. If Trump gets in then it will not only be the US that is affected but the world. The US is the most powerful nation on earth, not only in a military sense but diplomatically also, and what happens there affects us all. We need to accept that's how things are and, as individuals there is not a lot we can do about it.

@Health anxiety suxs. "I suggest you go ahead living your life. Look out for yourself and your interests. Sounds selfish, but we just can't do what you're doing, or have been doing, watching every little twist and turn on the political landscape".

I agree entirely with that. Anxiety is about being selfish but not in a bad way. We need to look after ourselves or we can be of no use to anyone.

.

 

[PieFan]

I feel the same @we scared or whateva but Mr Trump taking over America is a symptom of our flawed system and collective poor values, and all I can do in response is to look at my behavior, my values, and try to live well myself. You are right to avoid discussing politics or anything intense which is making you ill with stress, and you made a therapist appointment to help you get things back in perspective.

College and education is a lifelong process I think, I didn't enjoy it much the first time but I love studying today! When I was young Margaret Thatcher trashed many lives in the UK, there were riots and mass unemployment. People barely remember her now, and it will be the same one day with Trump. Wannabe tyrants come and go in our world, they wreak havoc for a while but they all fade and die. Do good things with your own life, that's what matters, not some despot in the media. Cultivate resilience, bad people will always exist, bad things will happen sometimes, but you can choose how to respond.

Politics is a lost cause- it's just a vehicle for greed. The fact you can see through it and recognize the misery such people's ideas cause to society is a good thing, you care about others and the world. Project 25 is just another half-assed poorly-disguised attempt for super-rich-and-famous people to get richer and more famous, it's an irony that Mr Trump wants to be classed as one of them given his own dire straits and lack of charisma in reality.

Getting everyone fighting about their prejudices is an old tactic with a new weapon- the internet! What you write shows me there is plenty of hope for America, you can see that 'the emperor's got no clothes' no matter who tries to tell you how fine he looks!

 

[Ckelley116]

Wrote something, but deleted it so not to let my own anxiety on this topic make anyone else’s worse.

 

[we scared or whateva]

I feel the same @we scared or whateva but Mr Trump taking over America is a symptom of our flawed system and collective poor values, and all I can do in response is to look at my behavior, my values, and try to live well myself. You are right to avoid discussing politics or anything intense which is making you ill with stress, and you made a therapist appointment to help you get things back in perspective.

College and education is a lifelong process I think, I didn't enjoy it much the first time but I love studying today! When I was young Margaret Thatcher trashed many lives in the UK, there were riots and mass unemployment. People barely remember her now, and it will be the same one day with Trump. Wannabe tyrants come and go in our world, they wreak havoc for a while but they all fade and die. Do good things with your own life, that's what matters, not some despot in the media. Cultivate resilience, bad people will always exist, bad things will happen sometimes, but you can choose how to respond.

Politics is a lost cause- it's just a vehicle for greed. The fact you can see through it and recognize the misery such people's ideas cause to society is a good thing, you care about others and the world. Project 25 is just another half-assed poorly-disguised attempt for super-rich-and-famous people to get richer and more famous, it's an irony that Mr Trump wants to be classed as one of them given his own dire straits and lack of charisma in reality.

Getting everyone fighting about their prejudices is an old tactic with a new weapon- the internet! What you write shows me there is plenty of hope for America, you can see that 'the emperor's got no clothes' no matter who tries to tell you how fine he looks!

thank you so much! it's been about a week now, i'm feeling a lot better. i still find myself tempted to look things up about it but i've been good about resisting, i just find other things to do or watch movies to distract myself.

 

[Jonathan123]

Wrote something, but deleted it so not to let my own anxiety on this topic make anyone else’s worse.

Yes, I do agree we have to be careful about what we write, but at the same time sharing is what sites like this are all about. I would say that the possibility of it upsetting someone is outweighed by the help it can give to a person in the same position. Words can harm as well as help, and a misplaced word even with the best of intentions can do a lot of harm. The very fact that we find someone else with the same symptoms can often be helpful because anxiety is all about reassurance. I have found that those with anxiety are generally speaking kind and considerate people.
They may not help themselves a lot, but they have empathy and can relate to suffering more than so called 'normal' people. The analogy of the clay pot that has to go through the fire to become useful comes to mind. The pot is useless until it is fired, It may apply to anxiety where we need to go through the fire to emerge useful at the other end.

 

[Sweet T]

Turn off the news. You are clearly in a state where you’re unable to handle it. What would you do with more info anyway?