Wellness
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Health and Wellness Books I’m Looking Forward To In 2021
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10 Self-Care Tips To Help You Get Through Election Day Anxiety
Election day anxiety is a real thing and it’s at an all-time high. Listen, I am stressed in ways I didn’t think possible and that’s saying something considering 2016. I’m trying to be calm about it but it’s really hard. And I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. People around me are on edge. Everything is at stake here and if it doesn’t go well who knows what that will mean for us.
So how do we get through this day without driving ourselves mad? There are 10 things I plan on doing today and throughout the rest of the week if [redacted] is reelected.
Stay Off Social Media
As much as I love Twitter I’m shutting it down by 5pm and I suggest you do the same. As much as you may want to be on Twitter all day long keeping up to date I highly recommend that you don’t. Consuming too much that’s shared about the election, especially distressing videos won’t do anything to help your anxiety. Instead, pick a single trusted news source and sporadically keep yourself abreast that way but after a certain time turn it off completely.
Go To Bed Early
With daylight savings in effect and it’s pretty much pitch black at 4pm so why not just call it a night. There’s no rule that states you have to stay up until the wee hours of the morning to find out who the winner is, and with as much stress as this election is causing why would you. Watching the numbers crawl in will only make your anxiety worse, trust me I was an emotional mess in 2016, don’t do your mind and body the way I did mine – go to bed.
Oh, and turn off your wifi so that you get no breaking news disruptions while you sleep. Which leads me to my next point…
Meditate As Soon As You Wake Up
The first thing I do in the morning after turning off my alarm is scrolling through Twitter to find out if the world is ending and it’s worth getting out of bed. Instead, on Wednesday morning I will meditate silently before I turn my wifi or television on. I want to lay in silence and enjoy the peace that my home brings me before I jump into the chaos of whatever the election results bring me. You should do the same. If you’ve never meditated before Headspace has you covered with some meditation basics. I assure you it’s not hard and you’ve done it many times before you just didn’t realize it.
Now that I’m thinking about it you might want to set your phone so that your text messages don’t appear displayed on your front screen. Don’t allow yourself to see anything before you’re mentally prepared.
Binge-Watch A Show Instead of Watching The Election Results
Instead of watching those numbers come in choose a show on your watch list (I know you have one) and watch it. A series can have between 8-10 episodes. That’s more than enough to keep all of us busy starting around 4 or 5pm or pick 4 movies to watch, whatever floats your boat. Don’t have anything on you list? Popcorn and Tequila has a great list of shows to watch when you need a break. But the goal is to watch anything but those incoming poll numbers.
Don’t Go Outside On Election Day (But If You Have To Stay Local)
I have to get some food tomorrow cause I forgot over the weekend but I’m going to stay super close. I don’t like the market around the corner from me cause it’s ridiculously high, but they’re going to get my money because I will not go any farther than that. Cause let me tell you something, the actions of those deplorable [redacted] supporters over the weekend showed me that people are unstable and they will attack you without provocation.
Don’t think because I live in New York City that I’m immune, no. There are communities here in all five boroughs that I wouldn’t deem safe as a Biden/Harris supporter or as a Black woman. That said, no matter where you are in the country if you have to go out be brief about it and get enough food to last you a few days.
As a matter of fact, if [redacted] gets reelected again (Lord please don’t let these people be that stupid twice) I would even refrain from going outside the rest of the week unless you plan to protest. In which case, please be safe.
Clean Your Space
When your space is a disaster your whole emotional well-being will be a disaster too. Turn on some music and use this time to give your place the deep clean it’s been begging you for. It’s colder now use this time to pull out your winter clothes and pack up your summer stuff. Donate anything you no longer want or anything that doesn’t fit. Rid your bathroom of products you purchased but you know you’re never going to use. Vacuum, clean windows, and dust your furniture. Leave no stone unturned.
Download Music To A Playlist
Speaking of music, make a playlist, and listen to it. The great thing about making playlists is that you can make them for whatever mood you’re in. According to Get Healthy Stay Healthy, listening to music has many benefits such as, improves mood, reduces stress, eases pain, and provides comfort among other things. As an alternative, there are a number of great health and wellness podcasts that you can give a listen to.
Ask A Family Member Or Friend To Check On You
Having someone to check on you is always a great thing. This can be in the form of asking about your well-being and/or someone telling you what the results were. I have a group chat that I live in. It’s my safe space that’s free from the outside world. Make a pact with your group chat members that you’ll keep the chat free of the results until a certain time and have one person share the results. This way you can have the support of those in it helping you get through it should the results not be in our favor.
If He Wins Again Give Yourself Time To Heal
This is so important. If this fucker wins again allow yourself time to grieve. There is no time limit on how long you have to be saddened by the news. Allow yourself to feel and go through all the emotions you’re feeling. You’re entitled to feel that way and no one has the right to tell you how long that process should take as the healing process is for you, and only YOU. You’ll emerge from your healing process when you’re good and goddamned ready.
