I’m European but after doomscrolling on Lemmy, watching Last Week Tonight etc. I can’t keep my calm over the US election, which is not helping my existing depression and suspected ADHD. The only good thing I did today was not eat much (I’m overweight) and 15 minutes of gardening. I can’t keep todo lists because I’m really depressed over not having completing any meaningful item for weeks, and not even my long-abandoned passion projects spark joy anymore.
I’m afraid things will go very wrong for my mental state if Trump wins. I have two psychologists and a psychiatrist but I’m only meeting them next week. Please help me get my mind off this and maybe even get something done.
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The rest of Lemmy has had a meeting and decided that you no longer need to save the world. It was wrong of us to put that burden on you. Stop, rest save yourself first. We would love for you to volunteer to help when you are better.
Your garden looks wonderful 😊
You haven’t seen my garden and it’s quite barren now that the vegetation period has ended for everything outside greenhouses.
Anyway, you deserve a pic so here is one from earlier this year.
(My phone is from 2013 and full of dust)That looks like a whole bunch of potential for next season!
I sure hope so, vegetables were fine but we barely got any fruit this year. Trees bloomed early and suffered frostbite.
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Trump isn’t worth this. No one is. Get off the internet and go outside or focus on a hobby. Stop doomscrolling.
I have a semestral project to work on and I’ve been failing to get anything done for weeks. I’m unemployable until I get better meds or something. Instead of staring at a screen fruitlessly all day, I guess I should just accept this failure and embrace your suggestion. Thank you very much.
Trump isn’t worth this
He’s a symptom of a greater problem. If a criminal incoherent populist can challenge a future-oriented centrist with decent moral standing except for one or two issues, even by popular vote, I don’t see much hope for 21st century democracy becoming what it could be globally.
Don’t call it a failure. It’s a struggle. A challenge you need to overcome. Be kinder to yourself.
I wish I could tell you something that will magically make a Trump presidency seem not so bad. I genuinely do. But at the end of the day you need to keep 2 things in mind.
- He’s not president. He may never be again.
- Life moves on regardless of what the US election outcome is. Life will move on. Will it be harder for some people who are affected by his policies? Absolutely, but life does move on. You have the good benefit of living in Europe. The majority of his disastrous policies are domestic and concern Americans.
Take life one day at a time. There’s no benefit with overwhelming yourself with what-ifs to this extent.
Take life one day at a time
That sounds good. I’ve been seeing experts for 6 years and not heard this.
Don’t be worried. Be prepared.
Gardening? Grow herbs and vegetables. You can either consume those things directly, gift them to neighbors, trade them for other things you might need, sell them. A little beekeeping on the side, mainly to help the pollinators, honey as a bonus. Make hardtack (clack, clack).
Learn some bushcrafting skills, even if it’s just watching videos on it. Buy some paracord and learn how to tie knots. Get some basic lockpicking tools and figure out how to use them.
I’m not saying turn into a doomsday prepper, but adding some basic survival skills and supplies is both fun and can make you feel just a little bit more secure.
you will not. none of us will be alright if trump wins again. a million americans died the last time trump was the president, from a purposefully inept and sandbagged global pandemic response. this is not a fucking drill.
this will be my only post to this sub, beyond the reply i already added, you do no one any favors by telling them the actual monster coming to eat them, isn’t, and to ignore it
Gardening is great - keep at it. I may ask you for help & advice with mine to help take your mind off things.
I won’t sugarcoat the fact that things will suck a little if he wins, but we’ll prevail and our plants will grow strong and healthy.
Do a week of digital detox. Seriously, drop it all. No Lemmy, YT, RSS, not even the weather; drop all digital media.
I’m physically disabled and been through stretches like this. I’ve read all of Dune and most of Asimov’s fiction in these stretches. Books are good. Independent thought and perspective is rejuvenating and can break the spiral. Scrolling is addiction, as is most digital media. Sometimes you need to detox for self care.
Unless you live in Eastern Europe, I wouldn’t expect much fallout from Trump.
It might even turn more people off from populist movements in Europe
Also I agree with the other posters, don’t let that orange turd live in your head.
Idk, gay rights in my country are expected to be decided in 1-2 years and I’m pretty sure we will not follow through with gay marriage if America doesn’t. Why do I even care so much? I don’t even know any openly LGBT person IRL, and just one Ukrainian! Am I too obsessed with Elon facing justice instead of a key government job offer?
Gay marriage is mostly decided in the US, despite Republican bluster and Democrat worry. It is strongly supported by both parties, and while more radical Republicans are in power now, it’s quite unlikely it will change.
