Let’s all take a deep breath and slowly exhale.
How are you doing?
How are you feeling after the elections?
How is your spirit?
Yesterday for the first time I shed tears of fear as I saw the results of the presidential election. Fear for myself as a Black/Garifuna/Afro-Latina/Immigrant/ Woman, fear for my African American husband and fear for our family members.
There are a lot of things that as a country we cannot agree on. But the one thing, I know we can’t refute is that we need healing. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to say to you today. What was going to be my little ray of sunshine? I wanted to give you some hope. But no matter how hard I tried, I had nothing.
Instead, I’ve decided to share with you how I plan to manage this post-election stress. While we all have different views about the results of the election, we all can use some tips to help us heal during these interesting times. I don’t know about you, but this is exactly what I need. Come with me on this journey and let’s heal together.
Take A Break From Social Media
Do this for yourself, your family and everyone you love. Social media can be a very dark place right now. Everyone is trying to process what happened, and things are very emotional. Instead of getting on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, use this time to process how you feel. Go through your emotions and be ok with them. Do not hide from your feelings, face them and embrace them. That is the first step to healing.
Spend Time With Your Loved Ones
This is so important. Hold on to your family and friends and strengthen each other. Using your extra time (since you are taking a break from social media) reach out to people. Send them a text, call them, check on them. Find out how they are doing and lean on each other for support.
Start Exercising
I am serious. Exercising is a great way of releasing stress. Find your favorite workout and commit to it. Start with 1 – 2 days a week, or 3 -4 days a week. Whatever fits your schedule, just start and be consistent. This will help you feel better both emotionally and physically. Get your family and friends to join you.
Rest
I know this can be very hard right now. But you need to rest. Give your body enough time to recover from the emotional hit is taking. Any time I exercise I sleep better. I’ve also found meditation to be very helpful.
I hope you found these tips helpful. I also know that right now, it seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. But, I think things will be ok. They might get a little rocky, and maybe even bizarre, but in the end, we will come out of this experience stronger. Let’s start healing.
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