In the weeks leading up to the election and the weeks after two devastating hurricanes, I experienced both incredible kindness and generosity, as well as gratuitous attacks and hostility.
I was struck by how this dichotomy reflected the divisions within our country. But as someone who has been immersed in mental health issues for many years, the conflicting reactions were not surprising.
Helen and Milton stormed into my new home less than a year later, bringing with them many valuable possessions, most shockingly a box containing a photograph of their son as a child. It was. And it robbed me of a sense of stability and security.
Immediately, voices of support poured in from near and far.
Old friends I hadn’t heard from in decades contacted me to see if my son and I had survived. Dozens of friends, some of whom I only met through this column, have offered to give me a place to stay, feed me, and help me clean. I received more heartfelt hugs in one day than I had in a whole year.
But I also took some painful blows when I was feeling particularly vulnerable, sad, and scared.
On a humid afternoon when I inevitably walked back into town as Ringling Bridge remained closed, I felt dehydrated, lightheaded and nauseous after seeing the damage to my home for the first time from Helen. Ta.
I stumbled, choking and sobbing as I tried to stop multiple drivers requesting lifts. They looked at me with homeless-only eyes and looked away. No one rolls down the windows.
When I tried to cross a large intersection using a traffic light, a driver came close to hitting me in his impatience to turn before reaching the curb. I shrieked in shock, and he stuck his arm out the window and ran off, throwing his finger at me.
And on Facebook, instead of politely commenting on a column I posted about the new Sarasota Performing Arts Center (as I had requested), a reader ranted about painful intimate details of my personal life, made fun of my life. Appearance. (Please call me “opinion prune.”)
More: Opinion: Now we know why Sarasota flooded during the recent storm. What will you do next?
Talk about dogs kicking when they’re depressed. I heard a long scream.
Yet, as a co-founder of Sarasota Strong (a non-profit founded to educate people about the effects of trauma on individuals and communities), I long ago asked myself, “What’s the problem?!! ” I was learning how to reframe my response. to “What’s wrong?”
These people have probably suffered similar abuse from others somewhere. People arrive at their beliefs and opinions through experience.
In today’s world, where so many lives are affected by poverty, divorce, violence, racism, addiction, social injustice, and even the effects of technology, biological “fight or flight” ” It is no surprise that the reaction has become dangerous for many people. A reliable way to deal with life.
Add in societal traumatic effects such as a global pandemic and several hurricanes, and you have a great formula for cultivating generations of walking wounded. They react to the unfairness of life by blaming someone or looking for someone else to “fix” things.
Some may scoff at this, but I believe that a major factor in why our country is currently in such a controversial situation is our lack of attention to mental health care.
Instead of understanding that the mental well-being of individuals and communities is essential to building civilized, respectful, and healthy communities, we ignore, stigmatize, and downplay mental health needs. , has been criminalized. It only makes the damage worse and ensures that it persists and grows. .
In a country where suicide rates, addiction, anxiety, and depression are on the rise, mental health was supposed to be a pivotal campaign issue, so it was great to hear candidates bring it up. Ask yourself when was that?
It is unlikely that this attitude will change under a newly elected president. The president frequently suggested that people who were not planning to vote for him “need to get their heads checked,” and frequently referred to his opponents as “crazy” and “mentally ill.” The New York Times was “retarded” when it spoke to wealthy donors behind closed doors. (Mental illness does not equate to developmental delay.)
Days before the election, he declared that the best way to “stop depression” was to “work as hard as you can,” a statement that one in six American adults It not only shows a lack of deep understanding of the disease that one will suffer from. But it further condemns those who suffer from it. (I know because I was like that too.)
The president-elect has frequently announced his intention to repeal Obamacare, which provided thousands of Americans with the mental health insurance they needed for the first time in their lives. Reviving large mental health facilities that were phased out in the 70s following revelations of widespread patient abuse. And the act of forcibly rounding up unhoused people living on the streets precisely because mental health care has been ignored is a recent move to respond to mental health struggles with compassion and trauma. represents a complete reversal of progress. -Informed and non-punitive approach.
What’s more, the run-up to the presidential election itself has been detrimental to our collective mental well-being. Nearly 7 in 10 adults say the election is a significant source of stress in their lives, according to a comprehensive American Psychological Association survey of 3,000 adults conducted by Harris Poll.
The results have left half the country feeling celebratory and optimistic, while the other half are depressed and fearful. On a microcosmic level, how you manage your own elation or disappointment makes a difference in the lives of everyone you interact with.
We can also choose to use this uncomfortable time as a catalyst for becoming more mindful, focused, and mentally healthy. Or you can wait for someone to “fix” your life.
Over the next few days, explore ways to explore how your past is holding you back from a brighter future.
Ask yourself if your emotional balance and self-control could be improved at all. Learn about trauma, whether you’ve experienced it, and how you can heal from it. Don’t be embarrassed or afraid to ask for help if you need it. Set aside time each day for something that nourishes your soul, calms your mind, and releases tension.
Please hear more. Reduce abusive language.
Think before you speak.
Apply the brakes before it breaks.
If we cannot heal our nation, we can at least try to heal ourselves.
Contact Carrie Seidman at carrie.seidman@gmail.com or 505-238-0392.
