People Shared 16 Genius Self-Care Tips To Survive Election Week, And I'll Be Trying Every Single One
Folks, it's officially election week, and the anxiety is REAL. I've absolutely been stressing, so I decided to ask people in the BuzzFeed Community to share their self-care tips to help survive election week chaos.
Here are 16 genius tips they shared that I'll absolutely be trying:
1."I'm finding ways to celebrate the small wins — progressive amendments such as abortion rights passing in states or marginalized groups who get to finally see someone who looks like them in the local office. Even if we do suffer a huge loss at the presidential level, I'm sure there will be SOMETHING to feel gratitude for across the local elections!"
—Anonymous
2."I set a daily reminder on my phone for a solo dance party after work. I have a desk job, so it releases tension, my body feels better, and I'm usually in a better mood afterward. (I recommend 'Get Up Offa That Thing' by James Brown.) Those are the healthy coping mechanisms."
"My not-so-healthy ones are binging Brooklyn Nine-Nine (again), eating all the Halloween candy (again), and drinking wine (I rarely drink). I also refilled an anti-anxiety medication I haven't used or needed in years for the worst-case scenario. I've cast my ballot; everything else is beyond my control."
—Anonymous
3."I'm practicing mindfulness, things like paying attention to the colors of the leaves as I drive to work instead of worrying about the future. I've been trying to spend time near nature whenever I feel anxious, even if it's just 10 minutes outside."
—Anonymous
4."I take the day after the election off from work. My mental health is already in the shitter, so it's best not to spend a day pretending I'm working while compulsively checking Twitter. My goal this year is to get myself to somewhere where cell range is spotty enough I can get a good hike in for a few hours without being able to check social media."
—Anonymous
5."Turn off the windows news widget on your computer."
—Anonymous
6."As someone with clinically diagnosed anxiety and depression, I’m just trying to make it through, y’all. Get yourself your favorite foods, have your comfort shows on standby, get some pet snuggles, and wear fuzzy socks. Also, like, exercise and stuff."
"To those who say, 'There’s no point in worrying,' 'Nothing changes,' or 'It’ll be fine,' I hope you realize that that comes from a place of privilege. For many of us, our very futures are at stake. It’s awfully hard not to worry about that."
7."When I come home, I plan on stress baking until I can't anymore. Hopefully, at that point, we'll have some good news. Then I'll drive around distributing the baked goods to all my friends and family who kept me sane through the worst of it."
—Anonymous
8."I’m leaving the country! Perfectly planned escape to Iceland."
—Anonymous
9."I literally made a Kamala victory playlist that I've been listening to daily, and it's helping me stay positive because I know how good it will feel to blast 'Freedom' by Beyoncé when she wins."
—Anonymous
10."I am making phone calls to help people who've tried to vote absentee or by mail but whose ballots were rejected for some reason. I never want to feel the immense amount of guilt I felt in 2016 because I didn't do enough. Everyone deserves to have their vote count, and it's harder to be pessimistic when you see the tangible results from this work."
"At the same time, I’m making sure to get plenty of sleep, take breaks, eat well, and limit alcohol and social media time."
—Anonymous
11."I have stopped watching the news, stopped reading the news, and stopped encouraging the AI bots to increase posts about news in my streams. I understand there is still a need to educate people and get voters with good morals involved, but for me and my home, it's time to let it go and let it ride. I know everything I need to know, and watching and reading everything won't change anything."
—Anonymous
12."Bourbon and Jon Stewart are the only things that will get me through election night."
13."Living saturated in it does nothing to help you. Unplug until next week. Vote and then turn it all off. If you have voted, you have done your part, and all you can do now is wait, so there is no need to damage your mental and physical well-being over it."
14."Tea, specifically lavender or Jasmine tea. Those non or low-caffeinated flavors are my anti-anxiety weapons; even the ritual of preparing the tea itself is a very centering exercise."
"Likewise, get your hands on lavender essential oil and dot your pulse points with it or dab a small amount on a cotton ball, which you can sniff periodically. It works like magic. These things helped me in college taking finals, and now I bequeath them to you."
15."I'm fortunate to have the day off, and a video game I've been looking forward to was released yesterday, so I plan to save the game until Tuesday and play that. I'll message with like-minded friends, text my sons, and check the news only a couple of times to maintain my equilibrium. Doomscrolling isn't going to change the results, so I might as well just breathe and do something that doesn't make me want to scream."
And finally...
16."If you just need to decompress, look up a meditation website; there are tons of free ones online, and they help a lot with keeping yourself calm. If you can, take a walk and keep your head semi-down to avoid any political signs. If you can, get together with your friends and play a board game. If any of these don’t work for you, try going into an empty room if you can and taking a few deep breaths."
"I know that this election year is really scary and tough for so many people, and there's not much we can do. What we can do is we can just try and distract ourselves. Take a breath. Call someone you care about. Take a nap. Let your mind take a break for a minute."
—Anonymous
What are you doing to help your election week anxiety? Let us know in the comments below.
Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
