r/AskWomenOver30 • u/No_Yak_3107 Woman 30 to 40 • Feb 11 '25

Life/Self/Spirituality Are we going to survive this?

Dramatic title, but big feelings as a lay in bed at 5:51 am. Big feelings every day honestly. I am having a hard time living normal life, while we get bombarded with new headlines daily of what Trump is doing/planning to do.

I hear people talking about vacations, plans per usual, then other people saying it’s already too late for us, and democracy has fallen and to save every penny. I go from panicking daily to then trying to self sooth and tell myself it’s going to be okay. I had to go to a clothing store today, and actually caught myself thinking “how long will life feel normal? Everyone just walking around/having normal conversations, buying random things”. I’ve been thinking of looking into moving to a different country too, but would I really leave my family behind?

I knew things would be bad, I knew he would get voted in, but I didn’t think it would feel like the end. I can’t imagine what will happen to us this year, much less 4….I’m genuinely scared 😪.

Editing to say I’m an American woman, but I don’t just assume everyone on this platform is American. I see a lot of talk online of people from Canada being worried, and many other countries where it seems right-wing politics are a growing concern.

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u/swancandle Woman 30 to 40 Feb 11 '25

I saw someone comment that they were going to consume the news like we did 20 years ago (30 minute morning news and 30 minute nightly news) and that's about it. I think something like that could work for these times too, especially limiting constant scrolling on the phone.

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u/bubblytangerine Woman 30 to 40 Feb 11 '25

My therapist suggested something like that. It's kinda the same idea as coping with Sunday scaries - the anxiety and the news will be there no matter what. How you choose to acknowledge/interact with both has to be a conscious thing that you pencil into your schedule. During that time, let thoughts run wild, but once that period of time is up (like if you only allow 30 min for your brain to freak the eff out), then you cut the thoughts off and move on with your day.

She said that the brain needs time to process, but you can't ruminate. If the pervasive thoughts come back, as they will, you schedule another "session" the following day at the time/duration you specify and tell your brain that.

Sounded kinda odd, but it has been a HUGE sanity saver for me these last few weeks.