Hi there! Welcome back. Hope everyone is joining this cold snowy weather. If you’re in Chicago, like me, otherwise, if you’re in a warmer place, I’m very jealous of you. So today I’m going to talk about election stress. So obviously we have the election coming up and there’s a lot of stress around that emotionally and socially as well, talking to family and friends can be emotionally exhausting and hearing everything on the news and social media, everything like that.
So I’m going to give a few tips to have these conversations with people, and then also how to manage some of this stress that you may be feeling. So the first tip in terms of having conversations with people that may be having opposite views as you family members, friends, the first thing to know is to make sure that you’re having these conversations at the appropriate time and in the appropriate settings.
So probably not a good idea to bring up the election at a family party where there’s alcohol or with your friends when there’s alcohol involved or in a big gathering, things like that. If you really want to have a conversation with somebody that you’re close with, really try to do that, one-on-one with them. So you can actually hear them out and they can hear you out, and there’s not that added intensity with alcohol or with multiple people around.
The second tip is going to be to make sure, you know, when to walk away from the situation. It’s important to remember that when people have their views and opinions, sometimes you’re not going to be able to change that you can educate them on why you feel that way as much as you want. But at the end of the day, it’s just important to accept the fact that they may not change their views.
And there may be a time that you have to walk away for your own sanity. You don’t want to get emotionally exhausted just by having conversations over and over again and getting heated and getting upset yourself. So just really know when to walk away.
And the last tip I have is to ask questions in order to maybe hear that person, so then they can actually hear you out. So instead of saying things like “you’re wrong” or “I don’t believe what you’re saying”, maybe say something like, “Hey, that’s actually an interesting point. Can you tell me how you came up with that conclusion” or “can you enlighten me on where you got that conclusion from?”. It will open the conversation in a more respectful way with you giving me opportunity to hear them, and then also giving your opinions by saying something like, I hear your opinion and you do have a right to that.
And this is how I think, and this is where I came up with that conclusion. So those are a couple tips on having difficult conversations with the election. And then in terms of managing election stress, just really make sure that you’re limiting your time on social media, the news, and watching the election coverage. I know you want to be informed and that’s great and you should be informed, but really making sure you’re focusing on trusted news sources and not spending your entire day looking stuff up. Set those boundaries to give yourself maybe an hour at the end of the day to get updated on what’s going on and that’s it.
And then also make sure you have an outlet. So, one thing that I have is I watched The Office because it’s really funny to me. I’ve seen this series a million times and it’s something easy to watch for me. So, when I’m really stressed and I’ve seen too much negative news, I turn on The Office and it makes me smile. It makes me laugh. And it just kind of gives me that sense of peace and allows me to escape from all this negativity. So having an outlet that works for you, and then also make sure that you’re managing your stress with coping skills. So going on a walk or reading a book, so you can step away from the TV, hanging out with family and friends, not discussing heavy topics like the election and things like that. So I know this is a tough time for everyone on top of everything else that’s happening. Hopefully these tips help a little bit and just remember to take care of yourselves. Thanks and have a great day!