election emotional processing
navigating anxiety and grief in the wake of the 2024 presidential election
I’m not the first and I won’t be the last to reflect on the emotional intensity of this week, as Americans process, or celebrate, the election of Donald Trump and JD Vance to the highest offices of the land.
Being a therapist around election time is both a great honor and privilege, as well as what can feel like a taxing burden, as we hold space for others to process what we are also processing in our own bodies and lives. It is not for the faint of heart!
In this post I’ll be sharing a bit about how I’ve been coping and navigating this time, as a somatic therapist who strives to embody the work I share with clients.
This year felt different for me, as I am currently pregnant with my first child and feeling everything so much deeper… (which is quite a lot seeing as at baseline I’m already one of the most sensitive people I know).
And to be honest, I am deeply grieving. I am reckoning with my privilege as a white woman, as I am starkly shown - once again - a very minute window into what black families in this country have lived through for generations - that their government is actively working to thwart their rights and freedoms. What I’m feeling now of course is not even comparable to the black experience, it just has opened up my heart and awareness and reminded me of the very real oppression that has been festering in this government for generations. This is not new at all. I am grieving and reckoning with my complicity with racist institutions and the ease in which I’ve been able to tune in and out of the political process without it truly impacting my well-being due largely to the color of my skin. The “freaking out” that comes up at election time feels almost like an indictment on my own lack of engagement or motivation in truly living in line with the decolonization and anti-racism values that I aspire to embody.
I am grieving for my queer family and friends whose rights to their own sovereignty and safety are being threatened. I am grieving for the young mothers who have and who will continue to die after being denied appropriate reproductive healthcare. I am grieving for the earth and what this means for our already fragile ecological systems. I am grieving ruptures with loved ones, family and friends who I know as wonderful people, and who also voted for a person and party that feels so unsafe to the lives and futures of so many of us. I am grieving for my own child, and what this might mean for their future, and for our little family’s future. And I’m grieving for the part of me that feels hopeless and uncertain as I navigate the huge initiation of pregnancy in such a charged political climate. It has been a lot.
So, all that to say, if you are grieving, feeling confused, hopeless, or have the impulse to just shut off during this time - I see you. I feel you. You are not alone.
It can be extremely overwhelming to process big emotions when we are in a place of fear and activation, and neurobiologically, it's not even possible. We aren’t truly processing in that state, we are either just in survival mode, or “stewing” in our heads - continuing to trigger our emotional states with our thoughts without actually feeling through them emotionally or physically. This process leaves us feeling exhausted, fearful, overwhelmed, and eventually shut down, without the resources to actually process our emotions.
I suggest trying something different: somatic emotional processing
This is where awareness and attention to the body comes in. If you can begin to feel the sensations of your emotions in your body, you can open up the capacity to truly process and begin navigating these emotions in an embodied way, rather than feeling them hanging over you or draining you in the background.
Somatic processing is not about figuring out “answers” to questions or thoughts in your mind. However it will allow you to access more physiologic and emotional regulation as you navigate feelings of fear, grief, anger, or whatever is alive in your current experience. And in accessing regulation, in time, clarity and answers will arise… just maybe not in the way you imagined in your head :)
Somatic Emotional Processing Activity
Step 1: Create a safe container.
Set yourself up in a comfortable and quiet space, where you feel at ease, and will be uninterrupted and physically at ease for at least a few minutes.
Step 2: Name the emotion you are feeling.
Take a quiet moment, maybe taking a deep breath or closing your eyes, and see if you can name the emotion you are feeling. Maybe it’s mostly sadness. Maybe it’s a feeling of numbness or resignation. If there are multiple emotions, choose just one that feels most prominent, or “first in line” to start. This will help your system avoid getting overwhelmed by trying process too much at one time.
Step 3: Notice and name the sensations of this emotion in your body.
Maybe it's a heaviness in your chest, or a pit in your stomach. Maybe it’s tears just behind your eyes. Maybe it’s a feeling of disconnection from your body. Take a few moments to identify and name the sensations of this particular emotion.
