Keeping Steady in a Rocky Political Season
· Kaitlyn Iseminger
Ah, 2020- the year that just keeps giving. If all the craziness of the COVID-19 wasn’t bad enough, it’s also an election year. I don’t know about you, but it’s hard to go anywhere nowadays without hearing something regarding the elections. The polls are closed, and the president-elect has been announced, and yet, anxiety looms around us. If 2020 has felt like anything, it’s felt like a lack of control.
Control can provide a sense of security
Finding control when things feel out of control is sometimes a challenge. I try my best to be a flexible person. I tend to go with the flow and adjust as needed. However, I still like to control things, especially when things do not go according to the plan. When I feel like I am losing control over decisions, it’s hard to not spiral into an anxiety fit. The lack of control feels scary. When control is lost, we can feel like our sense of security is threatened. And sometimes, we can even feel powerless. So, we need to find healthy ways to build safety and offer choices. This makes sense why the state of our nation (cue the Hamilton soundtrack) and the pandemic have created a lot of anxiety around what’s going to happen.
How to find control in the midst of what seems out of control
I don’t know if you’ve watched Frozen 2, but being a kid therapist and Disney lover, I am well acquainted with the Frozen hype. There’s a scene in the movie that comes to mind as I write this. It’s after our main characters and all of Arendelle have fled their homes because of the crazy magic happening. There’s a moment where our enthusiastic snowman, Olaf, is hanging out with a group of kids. Olaf is seemingly getting a snowman makeover. The kids are having a blast adding colorful crystals all over Olaf. He turns to his friends and tells them in a kind and gentle tone, “we’re calling this controlling what you can when things feel out of control,” and then resumes giggling with the kids. There’s an important lesson Olaf has for us in that scene. Instead of focusing on what’s out of his control (the chaos of the element spirits destroying his home), he’s focusing on what he can do at that very moment. In this scene, Olaf remains mindful and present with himself, which allows him to offer a space for the children to do the same. He simply used things around him to create a structure for himself and others in the midst of the looming unknown. I don’t know how Disney predicted the future that we were all going to need that life lesson throughout 2020, but well done.
Reminding yourself, you’re in control.
So, what can you do when feeling out of control? First, acknowledge your feelings. It feels scary, waiting in the uncertainty of things. Trying to deny that you’re feeling scared, overwhelmed, or exhausted from all the stress of the election and 2020 isn’t going to help you find a sense of control. As cliché as it sounds, you are in control of yourself. You can choose how you’re going to react and how present you are with your internal system. Take a minute and take a deep breath. With all the losses of 2020, it is important to remember what we still have. We can create a space where we offer ourselves choices that empower us to know that we have control.