Arianna Huffington is the co-founder, president, and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, and CEO of Thrive Global.
Living in a perpetual state of feeling traumatised, stressed, fearful or anxious wreaks an awful toll on our health and well-being.
But it’s important to remember that, while we don’t have control over what Trump does (nor, it would seem, does he), we do have control over how we react to him.
We can spend all our time standing in the storm of chaos, or choose to move to the eye of the hurricane – a place of quiet and calm from which we can think, make considered decisions and take effective action.
If the first month of the new administration has taught us anything, it’s about the importance of disconnecting. Even if the President won’t disconnect – from his twitter feed, his feuds, and his impulses – we can. In fact, we have to.
If you’re feeling traumatised, it’s likely because you’re – rightly – alarmed by the impact of the current administration’s policies on the most vulnerable among us. But it’s like what they say on airplanes – secure your own mask first, before helping others.
Listen: Why Meryl Streep’s take-down of Trump got the world talking. (Post continues after audio.)
So take care of yourself, prioritise your well-being, and reclaim control of your inner freedom. And you can start by making time to disconnect daily. And especially from social media.
Instead, read those who nurture your wisdom. And, since sleep is the foundation of our well-being, one of my favourite tips is to charge your phone outside your bedroom.
Our phones are repositories of everything we need to put away to allow us to sleep — our to-do lists, our in-boxes, our anxieties, and yes, the president’s Twitter feed.
And once you’re rested and recharged, you’ll be ready to take action and help others. And once you get out of this cycle of chronic outrage and trauma, there are many ways to take direct action, which I wrote more about here.
But the key is to remember that Trump might control many things, but he doesn’t control you, your inner life, our intuition, or your sense of empathy and justice.
This article originally appeared on Quora. Read the original post here.
Top Comments
These Democrat supporters are seriously unhinged. They are acting like spoilt children who have been denied some treat.
They need to grow up,
As an Aussie if you are still being this affected by the election of a President of another country and you have no direct relations with that country I would suggest deeper issues are at play.
Agreed. Some of the vitriolic and totally misleading comments from people here who I know are Australian is bewildering. It's like they just swapped Trump for Abbott and just kept going doing and saying the same old thing.
Sadly what the leader of the 'free' world does and says has an impact on people all over the world.
There is a difference between being wary, cautious or even concerned to being out right traumatised by it as this article seems to suggest people still are.