Whether your local and national candidates lost or won; or were not even on the ballot. Whether you are angry or sad or complacent or happy or excited about the election. Regardless of your political stance and political affiliation. It is now time to remember our health and our need to take care of ourselves. Taking care of ourselves gives us the temperament, preparedness, and resources to take care of our families and communities. We need to continually be, or become, healthy individuals so we can be active contributors to healthy social change.
Mental health professionals assert this election has taken mental, emotional, and physical tolls on many people over the past year. This is similar to how democracy (or lack thereof) and elections (or lack thereof) have influenced people around the world. People have been, and continue to be, stressed and losing sleep. There have been broken relationships because of the election. There has been anxiety and fear about the future. This includes employment and financial concerns. Some people are experiencing loss in investments and retirement funds. This highlights that people’s concerns are warranted. The concerns are not imaginary—and, even if some concerns are not well-grounded, negative perceptions still have an impact on mental, emotional, and physical health. It is important to note that these concerns apply to people across the political board and can have even greater influence on people with fewer safety nets and fewer forms of protection.
This is why we must take care of ourselves so we can be healthy and have a level head and conscious mind. Our level head and conscious mind will enable us to be conscientious and active in our communities and in society. As we always say, if we do not like something we must find a way to become more visible and more active. We must not only encourage change but we must direct change and work towards change. This includes local funding and national funding for trustworthy mental health and medical facilities that serve demographically diverse populations. We must let all politicians and all lawmakers know that we are paying attention, not just when we disagree with a political outcome but all of the time. All political parties, all politicians, and all lawmakers need to know we cannot be silenced and we cannot be ignored. Why not? Because we are healthy, conscious, and conscientious. We invest in self-awareness and self-care. Being self-aware and self-caring is how we are strong enough to invest in social issues and social changes.
What is a bite size issue you think you would like to start dealing with?
