Students walking out of classes, protesters in the streets of our major cities, a renewed movement in California to secede from the union, petitions to the Electoral College, and continued angry exchanges in all forms of media. Yikes! I took a break from it all today to walk by the ocean here in Baja California and to reflect. These thoughts came…
From years of teaching crisis theory as part of Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing, I know this: Crisis is an OPPORTUNITY…to learn, to grow, to be strengthened. We as a nation can come through this to a better place.. But three things are needed to help this happen:
- An accurate perception of what is happening. It takes some reflection to figure this out, and you may not agree with me. I don't want to oversimplify, as the issues at hand are complex. But my perspective is that we are getting a needed look at the ugly underbelly of racism in America, and at the deep fear of many of us white folks that things have been/are going to be taken away from us. Donald Trump "played" to those fears in various ways, and those who voted for him were predominantly white people 45 and older. I'm skipping the issue of abortion for now, though it played a big role in the vote among some Christian voters. We have this opportunity to take a deeper look at ourselves and at the ways racism manifests itself among us, hard and uncomfortable though this may be.
- Support from others. We need to be with others who care about us during a crisis. I learned about Pantsuit Nation from some FaceBook friends. It's a coalition of mostly women who supported Clinton and the values she has espoused throughout her decades of public service…namely the protection of civil rights and support for children, women and families. These women (I'm linked with the Colorado Chapter, since most of my working career was spent there) are networking and reaching out to each other and to vulnerable people in their communities. Find support with someone(s) you trust.
- Good coping skills. We've got to take care of ourselves, keeping a balance between work and rest, engagement and disengagement. Some of us feel called to be advocates for something or other. It's not a time to put our heads in the sand (at least I can't do this), as many people are hurting and afraid, and need support. And many feel their most cherished values are at stake and are now determined to fight in every way possible for them. But we can't do everything. Media can become all consuming, and we should take breaks from that too. We need comic relief, but not at the expense of others.
My three cents…these three points. We'll get through this. Let's keep talking to and helping each other!
