Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Grace is Messy

Home
Meet Steve Austin
About Messy Grace
Books
Speaker
Contact
Categories
- Faith
- Family
  - Marriage
  - Parenting
- Mental Health
- Recovery
- Writing Help
Best of Messy Grace
Support
Supporters
Affirming Churches
ASK STEVE!
Press
The Podcast

Home
Progressive Christian
5 Ways to Practice Self-Care During a Scary Political Season

5 Ways to Practice Self-Care During a Scary Political Season

Last updated on: October 31, 2016 at 8:00 am by Steve Austin

5 Ways to Practice Self-Care During a Scary Political Season 2016-10-30T21:37:15-05:00 Steve Austin

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Good news, friends: we’re almost done with the worst of the 2016 political shenanigans. But the fat lady hasn’t sung yet.

5 Self-Care Tips During a Political Freak Show

Created with Canva

What do you do when you can’t turn on any form of media without being smacked by slinging mud? You take good care of yourself.

Here are 5 simple ways to practice self-care during the most volatile election season in recent memory.

Give yourself space to breathe and just be.

I agree that every vote counts. I also support those who want to be informed voters. But neither of those two things require you to get into heated political debates. You also don’t have to force your eyes open with toothpicks, in order to see the latest Wikileaks emails. Put the phone down. Close the laptop. Turn on a rerun of The West Wing (Bartlet for America!). The world will keep turning, whether you are watching or not.

What is one thing you could quit today to give yourself some space to breathe?

Don’t ignore your symptoms.

Countless people have confessed that Donald Trump exacerbates their anxiety. If that’s true for you, don’t watch him. And if you’re a sexual assault survivor and the mere sound of his voice causes you flashbacks, leave the TV off. It would not be too extreme a decision to take a social media fast for the week. Do what you need to do to take care of yourself.

When anxiety strikes, whether it’s a panic attack or just an extremely anxious day, I need reminders that they don’t last forever. What’s something you can write down right now that you need to remember the next time anxiety hits?

Today, focus on the small joys of each moment. Maybe you could even write them down.

Remember: this will be over soon.

Good news: political freak shows don’t last forever. Take a few extra deep breaths on your lunch break. Hide in the server room if you need to get away from aggressive co-workers. Know your limits and step away when needed. If Sunday school is nothing but political banter, read your Bible at home. You’ve only got to make it one more week, friends.

Give yourself permission to say “no.”

You do not have to engage anyone in conversation. If you don’t feel comfortable dialoguing about politics, you have two choices: speak up for yourself and say “no”, or avoid them like the plague.

If you can’t see eye-to-eye with your parents or your pastor, you have permission to disengage until the dust settles! Chances are, your political argument with anyone at this stage in the game will not affect the way either of you vote on November 8th. This also goes for not engaging people on social media.

You don’t owe anyone an apology for your political affiliation.

If people know who you are voting for and want to judge your character or your faith based on your choice for President, let them. They aren’t your conscience and their opinion doesn’t matter. You have the right to vote for whomever you choose and you even have the right not to vote. (Though, I really hope you don’t exercise that right this time.)

My life changed when I started letting others’ opinions go. Not everyone in the world is kind. Not everyone follows the golden rule or practices self control over their words. Not everyone has your best interest in mind. The fact remains that some people are jerks and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Here’s the truth, friends: Presidents come and go. I’m certain there have been other Presidential candidates you haven’t loved. But to be frank, they aren’t sleeping with you, and they aren’t coming to your funeral. No matter what happens, all you can do is focus on yourself, your family, and the things that matter most in life. On November 8th, some of us will cast ballots and others will stay at home. But on November 9th, life goes on.

Get my brand-new book, Self-Care for the Wounded Soul, today at graceismessybooks.com!

Previous Post

October 30, 2016

Steve Austin: This is My Story (Video)

Next Post

October 31, 2016 Funerals and Fireflies: Chapter One

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Anxiety Best of Messy Grace Current Events Depression Faith Family Featured Fiction lgbtq Marriage Mental Health Messy Grace Millennials Parenting Recovery Recovery from a Suicide Attempt Recovery from Abuse Recovery from Porn Addiction Religious Recovery Self Care The Struggle With Church This is My Story (series) Uncategorized Writing Help

Select a Month January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 June 2015 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 June 2013 April 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 September 2011 August 2011 May 2011 July 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did Job famously say in response to loss: "The Lord gave and..."?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The Lord has taken away May His name be praised I will run away I have nothing left