I don’t know who needs to hear this, but over the last election week, I spent a lot of time crying and pooping.
Nervous system dysregulation is a B*TCH. And I am a SENSITIVE SOUL in a troubled nation and world. During US election week. As an empath.
If you are feeling the stress and extra trauma symptoms this week, you are not alone. Here are some ideas to focus on and help get through the next few days.
Why Election Week is Stressful
Election Week is triggering to most of us.
Why?
Human brains and nervous systems DO NOT LIKE UNCERTAINTY.
And over the last decade – especially with the worldwide Covid pandemic – we’ve experienced A LOT of collective uncertainty. If you grew up in childhood abuse and trauma (like me), your system is even MORE sensitive to uncertainty.
I’ve been noticing a lot of trauma stress responses to this uncertainty in my own system. Like I always say, Awareness is Everything.
The fair follow up question is, okay now that I’m aware of it, what now?
That’s what this post is about. What do we do when we’ve noticed our trauma responses, especially during this stressful election week?
Take Back Your Power
The thing about human brains is that we forget. We’re not dumb, we just forget.
One of the things that we forget is that we have a lot more power than we think we do.
How do we have more power?
We have choices.
We might not always like them, but we have them.
One of the things that my brain revealed is that I felt powerless and that the world felt out of control. In the past, this would have caused me to collapse into dorsal vagal (no shame here). Right now in my journey, my brain said:
Okay, WHAT DO I HAVE CONTROL OVER? Myself and my environment.
So my husband and I spent an entire day deep cleaning our home.
I gotta say, it felt SO GOOD. And we’re not done. But that sense of powerlessness is pretty much gone, because I remembered that I have more power and control over myself and acted on it. I had just forgotten.
That’s one example of taking back your power. I’m curious about other ways that might show up for us.
Make Many Plans for Election Week
When it comes to trauma symptoms, I have some good ideas about how I might respond. However, as I grow and change and transform, my trauma responses and needs continue to change.
In other words, sometimes I don’t always know how my nervous system is going to respond.
That’s why it’s good to not make ONE plan for taking care of yourself, but MANY plans.
In addition to deep cleaning, I have used different ways to help soothe my emotions.
The other day, I used the gift of time and took a walk and bought a beautiful dress I could afford at a nearby thrift store. I even HAD FUN, and it’s been quite a long time because of how personally turbulent my year has been.
A couple of days ago, my husband took me to Powell Butte. We walked our dog around and took in the quiet and stillness and beauty. I prefer mountains to anywhere else because higher up, I feel less of the chaos and energy on the ground. We came home and I made a cake and a pot roast simmered.
My point is make many plans – a plan if you want to have fun, one for resting, one for numbing out on a TV series or movies, one for baking or cooking, one for outside, one for being with people, one for hibernating…
You get the idea. Having some good plans can help you feel more secure and remind you that you have choices.
Practice What is Good for You
Notice that I did NOT say, “practice what feels good.” LOL That is a dangerous game.
However, good practices CAN feel good. Here are some of my favorites during stressful times.
Become An Observer – this is also known as Step Away From The Spiral. Feel a sensation, notice it, watch it, name it if you can, let it go. Observe what’s happening in your body and nervous system. This is POWERFUL tool and it lasts forever.
Avoid Engaging in Draining Conversations – You are not required to step into every conversation you are invited to, online or in person. Some strategies I’ve used is just not engaging, setting a verbal boundary, changing the subject, and/or excusing myself and walking away. You are important enough to protect.
Let Yourself Feel – Allowing yourself time and space to feel is really important. If allowing emotions to flow through is really uncomfortable for you, I GET IT. It takes time and practice. Some things that I like to do is set a timer – for example, I can cry for 15 minutes before I want to take a break. Another thing is to talk through what you’re feeling with a trusted friend or partner, which will help relieve the pressure.
GO OUTSIDE – you don’t even need to move your body. Just go outside. Seriously, hug a tree – they have vagus nerve structures, too, which have been scientifically proven to calm us through co-regulation. Watch birds and squirrels. Walk your own dog or borrow a dog. Go to a park nearby. Collect fall leaves. Breathe fresh air. You WILL feel better.
Do a Body Scan – or another guided meditation. This kind of practice helps to create a sense of safety within yourself, allowing you to return to that inward space in emotionally stressful times.
Try one or two of these self-soothing tools from the Trigger Toolkit.
This is NOT the Time To…
- make big decisions
- take stuff personally
- go out in public for long periods of time
- assume you are the only one stressed out
- engage in heated debates with people, online or in person
- maybe even be online, especially social media
- dive into a shame spiral
Instead ~
Ride the waves of emotions, the best that you can and as much in real time as possible.
Pretend you are a ship in a storm. Hunker down and hang on.
Hold on loosely, and don’t let go.
And reach out if you need.
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