Coping with four more years of you-know-who

Two-thirds of Americans have cut back their political news consumption since Donald Trump was reelected, according to an Associated Press–NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey. Seven in ten are Democrats, six in ten Republicans and independents. Some of us can’t stand the man, others can stand the chaos.

It can’t be good for the country if the majority of citizens spend the next four years uninformed. But neither is it good for our mental health if we’re in a state of constant agitation over the news from Washington.

I’ve been thinking and reading about how to cope with hearing outlandish claims, lies, and insults for four more years. Here are some ideas. 

• Get news from neutral reputable sources instead of those with a political slant, and certainly not from social media. Be selective about opinion pieces. I’m no longer visiting progressive sources like Daily Kos because they rile me up. Someone recommended 1440, which sends its subscribers daily emails of “consequential,” “fact-driven” news without opinions or interpretation. 

• Skim the headlines and decide whether it’s really important to know the details. 

• Ignore stories about Trump’s outrageous diatribes. I don’t need to know, for instance, whether Trump is still talking about children going to school as boys and returning home as girls.

• Avoid stories about what might happen. What good is listening to speculation about the tariffs Trump may impose on foreign goods? If and when he does, we'll find out.

• Ask friends to change the subject when political conversations become upsetting.

• Accept that little or nothing that I do will affect national politics. My energy is better directed at things I can affect — i.e., in my own community. 

• Realize that my life goes on whoever is in the White House, and it probably won’t change much. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t care about the migrants and others whom Trump’s actions may harm.

• Seek out good news to balance upsetting coverage. Googling “good news websites” identifies a number of sources.

I’m not advocating burying our heads in the sand but trying to balance information and overload. Political activists will go on devouring the news, and more power to them. The country will need opposition to Trump. I’m not a political activist. I’m just an ordinary person trying to take care of my mental health.