Takeaway
Vitriolic political discourse can affect patient well-being. Clinicians can acknowledge this and offer practical coping strategies.
Lifelong Learning in Clinical Excellence | December 18, 2024 | 1 min read
By Neda Gould, PhD, Johns Hopkins Medicine
For many, the partisan atmosphere in America continues to be a source of stress. The associated worry and anxiety can certainly be challenging to deal with. However, there are ways to manage these challenges. Here are some strategies to share with patients and practice yourself:
1. Limit the amount of time you spend on the news. Perhaps check once or twice daily. During times when you’re not engaged in the news, fully focus on the activity you’re engaged in. Continue to redirect your attention to this activity when the mind wanders.
2. Note what’s in your control and what’s not. When your mind focuses on what you can’t control, come back to what you can do.
3. If you ‘re spending a lot of time worrying, you can use “worry time” whereby you spend a period of 10 to 20 minutes a day writing down all your worries (and possible solutions if there are any). For the remainder of the day, redirect your mind to the activities you’re engaged in. In this way you can compartmentalize the worry to some degree.
4. As always, focusing on our mental health and self-care is very important. Try to engage in one pleasant activity each day. This does not need to be a major event.
5. Mindfulness can be a very useful strategy to return to the present moment when the mind begins to get caught up in negative thought cycles and catastrophic thinking. Take a few deep breaths and notice your senses to ground yourself back into this moment.
This piece expresses the views solely of the author. It does not necessarily represent the views of any organization, including Johns Hopkins Medicine.