8 ways to ‘reset’ your spirit during election season
Anxious about November 8? You’re not the only one. Here are 8 ways to soothe your soul before the coming election.
Can you pin down exactly why you’re so stressed these days? Well, chances are, it has something to do with the presidential election. According to the American Psychological Association, about half of the people surveyed identified the election as a “very or somewhat” significant source of stress in their current lives. And as much as we would like to turn off election coverage, there’s no denying that it’s everywhere — it’s pretty difficult to get even an hour’s break from the latest outrage.
So you may need to take matters into your own hands if you need to clear your mind and do a spiritual “reboot.” Here are seven ways, compiled from the editors’ friends and families, to soothe your soul and restore some sense of spiritual normalcy during this harrying period.
1. Go monatastic
No, you don’t need to actually cloister yourself, but take a page from those who’ve removed themselves from worldly concerns. Meditate and pray. And consider fasting — media fasting, that is. The human body was not meant to bethis distressed this frequently, for heaven’s sake, and media can be a trigger for adrenaline and anxiety. Will Lashley, an American film editor living in London, says he restricts how much time he spends online during election season: “Just take down the temperature a little until you feel that you’re not stuck in a cycle of reaction that is being manipulated by someone else.”
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2. Be of service
“A little volunteer work reminds me of our basic, shared humanity,” says Emily Dello Russo of Newton, Massachusetts. Another friend, Catherine Anderson Price of Providence, is taking her children out of school to volunteer on election day. As she says, “There is therapy in action as well as equanimity.”
3. Claim your “sovereign creative space”
Emily Eagen, a musician in Brooklyn, says she focuses on working to become a better artist — and thankfully the creative world is pretty removed from the political arena. When you’re making something — whether it’s painting or writing or composing — you’re in charge of that little world. And it’s a world that politicians have no part of. As Emily says, about her work as a singer and the presidential candidates: “In so many arenas of our lives we don’t need those guys! Can either Trump or Clinton find the baritone part? We still have sovereign creative space.”
So what’s your creative jam — knitting? Dance? Gardening? If you have to prune the garden down to bare dirt to calm down, well, it’ll grow back. (There’s probably a lesson in impermanence there.)
4. Turn to those who’ve gone through this before
Mimi Munson of Los Angeles says she listens to Leonard Cohen, and as much for his perspective as the music: “Especially Anthem and If It Be Your Will, the later songs from that period when he had so much perspective on all these cycles going around and around again. There’s even a recording of him singingIf It Be Your Will to an audience where he talks about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how there are good people on both sides — that we have to remember that.” (Cohen actually says, in the video, “There is a moment when we have to transcend the side we’re on and understand that we are creatures of a higher order.” If that doesn’t shift your perspective I don’t know what will.)
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5. Say the old familiar prayers
Some of our favorites: Proverbs 3:5–6, says Stacy Andris-Skalski of New Jersey. (“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight”), and Psalm 46, says Heather Kirn Lanier of Vermont. (“God is our refuge and our strength.”)
6. Have a chat with a child
Small children are blessedly ignorant of politics, and the most they know about November 8 is that they may have a few pieces of Halloween candy left. Turning off the news feed and tuning into a kid can restore your faith in humanity. As Phyllis Elkind of New York says, “When I am with kids their authenticity strips away my layers. They take me out of my own worries and into their reality — be that the misery of not getting the plate you wanted or the joy of a new notch on your karate belt.”
7. Take a good soak
No, not a shower, but a good old-fashioned bath. First, transform your bathroom into a luxurious home spa. Stefanie Iris Weiss of New York recommends using Epsom salt baths with essential oils like geranium or lavender. “The key is to stay in for 20 minutes. You absorb the magnesium that way, and it relaxes and detoxifies you along with the heat,” she says. “It’s great to do a few hours before bed. The key is to not get back onto social media after the bath.” So don’t hop out until your fingers are prunes and steer clear of Facebook for the rest of the night!
8. Get lost in someone else’s creative work
Emily Eagan, the singer, says she reads Shirley Jackson’s funny parenting essays “as an antidote to politics making one feel as if life is humorless and one has no agency.” Another friend said she listens to John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme — loud. Other friends watch funny comedy shows, read great books, or listen to musical theater.
In an ideal world, every day our social media feeds would remind us that this country is more than this election and more than these two political candidates. As Emily says, “sometimes I feel like we over-emphasize the idea that a single powerful person makes all the difference. So if I step away from electoral politics, I am buoyed by all the other people and collective actions that make a difference.” Amen to that. Now, where are my knitting needles?
Join the conversation on facebook and tell how you intend to “reset”
Written By: Christine Stoddard
Associate Editor Christine Stoddard’s work has appeared in Marie Claire, Bustle, Good Housekeeping, The Huffington Post, the Catholic News Service, and beyond. She is also the founding editor of the socially-minded art and literary magazine, Quail Bel
