The impact of the current political climate on those of us with high ACEs scores

Hi Karen,  I have felt the same as you since about the same time. I tend to check-out a lot, which as we know is not a healthy coping mechanism. I try to talk to friends and have kept a good schedule with my therapist. I work with a vulnerable population and have to put to good use every single skill I have in my toolbox to not burn out. Good luck finding a support group. Perhaps, you can check out meet-up to see if you find a group of like minded individuals who you can join. 

I have felt this too, very strongly. 

In my family of origin I often felt that the adults were totally unqualified to be in charge.  I could see them blowing it even as they could not.  So that has been the worst trigger, for me-- the horror-movie feeling of there being a drunk piloting the car, and you are a powerless kid in the back seat.

Having been abused by a parent with narcissistic rage, the behavior of the president is very triggering.My family was also decimated by the Holocaust, so the hate-filled, racist atmosphere we're experiencing is another huge trigger.

My husband and I took time in early 2017 to explore countries we could move to if it becomes necessary to flee. I could not rest until we'd done that, and it helped quite a bit - but I also find I cannot consume virtually any news coverage and have gotten completely off social media. This has been hard for both of us to do, as we were lifelong NY Times and Washington Post readers and NPR listeners, but I find it the only way to protect myself and create a sanctuary emotionally and spiritually.

I appreciate both of you for sharing your experiences and thoughts, Abby and Laura - it means a lot.

HI Karen- I hear ya.  I have been jarred by the harsh political back and forth. for me connecting with community has been wonderful and i am active in my ACEs Connection community where i can focus on positive things...  that might sound cheesy but it empowers me to feel like I am contributing.  Karen, there is a community in  DC region - if you aren't connected with them you may want to be!  You can send an "ask the community" post about a possible meet up OR you could look at members and send a mesasge to any in your vicinity or are of interest. 

And keep coming back here. Hopefully here is a place to focus on solutions and shine some lights on all the beauty that we have!

fwiw, here's an essay I published about a year ago:

The Practice of ACEs science in the time of Trump

There are some empowering parts at the end....what we can do to make sure we create leaders who implement trauma-informed and resilience-building policies and practices based on ACEs science.

You are so not alone. I was about to post “The Practice of Aces Science in the Time of Trump” when I saw Jane had already done it.  I’ve read and shared that piece several times in the year or so since it was published.

Truly, 11.9.16 was a day that changed my life. I had that sense of being out of control and watching a movie where everything that can go wrong, does go wrong.  I had to focus on the positive: that I could still vote, drive, work, talk to my children, play with my dog. “Everything” had not gone wrong, though the political upset cast such a pall over almost everyone I knew. And it made for a holiday season in which I didn’t want to see some family members. I had to quit thinking in absolutes.

 Marching in January helped. I listened to friends who said this could be a good thing, that it would mobilize people and it would ultimately cause people to rally for a more progressive government. Some of that has happened. I don’t think #metoo would have the traction it does were it not for the current political climate. I agree with you on social media. If I don’t follow the “no Twitter after 9 p.m. “ rule I am in trouble and won’t sleep well.

All the self-care we talk about in building resilience helps: exercising, detoxifying, connecting with community (preferably some of that is live and in person), getting enough sleep, not taking actions that increase stress. 

Getting up and outside of myself helps too. Singing in a choir or some other group is incredibly centering. Breathing deeply and seeking peace, going to a botanical garden or a walk in the woods, looking at the night sky and realizing the vastness of the universe, trusting MLK’s paraphrase of abolitionist Theodore Parker’s, “Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” — all of this helps.

i also got the audio book SuperBetter by Jane McGonigle, as well as the SuperBetter app. The app is free in iTunes and it helped me track self-care. It also showed me that there are a lot of other challenged humans taking positive steps toward feeling better.

Thanks for speaking your truth. Your doing so opens the space for others to do the same. There is safety and comfort in connection. 

I hope we all stay in touch; I am glad there is a safe space to do so! 

Peace! 

Greetings, Peers.  I wish to bring up a related topic.  I discovered on the site (ACES) the article in Academic Peds (2017) entitled The Pair of ACES.  I'm sure many of you are familiar with the article.  It relates, in brief, that we are traumatized in childhood (and currently!) not just by Adverse Childhood Experiences but by Adverse Community Environments.  I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor.  I see every day the results of trauma on my clients from their families and from a dysfunctional culture of poverty, racism, violence, environmental degradation, etc.  I believe we will all witness more of the effects over the next several years in part due to the current administration, but also due to other cultural norms, such as overt patriarchy (yang-dominance).  It is all the more crucial now for us to become role models of healthy functioning - in our families, our communities and our society.  It is a time to take a strong and moral political stand.  We can do this via our work, via marching (as I did this past weekend), via our vote, and a myriad of other ways to mitigate the effects of the adverse childhood experiences - in the family and the culture.  I feel blessed to be among you.  Peace.  

It is so incredibly validating to read all of your posts!  I echo everything I’ve read here!!  I am also a mental health professional and truly feel like I’ve been swimming upstream this last year!  Talk about powerlessness!  So much of my childhood trauma is getting played out in terms of the state of our union.  Growing up, I doubted my reality on a daily basis when my alcoholic parents pretended that the horrific events the night before never happened!  That has been my experience day in and day out since the election last year.  There are days that it feels like we are living in an alternate universe!  Thank you all for your shares!