Call Your Therapist
If he wins and your emotions are a wreck then I would absolutely recommend calling your therapist. Election day anxiety coupled with a (dreaded) reelection win would be enough for anyone to make an emergency appointment. Talking to a therapist is great because you are able to express things you can’t to your friends and family, especially if you’re the only one feeling the way you do. There is nothing wrong with allowing a professional to help you get through whatever hell we’re going to face.
Now if he loses, pop champagne – and STILL call your therapist. Why? Because this election tore families apart and you may not be speaking to loved ones and you still have to work through not having those relationships in your life.
In what ways are you planning on getting through your election day anxiety?
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Creating and Maintaining An Emotionally Soothing Home Environment
Eight years, one month, two weeks, and one day. That’s how long I lived with my mother-in-law. What was meant to be a quick two-year pit stop to save money to buy a home turned into the darkest part of my marriage and my life. Last year, my word of 2019 was happiness and I spoke briefly on how living with my in-law was difficult for me. That’s why moving out was so imperative. It took a lot of work and sacrifice on Jeff’s part to make this happen for us. It was a long time coming but I’m grateful to finally be free.
It’s said that your home either nurtures you or leaves you exhausted by depleting your energy. After a full day of dealing with life and Coronavirus, everyone awaits the moment to enter their comfort space and have a relaxing ever after. But if your home is full of negativity, chaos, stress, and disturbance, it would be impossible for you to fully release and relax. Therefore, it becomes necessary that you create and maintain an emotionally soothing atmosphere at home.
This is one of the many reasons why it was imperative that we got out of my in-law’s house. The juju there was negative and far from relaxing, no matter how tranquil I decorated our rooms. The space overall was full of stress, resentment, and anger. It took nothing for me and Jeff to argue or for me to have to yell at my in-laws, especially my no-account brother-in-law. That’s why once we moved it was imperative that I create a home environment that was emotionally soothing.
These are the things we’ve adapted in our new apartment:
Speaking politely and calmly
One of the prime foundations of a soothing home atmosphere is everyone being polite to each other. At my in-laws, someone was always speaking unnecessarily loudly or rudely. Which caused me to develop the same habits out of frustration. That’s not good because loud and irritating sounds create a stressful environment between family members – me towards Jeff and the kids. So I vowed not to do this in our new home. It must never be forgotten that people tend to react better to tones that are respectful rather than shouting and overreacting. I’m naturally loud, so coupled with my tone, I sound angry all the time. It’s important for me to work on being more mindful of how my volume and tone. It’s all about more listening and less shouting.
Keeping our surroundings clean and appealing
A chaotic surrounding leads to an annoying and tired atmosphere. So this time around I’ve ditched all my old stuff furniture and decor and added mindful art, plants, and reduced the clutter inside my home. Clutter will make your surroundings uninviting and confined. Hence, the reason I’ve been on a trash/donate kick. Why am I keeping those old DVDs or knick-knacks? They don’t do anything but collect dust. I lived cramped, compact, and in clutter for so long that I refuse to do it now. I have a huge space and I want to show it off.
Incorporating relaxing colors
In my 20’s I was all about dark colors and woods. Now as I near my 40’s I only want bright colors. While my couch may be grey I’m all about adding colors and prints that move me. I have white walls and accent furniture but I also plan to add bits of pinks, teals, and greens. The key is to not go overboard with super bright tones keep it to peaceful calming tones.
Allowing natural light and air to flow through the house
There’s no other more enormous source of relaxation than nature. And this is where a lot of my arguments with my in-laws stemmed from. I am someone who needs the curtains and the windows open at all times no matter the season. My mother-in-law disagrees. If it’s below 70 it’s deemed freezing and all the windows must be closed and locked. I can’t function that way. I require fresh air to keep my health, energy, and positivity up. Also letting air flow through will take out stale smells and bacteria. In our new home, I’ve had my curtains and windows wide open since we’ve been here. It’s a wonderful feeling to not worry if someone will come behind me to shut them.
Eliminate noise and interruption
Though a well-ventilated house is a source of calm and freshness, it can sometimes bring unwanted noise and disruption. Traffic noise, construction noise, and loud neighbors can make you more stressed. My in-laws were always loud and loved to interrupt you no matter what we were doing. To overcome that situation, I used blackout curtains, candles, and played soothing music. Jeff knows by now I put my calming music on low enough for me to hear it as a way to help me block out the noise around me. For me, scent and sound promote relaxation even in stressful environments. Especially, music. It works as a therapy in helping me to bring down stressful chaotic thoughts. In my new place, I still listen to calming music cause I have kids, so, I’ll never not need it but it’s not as frequent when I was living with my in-laws.
Limiting screen time and talking as a family
Before the move, we could hardly talk about anything without my brother-in-law chiming in with noises or an opinion no one asked for. Now that we have our own space we can all have constructively fun conversations without his unwanted interference. It’s crucial that we as a family show care to everyone’s thoughts, opinions, and ideas. It’s also not about what we say in the house but what we do. We’ve also been spending more time playing, being silly, and doing fun activities. This will not only have a positive impact on my mental health but also Jeff and the kids too, thus leading us to create an emotionally soothing atmosphere at home for all.
What tips do you have to create an emotionally soothing atmosphere at home?