You are NOT ALONE.

There has been a fucking epidemic of mental unwellness cascading since November.

We are all dealing with this, you are NOT alone.

This is a known and statistically verified fact.

What you are feeling is a normal response to a clear and present danger. If anything, your reaction is rational.

Fucking stay strong, we in this together, those of us who know, know, and we watch out for our fellow brothers and sisters.

You are not forgotten, you are not left behind, we are all just regrouping. Your emotions are valid, yes, this is real, this is not a drill, reality is in a state of emergency, and you are not insane.

Ok?

❤️

This administration ends the same way Mussolini’s did.

The way we prevent it from happening in the future is to force wealth equality.

I remember waking up like the morning after election day in 2016 and was shocked why a competent woman lost against some bussinessman who was never in politics (this was way before I fully understood politics), I was rooting for Hillary to become the first woman president, I was already feeling very egalitarian at the time, and also because she’s a Democrat. Also because I immigrated to the US, so I naturally root for the more pro-immigration candidate. So yea I heard the news that Hillary lost despite having more votes, thats around the time I learned about the electoral college and that felt like bullshit. Luckily, I had derivative citizenship at the time, so I didn’t really think too deep.

But now this 2nd term is honestly terrifying. both the 2020 and 2024 election nights was just filled with dread, and now that fear has become a reality, doesn’t feel remotely to the first term.

Anyways, now my brain is so scrambled like an egg. Idk wtf is life anymore. Kinda having an “identity crisis” about my nationality/citizenship because that thought of potentially being deported is constantly lingering on the back of my mind ever since 2024 the morning following election night after the results were announced. I mean if I lose my citizenship, I’m gonna look so silly for ever refering to myself as an “American”. That’s like saying you’re part of the family, then your parents removes you from the will.

Oh yea I have no other citizenship. My previous country does no do dual citizenship, and its a dictatorship. Funny how I’m running from one dictatorship right into another. 🙃

Depression definitely does not mix well with political instability/autocratization.

You are struggling with the circle of concern. You’re spending time worrying about things that concern you but that you can’t change. You will feel better if you focus on things you can directly control or things you can influence.

So look more local. DO something positive in your community. It will help you feel grounded and effective.

I go to local protests, donate to the local food bank, etc. Even just showing up with intent feels positive. Heck, go to the library. Showing up helps their numbers and helps their funding.

Personally I’ve lost a lot of my identity as an American and as a human being as a result of the past 10 years. Donald Trump’s presidency and COVID19 really changed who I am and how I think of the world. As a child I never would’ve imagined how bad the ignorance is, and how willfully people dig themselves into it. I’ve realized truth is merely an illusion.

What America was sold to me as a child; the greatest free nation to ever exist, the bastion of democracy and protector of the world turned out to be a complete lie. Turns out we were the perpetrators, the slavemasters, the financial dominators, and the war mongers the whole time. I look at my fellow citizens and I can’t see the commonalities anymore. I don’t know what to believe at this point. I’m not sure if there’s much worth believing in.

Lately I’ve just been adrift, letting the motions wash over me. Drugs are a lousy blanket.

Your girlfriend sounds like she wants to connect with you and doesn’t know how to except for something you mutually agree on. Maybe work with her to find something else to connect with each other on?

I feel this deeply. Others have said it already, but the thing that’s helped me the most is getting involved with the solution. Local community organizing, mutual aid groups, political candidates in your area, etc etc etc there are many options (and feel free to message me if you want more help finding them) and nothing felt ok until I could feel like I was doing something other than passively sitting around watching the country/world collapse.

Others have also said closing off news and social media. This is also a good step, but I would caution against doing so 100%. Maybe set aside a day or two a week where you get caught up for an hour or two then turn it off the rest of the time. It’s still important to be aware, particularly as the suffering is becoming more and more local and ubiquitous, but it definitely becomes all consuming if done too much.

You sound like an empathetic person, and people like you are needed to help drive change. Fascism won’t go away in it’s own or with one more election cycle to vote it out. The upshot is most organizing and community strengthing efforts are just generally positive for mental health in their own right and may lead and may lead to new friendships and activities that you enjoy

You’re not alone. The shock of 2016, and seeing some of my friends celebrating the result, sent me into a spiral. Get to a therapist, because honestly your reaction is completely rational but you’re going to need tools to stop it consuming you.

