Seeking Help for Election Depression? Print
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Written by GBP Staff   
Monday, 21 November 2016 10:12

dems-react-2016lossDemocrats and Progressives all over Wisconsin are feeling the same overall funk and feelings of depression as they try to grapple with the Trump win.


GREEN BAY - It’s been nearly two weeks, and many Madison area voters are still in a state of shock over Donald Trump’s surprise win in the presidential election. Many in Mad-City are seeking professional help.

Some are in a psychological paralysis, with area therapists reporting their clients taking it hard, using valuable couch time to talk about their post-election stress, anxiety or depression. Yes, depression.

Many of our Democratic and Progressive friends up here in Northeastern Wisconsin are feeling the same, although we have seen no big rush to visit a psychologist here. But the overall funk and feelings of depression are just as palatable.

Down in Madison, Meagan Geurts, a licensed clinical social worker, said many of her clients are feeling anxious about the president-elect’s plans based upon his campaign rhetoric.

“They’re a little more anxious and nervous about what this is going to mean for some of them personally and then for our country long-term over the next four years and beyond,” she said. Geurts uses the words deflated and defeated.

Donal MacCoon at Madison Psychiatric Associates said the vast majority of his clients are talking about the election, with women who have been sexually traumatized having their experiences “re-triggered” by a man who many believe has boasted about committing sexual assaults. MacCoon said he’s seen anxiety, fear, sadness and depression in his clients.

Here in Green Bay, members of the Democratic Party of Brown County are seeking each other out to talk about life and the election. The most common sentiment stated is "I can't believe they voted for Trump", meaning the feeling of betrayal on the part of neighbors and relatives who they thought knew better. Some have kids who ask "how could the bad man win?" Others feel isolated.

Some Progressives feel doubly betrayed by the electorate as a whole and the Democratic Party insiders in particular. Many had seen Hillary Clinton as a weak candidate from the beginning and their concerns had been disregarded even after Bernie Sanders had easily won the primary here in April.

Many of those old enough to remember say "it feels like 1968 all over again", meaning that time of hate and division in America that most who lived it had thought was past. Let's hope this one does not take as long to heal.