Team Anxiety!

Good grief.  The election is over yet there is still so much controversy going on in the news.  I thought the anxiety would be over.  Can I go on with my life and leave it all behind?

Well, I CAN leave it behind actually…..but it took me some time to get to that realization.

After the election I thought it would all be over and the news would calm down somewhat.  OMG, was I wrong.

So, being the anxious person I am, I tuned into the chaos and tension daily by watching the news and reading reports online.  Let’s not forget Facebook.  My “friends” are also keeping the craziness alive.

Maybe someone who does not suffer from anxiety can pass by all of this rhetoric.  But from the look of things it seems that even people who are not diagnosed with this illness are tuning into a new type of social anxiety.

All the marching, protesting, jokes; fighting on Capital Hill, legislators fussing and fuming, the President signing all his executive orders; this has made the “normal” public ratchet up it’s emotionalism.

No wonder a person like me was getting stomach aches!  Help, Help!  I can’t stand it anymore!  Where’s my Ativan prescription?

Then, a “light bulb” moment.  I can turn off the T.V., hide the Facebook posts, refuse to engage in political conversations, and one more important thing:

There are people paid in Washington D.C. that are in charge of our country.  They have the job of managing the government and dealing with all the hard things in the world.

I actually don’t have anymore say so right now. I did my only job. I put my vote in the ballot box.  Wow!  It’s out of my hands!

You see, I have learned some coping skills that maybe the so-called “normal” person has not.  I have coped through tougher stuff than this.  I’ve worked through my issues of depression and anxiety and panic and relationships and abandonment and suicidal thoughts and low energy and anger and hate and, and, and, and,….

These previous hardships consumed my life and made me the walking dead.  The current anxiety from the news is easily handled; turn off the electronics and allow my politicians to do the job they are paid for.

Will I agree with everything they are doing?  Absolutely not.  Will my entire world come crashing down around me if the government is not doing what I want it to do?  NO.  It’s all going to be okay.

Thanks goodness.  Big sigh of relief.  I can go on with my daily life now and leave it all behind.  I hope that “normal” people who are not used to dealing with anxiety can figure this out too.

I guess there is an upside to my problems after all.  I’m able to work through all this much better than a “normal” person.  Score one for TEAM ANXIETY!  We win for a change!