I think you have to take a real sit down with your girlfriend and try to explain this with her. I know she just wants to commiserate with someone, but if it’s damaging your mental health then it might be a better idea for her to find another political outlet.

I’m going to lightly disagree with most of the comments in this post. The states (likely the world) is getting ready for a big transition. I don’t think that’s something that can (or should tbh) be ignored. As in, cutting yourself off from the news completely isn’t a realistic way to get closer to that peace you’re looking for. I think the way to keep the dread from consuming you is to know that you’re doing your part in countering bad actors.

That doesn’t mean you have to become a freedom fighter or a protest organizer. I like what the guy with the goats was talking about in connecting with his community. Or you can volunteer with an organization that brings food to the homeless or whatever. Maybe start a community garden (or edible forest). Something big or small that helps you feel you’re making the world a better place even just in your own little piece of it, even if you limit to a day or two each week.

Then the bad news becomes a little easier to cope with. Because even though you’re never going fix the world by yourself (that can only happen collectively), at least you know you’re doing what you can to help. At least for me, that helps the noise quiet down enough to take the time to get lost in a book or something.

Stop following news. I’ve blocked news and politics related stuff on Lemmy too.

Also speak to your girlfriend. I’m not on any mainstream social media. My wife loves watching war atrocities on her social media feed and gossip drama. It has taken years for her to accept I don’t want to see that shit.

Get off anything news related and tell your girlfriend to knock it off. My wife used to send things or bring it up in conversation, and I tell her I don’t want to discuss any of this, because it pisses me off. It’s extremely selfish of your girlfriend to continue to send things after you’ve expressed your desire to not receive it.

trauma bonding is a real thing and victims sometimes seek out content to continue traumatization.

your gf is likely seeking comfort through the trauma of current events. since you’re both seeking the same thing (comfort) but through different methods you should take the initiative and invite her over to spend time together. set boundaries on what you will and will not talk about though. if she can’t follow your needs then you might want to reconsider the relationship.

there’s no reason to sacrifice your own mental health for someone who refuses to consider your emotional state.

I told my wife flat out to not talk to me about news or politics at all unless it was good news. It took a few weeks to get it to sink in, but she’s stopped. I do keep up in small doses so I’m not completely shut off, but I get headlines a couple of times a week, not dozens daily. Set a boundary and either she respects it or you tell her it’s time to move on.

I got involved with my hyper-local community. Like 3 blocks around my house. I walk my goats almost everyday and make sure to chat to all my neighbors. I tell and share good news with them; recipes, gardening, weather, Halloween plans, whatever. If they start in with doom shit, I just gently redirect them. “Yeah, I saw that but dude, I found a place down the street that has the best cookies.” Again, it took a bit but they’ve started to get it. We don’t have to focus on the shit. We can be aware of it but it doesn’t have to be central to everything. One neighbor and I are going to start a block party movie night. I do dumb thing while walking too. Pick up trash, straighten other people’s yard signs, move trash/recycling cans back to the yard side when empty. Little shit that just makes other peoples lives a tiny bit better. That stuff is contagious too.

Another thing that’s helped is my core friend group. We were already a bunch of nerds, but now we have like 3 rpg games going. Not all of them are regular, but it’s a way to tune out without shutting down. There is a spoken agreement that we keep real life shit out of our sessions and they’re just for unwinding and living a fantasy for a bit.

ever since Trump got elected in November, my mental health has been slipping.

Trump is a symptom. He (it?) is not the disease.

Try not to fixate too much on the dude, the issue is in how such a frustrated illiterate racist could ever be elected and, even more: how was he able to become a candidate to begin with? That’s the real issue. Not that he is an asshole. There are plenty assholes, in the USA as well as in all other democracies around the world. The issue is when those illiterate assholes are being considered worthy leaders… by the electors in those democracies.

I know doomscrolling makes it worse.

It sure does. I’m not US and I don’t doomscroll. Ever. There is nothing that is that urgent/important that I should stay in the loop real time. Heck, I even started reading print newspapers again, almost 20 years after I gave up on them so I’m able to take some more time to digest the news. And even there, I filter out most of what I consider mere noise and not real information.