MICHIGAN, USA — Post-election season can bring many feelings—happiness, sadness, shock or relief.
13 ON YOUR SIDE spoke with a local psychologist, Wendy Elzinga from Mosaic Counseling, about post-election stress.
Elizanga recommends these quick and simple grounding techniques that anyone can do.
Practice deep breathing
Struggling with anxiety, tension, fearfulness or racing thoughts? Try grounding exercises.
“One of the first things I will do is just say, ‘Okay, let's just take some slow deep breaths…And we'll do that for a few times, and that sends signals to the brain that, okay, we're in a more of a relaxed state, not in a fight or flight state,” Elzinga said.
"And then I will say, Okay, let's ground yourself in this present moment. So feel your feet on the floor, feel your your body in the seat, just kind of notice your body being present here."
Tune in your senses
Take a look around the room and start to name things you see and and then pay attention to what you hear. These two simple acts can help bring your body and mind to a calmer state.
"Naming the things you see, hear, smell, taste and touch, if you can do that, is that you're activating the part of your brain, the prefrontal cortex, which is the thinking part of your brain. It's the problem solving part of your brain," Elzinga said.
She said this sort of thinking can get you out of fight or flight mode.
"Your body is sensing, usually, safety. It's not tuning into any threat. So when I'm paying attention to the sounds and the things I see, my body's relaxing because there's nothing that I'm paying attention to around me in this present moment," she said.
Spend time outdoors
Time outdoors can help with the process of exiting the fight or flight state.
"You're kind of paying attention to what you see, what you smell, the temperature that you feel, if you feel any moisture in the air, in what you hear, do you hear the leaves underneath you?"
Elzinga said getting active can also help.
"So when we are in fight or flight, there's cortisol and adrenaline. They're shooting through our body, and we need to kind of sometimes process that too," Elzinga said. "So going for brisk walks, going for a run, if you can, doing yoga or stretching, kind of helps move that through the body too."
Get connected
Get involved with local organizations that help you realize what you can do within your sphere of control.
Elzinga recommends partaking in local organizations that align with your values. Focus on what you can do, not what you cannot control.
"So if the environment is really important to you, get involved with doing stuff with your local park district or organize a community trash pickup or plant native plants, you know to protect pollinators, do the things within your sphere of control for the issues that matter to you," she said.