Disagreement, arguments, and fighting generally cause distress. Our political environment has been chock full of these elements and is causing many people distress these days. Whether your candidate won or lost or you were ambivalent or completely fed up, virtually no one seems content.

Here are a few tips on how to protect yourself from undue stress from the political field. After all, you have your own life, responsibilities, joys and challenges that need your attention.

  1. Engage the concept of Freedom v. Control. If we believe in our right to have opinions, we must believe in the right of others to have opinions. As frustrated as we may be when people don’t see things our way, if we believe in the freedom of our own mind, we must also believe in others’ rights for that freedom of thought as well.
  2. View the situation from a higher level of consciousness. Ask yourself the following questions: What upsets me about this?, What part of me is offended?, What correction might this disturbance politically cause?, How might this situation bring about change I desire?
  3. Protect your sanctuary. If news coverage is disturbing your peace, limit the amount you watch. You have more control over ensuring your own happiness and peace than you might think. You are in control of your environment. We cannot control all aspects of every situation and therefore, we need not know all aspects of a every situation.
  4. Understand silence is a form of action and choosing the timing of your message is powerful. Know that you do not need to respond or participate in every discussion. While you may feel an obligation to share your political or ideological belief, if it is not serving you to do so – if it is hurting you and relationships in your life or causing undue stress – it is absolutely acceptable to abstain from commentary. When we wait and process our own feelings, we can find the right time and right way to deliver our message from a loving, respectful, truthful space. When it comes from that place, it is heard much louder than the message that comes from anger, frustration, or angst. Some of our greatest leaders have used silence to share important messages or chosen the right time and the right place to deliver their messages.
  5. Know that peace begins with you. The world needs your compassion and your peace. A simple stress relieving exercise you can do anywhere anytime is to take your forefinger and your thumb and place them together. Say the following sentence and on each word move your thumb to the next finger on your hand. Say,” Peace begins with me.” “Peace”, (thumb and forefinger); “begins” (thumb and middle finger); “with” (thumb and ring finger) and “me” (thumb and pinky). Continue this exercise to regain a sense of your own peace and calm. This may seem meaningless, but often we suffer from too much complexity. This simple exercise can reduce your frustration or anxiety in any situation.
  6. Find your own role. Take some time to determine an empowering and beneficial role you can play to bring about the change you desire. Make it custom fit you – your beliefs, your skills and talents, time and personality.

Distress comes from feeling helpless. By taking control of yourself rather than control over a situation that you do not control, you can regain your sense of calm. Suffering is caused by wanting things to be different than they are. When we can accept the ‘is-ness’ of things (the way things are or the ‘way it is’), we can reduce our suffering and stress, conserve energy for forward movement, and positively affect those around us.