The policies at critical danger in the next four years are abortion, trans rights, and immigrant rights.
America legalized gay marriage many years ago.
I’m sorry to hear that.
Unfortunately most of us don’t have much power individually. Finding solidarity in our communities I think is one of the most protective things we can do for ourselves, both politically and for our mental health.
I can’t really control what state actors due to Elon musk and I don’t have much say in the election. I will say that I live in a swing state and I am voting for Kamala if it helps you feel any better lol
Nothing happening in the US will have any immediate impact on Europe. Not even on the US. No matter who wins the election inauguration is still weeks (months?) away.
I still have some 5 decades left in my life (hopefully, if I get through this crisis) and everyone has been convincing me that a second Trump term will have a huge, lasting impact on the entire globalized world. You’re telling me it’s OK just because the terror would start on January 20 and not tomorrow?
Well, at least it could save you over until next week.
And with all the doomsaying about Trump, we said the same thing about his last term. It was bad, but not as bad as it could have been. A second term won’t be good and might test American democracy. But nobody can tell what will really happen. It might be a total dud while all he does is ensuring that he will be richer and pardoned when he’s done.
because vladimir putin doesn’t read the news? the idiocy in this statement is beyond
What should Putin do? Immediately attack the EU when he can’t even handle Ukraine?
Eat something healthy.
Just not eating at all will likely lead to a binge later.
You’re right, I mostly ate chocolate today despite having fruit and a lunch pack ready. I can get pretty unhealthy when I’m out of my mind.
Do yourself a favour: put the phone down. Stay away from your computer screen. Do literally anything else - some chores, a hobby, counting the number of people walking by your house, fill pages with drawings of squares, take several really long walks, find a pond and skip some rocks, whatever floats your boat. The point is not trying to accomplish anything, but to shift your attention. If something you’ve been putting off gets done, that’s a nice side effect, but not the point - so don’t worry too much about the result.
You have no control over the outcome of the U.S. election whatsoever. It is not worth your health to obsess over something that you can’t control that fills you with negative feelings. So block it out - if anything, try to summon some gratitude that you have the option to do that (though it’s ok if you find that hard to do).
I know this is much easier said than done. But you’ve got this. You’ll be ok. I’m pulling for ya.
Thanks. I’ll be trying to push my psychiatrist to do ADHD tests ASAP so I can get productive before the project’s Christmas deadline. Until then, this is pretty much the best advice I could be given. Thank you for your empathy.
I live in Canada, so whatever happens in the States would affect us, but we can’t really do anything about it. I would be lying if i say I’m not at least a little bit nervous about the results. But just like many things in life, I try to practice to only worry about things that I have control over, and let whatever I don’t have control over be.
You’ve correctly identified that you’re doom scrolling. Like many others have said, it’s probably a good idea to try and limit your news consumption, at least for a little while.
There are no guarantees. Life is just like a hold em game. The only thing you can do is make good decisions based on the information available. Sometimes a dumbass with 2-7 off keeps calling your bet when you hold AA and catches two pair on the turn and river. The only thing you can do is not get tilted and keep making smart plays. Variance is a massive asshole. Eventually you will come out ahead.
I can’t lie to you and say that everything will be okay for everyone. I can’t even say that would be the case if Trump loses either, there’s still going to be a lot of frustrating fallout as all the world’s problems do not get solved immediately on election day.
But I can say it is unlikely that anything will directly happen to you personally as a result of this, especially if you live on the opposite side of the world. Remember that the world’s problems are not your problems, and you should not feel like things outside of your control are somehow your burden to shoulder.
Focus on yourself, and just try to make your own life better one day at a time.
Go for a short walk. Leave your phone at home. Don’t worry, nothing will happen if you forget your phone at home.
Take in the sights. Look at the trees, the birds, the squirrels. Find a bench or something like that, and just sit for a bit. Force yourself to sit. Give yourself an easy goal, like counting to twenty in your head. Then get up and go home. Repeat this tomorrow too.
Remember, you’re European. Your entire continent has its own politics, not to mention your country, your province, your town. All that affects you way more than some orange man building a wall. And you can vote for those things.
Don’t worry so much about things you have zero influence on. Focus on what you can influence. Unattainable goals are death.
Don’t worry, nothing will happen if you forget your phone at home.
I’m not in a crime-ridden city but a beautiful countryside. I only go walking with my SIMless phone because of offline podcasts and crosswords I’m addicted to. I guess I should go on a longer walk but resist the temptation to actively use the phone, which I carry for GPS logging (not for fitness but OSM).
