TIROC: Strong Emotions, Uncertain Future

This blog is written by SJPL Librarian, Michele Rowic

Yikes! The 2024 Presidential Election Cycle was impassioned, chaotic, polarizing and antagonistic. There were frenzied emotions, constant news updates and copious advertisements. Strong emotions and an uncertain future may feel overwhelming, dysregulating and traumatizing. Now, as we go through withdrawals of what the election cycle does to individuals, it is a time for grounding ourselves, however it may look and consider what we may do to self-regulate to care for our health and wellbeing.

Doomscrolling

One way we may attempt to self-regulate and try to gain control over uncertainty is to go online and search for articles, videos, podcasts and social media, seeking opinions with the aim of finding a solutions and answers. However, this can lead to doomscrolling, excessively consuming online media without stopping.  Aza Raskin, creator of the infinite scroll, a now ubiquitous feature where online content is continuously loaded, said it is “one of the first products designed to not simply help a user, but to deliberately keep them online for as long as possible.” Like many online behaviors, including excessive social media use, there are negative consequences to doomscrolling. We can lose our sense of social connection which leads to increased anxiety, depression and isolation.

Grounding Ourselves in Reality

Instead of resorting to potentially unhealthy online behaviors, there are more productive and less socially isolating things we can do in the face of uncertainty and the unknown.

• Accept your feelings. Be patient with yourself. Whatever you are feeling, these feelings are valid and a normal reaction.
• Focus on what you can control and avoid dwelling on what you cannot control. Accepting what you don’t have any control over can be grounding.
• Put realistic limits on your personal media consumption. Consider tuning out of news and social media. Give yourself permission to take a break from the news. Prune your social accounts.
• Do something active and do not become immobilized. Moving helps us release the energy we experience when we feel stressed. You can run, dance, clean the house, bake bread, make your body move anyway you know how. Go for a walk, visit a neighbor, friend or family member. Action helps when you are feeling helpless.
• Take action. Engage in meaningful activities. Get involved with something you care about and do something constructive. Get active in your neighborhood at a grassroots level. Stay socially connected.

Cultivating Resilience

By accepting our feelings, focusing on what we can control and taking action, we can increase our tolerance and cultivate resilience to ambiguity and uncertainty. As new challenges, needs and obstacles arise in our environment and society, we will adapt and evolve. Change is what keeps us going.

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TIROC Blog Series

This blog is part of a series that focuses on understanding trauma and its effects on our lives, while also strengthening and building personal and collective resilience, as part of the library’s efforts to embrace the trauma-informed principles creating safe physical spaces and in our interactions with our customers and among library staff.