Donald J. Trump. Love him, hate him, leftist, or rightie – he upsets us. Why is that, anyway? Some would say it’s purely politics or personality revulsion. But I’m thinking it’s a little more complicated than that…
In my mind, there’s no doubt that when it comes to belief-influence, the media – social, online, broadcast, print, smoke-signals – wear the championship belt.
Oh well, I need to do this.
So let’s see, post-Trump stress disorder, President Trump stress disorder, Trump stress disorder, Trump traumatic stress disorder, Trump anxiety, Trump-induced anxiety disorder, post-election stress disorder. All of them, and then some, can be found in a web search.
Exactly one week after the election I posted Bare-Knuckled and Bloody, but It’s Gonna’ Be ALRIGHT: Could It Be Time to HEAL? In that piece I wrote…
So what is it about this Hillary vs. Donald thing? And post-election, the Donald thing? Why are so many of my clients and readers (colleagues, for that matter) wildly agitated – over-the-top frightened, anxious, depressed, and angry?
And here we are almost four-and-a-half months later and things have only gotten worse.
Now, I’m old enough to have understood the results, with fallout, of 14 presidential elections, and I’ve never seen anything like this.
Why Does Donald Trump UPSET Us So?
Really, now, why does Donald Trump get so inside our heads? And mind you, the “upset” is felt by Trump haters and lovers, obviously from very different points of perspective and for very different reasons.
Since this is a mood and anxiety disorder blog, it makes sense to first consider a psych angle…
It’s largely assumed that Donald Trump himself holds the power to force us into deep despair or elation.
But I’m going to question that…
A number of years ago I posted a two-part series on rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), the predecessor of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
In REBT, its developer, Albert Ellis, suggests that most folk believe that an activating event or entity (A) generates consequences of emotion and behavior (C). So as it applies here, “Donald Trump causes me to be upset.”
But Ellis also includes a piece that most people either don’t know about or ignore – the individual’s belief system (B). So now it becomes, “My personal beliefs cause me to be upset by Donald Trump.”
“Precisely,” you say.
Well, yeah, but what you’re really saying is it’s not Trump himself that’s causing all the problems. It’s your beliefs. Right?
But what if those beliefs aren’t grounded in fact? Okay, I’ll say it – the whole left and right fake-news thing, as well as the uproar of a possibly misinformed public.
(By the way, Ellis goes on to introduce disputing irrational beliefs (D) and effective new philosophies, emotions, and behaviors (E). Both of which can sure come in handy.)
But let’s get back to beliefs and public uproar that may not be grounded in fact.
Media Madness
In my mind, there’s no doubt that when it comes to belief-influence, the media – social, online, broadcast, print, smoke-signals – wear the championship belt.
Don’t be fooled, people. Be it alt-left CNN or alt-right Breitbart, the media want to do one thing and one thing only – maximize profits by increasing viewer/readership. And, of course, proselytizing ideology is right up there with it.
That said, do you suppose CNN or Breitbart would do all they could, including using fake-news and shock tactics, to whip viewers and readers into an absolute frenzy to accomplish their financial and ideological agenda?
You better believe it.
Problem is, where does that leave us in terms of objectivity – and upset? Could it be we’ve allowed ourselves to be victimized?
Considerations of Psyche
Though the media certainly influences psyche, we need to consider other factors of mind.
Let’s chat about something known as projection. Here’s some great insight from Changing Minds…
Projecting (uncomfortable) thoughts or emotions onto others allows the person to consider them and how dysfunctional they are, but without feeling the attendant discomfort of knowing that these thoughts and emotions are their own. We can thus criticize the other person, distancing ourselves from our own dysfunction.
Can you see how a flamboyant and headstrong Donald Trump, and reactions to him, are the perfect catalyst for projection? And the thing is, it can all go down in our minds in a very stealthy manner, if not unconscious.
And anger fits real well here. Don’t you think the whole Trump thing would be the perfect outlet for someone who’s a baseline angry person or who has a present issue that’s frying their bacon? Sure, they fully believe it’s the Trump factor, but is it really?
Plenty more where these came from, I assure you.
Let’s Wrap ‘Er Up
No doubt, love him, hate him, leftist, or rightie, Donald J. Trump upsets us – in one way or another.
And, hey, my intention is not to alter anyone’s thoughts or feelings. All I want to do is drop-in some insight for those who are life-interrupting struggling with Trump hysteria – whether they know it, or not.
If you’re one of the millions, be sure to take into account all possible foundational angles, okay? And work toward resolution. You just might find yourself one heck of a lot more comfortable.
Oh, here are those two REBT articles I mentioned earlier…
REBT Grandfathered CBT. OMG! Part 2
image thank you: huffingtonpost.com
thank you changingminds.org
Looking for more to read on the mood and anxiety disorders? Hundreds of Chipur titles await your eyeballs.
About a year ago, while on an upward swing of my manic-depressive curve, I took the plunge and canceled my cable subscription, keeping only my internet. I replaced it with a Roku and subscribed to Netflix, Hulu, HBO and Plex. What do all of those have in common? No news and no political ads. So not only do I save a $100 a month, I don’t get inundated with the dire end-of-the-world-man-bites-dog-twenty-four-seven news cycle and a constant barrage of BS ads, political and otherwise.
I’m not even sure how much I can save on car insurance. :)
That’s a long way of saying that the Trump/Hillary thing didn’t really impact me much. Now, I still read the news and I admit to being a little concerned about the loose cannon that I think Trump is, but I’m not panicking over it.
I participate on many discussion boards and I can affirm that the majority of folks are suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome. Every community seems to be obsessed, either pro or con, with him; he dominates every thread; it’s a little like Godwin’s Law, every thread will eventually devolve into a Trump argument. At that point I really just try to stay out of the way because the one thing both sides can’t seem to tolerate is a neutral like me.
Hey, Rob-26…
Thank you for stopping-by and participating. Really appreciated.
Cancelling that cable subscription appears to be an excellent idea. Actually, many are doing it for the very reason(s) you present. It’s relentless and maddening. And, hey, you don’t have to sweat how much you can save on car insurance ’cause you’re already saving a hundred bucks.
Love the Godwin’s Law comparison. Sure as heck is on the mark. Readers, here’s the scoop on GL: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law
Conversational neutrality, the key to calm and sanity these days. Sounds very good to me.
Appreciate you, Rob-26. Great comment!
Bill