Everything is awful and nothing is wrong
On the one hand, for those of us living here in the US, everything is awful. The stock market is crashing, prices are going up due to tariffs, people we know are losing their government (or government-related) jobs . . .
On the other hand, for many if not most of us, nothing is actually wrong—at least, not yet.
It’s all extremely vexing.
Lady Catherine de Bourgh is quite put out.
For many people, anxiety is spiking. Here’s why, and how to calm it.
If you, like me, are prone to feel anxious from time to time, then you probably know that your anxiety really hates (a) an open-ended situation (b) over which you have little to no control.
The stock market? The federal government? Yeah . . . they are both open-ended situations over which we have little to no control. Regardless of who you voted for, the folks that are in charge of the two branches of government that we elect—Congress and the President/Vice-President—are the ones we’ve got right now.
We can express our opinions, but unless we are billionaires with a lot of pull, it’s unlikely that we will individually be able to sway anyone’s opinion or conduct. (That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t reach out to your representatives, especially in Congress, since they DO pay at least some attention to their constituents.) But I digress.
What I was getting at is that our anxiety is likely looking at one bad news day after another, and is starting to spike because it’s all WTF all the time.
Meanwhile, most of us continue to go about our daily lives much the same as we did prior to this latest election. We go to work, to school, to church/synagogue/our mosque. We attend weddings, burials, and baby showers. We cheer on our favorite athletes or sports teams, listen to our favorite musicians, etc.
In that respect, nothing is wrong.
Here’s a quick mantra/meditation you can do when you start to feel yourself spinning out:
Find someplace relatively quiet to sit (outside is best, but not required).
Sit with your feet flat on the ground (unless you can get your whole butt or body on the ground). Close your eyes.
Take three deep, slow breaths in through the nose, and out through the mouth. Feel your shoulders drop.
Say (out loud or to yourself) “At this moment, I am safe.” Put one or both hands over your heart if you’d like.
Repeat the phrase several times. If your mind starts to pull in things that are upsetting or frightening, acknowledge the thing but set it aside, repeating “at this moment, I am safe.”
When you are ready, open your eyes. Literally shake it all off by shaking your body and arms.
Remind yourself that everything may be awful, but nothing is currently wrong. And it’s okay if that makes feel a bit like the famous KC Green dog in a fiery room.
KC Green’s meme has become famous in the past decade.