Step 4: Keep your attention on the sensation of this emotion as you continue to breathe.
Your mind may have a lot of thoughts or stories that go with this, but keep returning your attention to the sensations in your body. The heaviness may intensify, or move through your system. The tightness might transform into tears or cries. The tension may shift into an impulse to shake your hands and feet, or push against something.
Step 5: Stay here, for as long as feels comfortable for you
Keep returning to these somatic sensations and impulses, without a mental agenda. Your awareness will naturally invite this emotional energy to be felt, to move through your system, and thus actually be processed by your brain and nervous system. It may lead to a good cry, or some time curled up on the couch feeling small, but as you continue to stay with the sensation of emotion, I can guarantee that your body will know what to do with these sensations and emotional energies.
How do you know if it worked? Well - if you allowed yourself to truly feel a heavy emotion, then in my opinion, that is a good thing. Eventually, as you practice staying with the sensation of emotion over the thoughts about the emotion, your body will naturally begin to move the emotional energy in your body, and help you shift into a new physical and emotional state. You won’t feel like you’re forcing yourself to feel different, you will just feel different from the inside out. Maybe you’ll feel more tired or more hungry, and have a clear sense of how to tend to your body. Maybe you’ll feel lighter, or more able to go about the tasks of your day without a heaviness hanging over you in the same way. There is no set outcome because your individual experience is unique.
And of course, we are relational beings, who heal and process best in relationship and in community. So, if you can find an available and safe friend, partner or family member to feel with - it is almost always helpful for our nervous systems.
Somatic therapy is a space where you can access the support of a safe and emotionally available human who is also highly trained in supporting folks through somatic processing of emotions and trauma.
It can be very helpful to have this type of support if you are feeling overwhelmed or paralyzed by your emotions, feeling under-resourced in terms of community support, and/or feel new to being in connection with your body.
At Integrate Holistic Psychotherapy, I utilize my training as a trauma-informed psychotherapist - drawing from years of yoga practice and teaching, my training as a Sensorimotor Psychotherapy practitioner (a method of somatic therapy), and both ceremonial and professional group and 1:1 facilitation and guidance, to assist my clients in connecting deeply with their bodies and emotions in a way that builds inner trust, safety, and eventually, clarity. If this resonates with you, and feel you may benefit from the support of a somatic therapist, I’d love to connect with you! Book a free 20 minute video consultation here.
In the meantime, I’ll be practicing somatic emotional processing too! Human-ing can be hard, particularly for sensitive folks during intense times of transition… and we are never “done.” Just because I have steeped in these tools for years doesn’t mean I’m “done” with my work - it is a daily and moment to moment process of presence and awareness as we navigate the twists and turns of our lives.
I feel more hopeful when I can orient and truly feel both the grief (or maybe first, the grief), but also the safety and capacity that is alive within my body as well. Despite my fears or sadness about the world or our country, in this moment, I am also well. I can feel my breath. I have choices, and power, that no one can take from me… they live within. It’s just that for me, it takes a willingness to feel the choppy emotion or activation at the surface first, before I’m able to access the deeper waters of my capacity, safety, and connection with something bigger than myself.
With more “advanced” (aka consistent) somatic practice we can learn to pendulate between safety and emotional energy, reminding our emotions in the moment that they are held. This skill is where true freedom lies in my experience. I can feel my deep, intense emotions, but they don’t have to lead my choices and actions - I get to retain my conscious awareness - and be the loving protector myself, rather than the hopeless victim.
The painful reality is that life will come with a full spectrum of emotions and experiences - and emotional health does not mean “feeling good” all the time. It is about being able to hold space and navigate the full range of the human experience. I have found that difficult times often lead to necessary growth and the birth of something new within ourselves and in our lives.
Please reach out or leave a comment about your own experience with somatic emotional processing during this time! Sending love.
