Struggling with the U.S. election result? How to care for your mental health

The Canadian Psychological Association says the U.S. election has worldwide interaction and it’s mean for galore Canadians to person beardown emotions astir it — whether they’re affirmative oregon negative.

Association president Anita Gupta, a objective psychologist, says if radical are feeling anxious oregon distressed astir the results, they whitethorn privation to instrumentality a interruption from quality sum and societal media.

Gupta says immoderate radical whitethorn beryllium sleep-deprived from staying up precocious the past mates of nights to travel the latest developments and she suggests prioritizing slumber tonight.

She says elemental acts of self-care, including eating well, staying hydrated, going extracurricular oregon hugging a loved 1 tin marque a difference.

Gupta says immoderate radical volition consciousness the request to speech astir their feelings of anxiousness oregon distress, but others whitethorn not beryllium acceptable yet.

She says anxiousness whitethorn worsen successful immoderate radical who were already struggling, and reaching retired to friends, household oregon a intelligence wellness nonrecreational tin beryllium helpful.

Gupta says a intelligence wellness nonrecreational tin supply a harmless abstraction for radical to beryllium themselves and speech openly astir however they feel, without the hazard of offending others who whitethorn not stock their views.

There’s nary “one size fits all” coping strategy, she said, but reminding ourselves of affirmative things successful our lives portion inactive acknowledging feelings astir the predetermination tin beryllium useful.

Someone mightiness say, “this predetermination was truly impactful to maine for XYZ reasons and my household loves maine and I person a bully occupation and I person friends that volition enactment me,” Gupta said.

Gayle Browne, a elder manager astatine Kids Help Phone, says kids and teens person apt seen and heard things astir the U.S. predetermination done societal media oregon listening to their parents’ conversations and whitethorn person feelings astir it.

Browne suggests parents straight inquire their kids astir their knowing of the predetermination and if there’s thing they privation to speech about.

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“I deliberation what a batch of young people, oregon adjacent adults do, is they mightiness consciousness a happening and past say, ‘Oh well, that’s stupid. Like, I don’t unrecorded successful the States. That doesn’t impact me. I don’t request to consciousness that,'” she said.

Parents tin amusement that it’s OK to person those feelings by opening up a conversation, Browne said.

“So if you were to accidental to your kid like, ‘Hey, this has been connected the quality each day’ oregon ‘so galore radical are talking astir this. What bash you think?’ … being capable to person a abstraction wherever they tin speech astir that, that’s truly important,” she said.

“When the adults successful your beingness who attraction astir you instrumentality your feelings and thoughts seriously, that goes a agelong way.”

If the predetermination is simply a “tipping point” for young radical who were already struggling with their intelligence wellness and parents are worried, they tin scope retired to a health-care supplier oregon Kids Help Phone, Browne said.