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Cyndi Sarnoff-Ross is a licensed psychotherapist with almost twenty years of clinical experience in the fields of clinical psychology and organizational management br br She has worked extensively with a wide variety of…
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Whatever your political beliefs, if you are an American, I hope today you are voicing your opinion by casting your vote. These are tense and exciting times and it is the culmination of emotions that have run high for years. Families have been divided over the ideas and choices this election has laid before us. I hear my peers expressing their frustration over their parent's belief systems in a way that I have never heard before. Generation gaps have widened and people are taking their place on one side or the other of the ideological fence. Here in California we have initiatives on the ballot that have brought out the best and the worst in people as they struggle to decide what they truly believe. Some of the more heated initiatives are those dealing with gay rights, animal cruelty and abortion notification laws. At the end of the day freedom is, at least in part, about deciding what you believe in your heart and being able to voice that opinion.
I want to encourage people to not only feel comfortable and confident about their own decisions but to be tolerant of the decisions of others when it is different from your own, especially if they are a loved one. Reasonable minds can differ in these political debates and we all arrive at the polls with our own unique perspective. Exercise your right to your opinion and help others to do the same, no matter how much it may frustrate you. In the race for the Presidency someone will win and someone will lose. When the podiums are packed up and the speeches have all been made the work of coming together will truly begin, not just for the country but for the individuals who have been divided around these issues. It will be a time of looking for common ground.
Emotions are indeed running high. I for one am riveted to CNN and CNN.com and have been moved to see people tearful as they wait for their turn to cast their vote on this historic day. Election parties are planned as if it was New Years Eve and people are coming together. There is this great buzz in the air that lets us know that today is not just an ordinary day and, no matter what our beliefs, we are forced to stop and think about what it means to be an American, to have not just the right and privilege to vote but the obligation.
Maybe today you can think about ways to bridge gaps in your own life. Have relationships been altered by philosophical differences? Is there a way to get back to what unites you? The country's work needs to begin somewhere and every union is one less divide. Look for ways to make peace in your own life with those who may not be completely simpatico with you on the issues or the candidates. Consider being a part of the healing process as we enter this new phase in American history. Reach across your own personal divides. Who knows, it just might be contagious.
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Personally, I am thrilled over the election. My wish would be that all of us become us instead of "we" and "they". When we forget we are all one we may loose our compassion, dignity and love. During the Korean Conflict, I personally realized that a death of any child stil hurts any mother (whether we perseve that person to be "good" or "bad." . Now perhaps we can imagine each other as mothers/or humans wishing to grow with empathy and kindness to ourselves....and every human being in spiritual bodies..
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My concern though, as one who does suffer from anxiety and depression, was what effects the results of the election had on people the day after. I am 53 years old and I have never seen people so emotionally involved in an election. And as Ms. Sarnoff-Ross said there were even families divided over their choices in this election. On top of that look at the state America was and is in at this time of election. Could we have been any more stressed out with the economy? People being put out of their homes becuse they could no longer afford their mortgages, gas prices had just a few weeks before hit record highs, there was the government bailout that many of us were divided over, so many things wrong with the economy that I could go on and on about. And also something that probably most people would never even think about being affected by, but to us who suffer with depression, it usually has a negative affect on us until we adjust, and that is just a few days before the election, daylight savings time had just ended and we suddenly found our day light hours shorter. My concern? With all this and the many other things that go on in our personal lives, I have to wonder, if your canidate didn't win the election, what affect did this have on you the day after. All though we are believing and praying that God has all things in control, I have talked with quite a few people who had worked, hoped and prayed for a different outcome than what we got, they were so disappointed that it triggered some real major depression and anxiety.
If you find yourself terribly depressed and worried about the out come of this election, or any of the many things going on in the world right now, please reach out for help. And if you know someone who suffers with depression and anxiety, put aside your political views and reach out to them. They need encouragement and acceptance. This is a time for us to join hands, and work together. No matter who had won the election we are in for a rough ride ahead. No one man can step in and suddenly make everything right with America. It is going to take all of us working together to do our part. Jesus himself tells us that a house divided will fall. We can not let that happen. We must stand together and do what we can to hold America together, and that starts with one person at a time.
just my $.02 on this subject
USARMY 1982-1992.
Freedom of Speech and universal franchise are things that didn't exist in my home country when I was a girl. Because that is true, I believe I cherish the idea of these things just a little more than some.
As Americans, all of you should be so proud. Not because Obama won, but because all the people got to decide and they went out in droves to do so. The election was peaceful and fair and the transition to the Obama government will be too. It is a wonderful thing. Democrats, Republicans and Independents are all winners in your wonderful country. Congrats!
If my family "decides" or "decides not" to go to Canada or any other place to live... I believe that is my God given right to move.
Sorry to hear about your families past in the South.
God have mercy on the USA,country that I LOVE,regardless of where I live.
But it does not make me like the elect-President.
AlC67 you are right,we are here to heal.
God bless you all....weither I am in USA or Canada...or muchless on the moon.
Oh well. I'm probably just typing into the wind...