The 5 stages of grief

[NRaleighLiberal]

The Kubler Ross model. These are not linear. Each can be revisited.

Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance

We are one week and two days after the election. I am stuck - denial for sure, anger consistently, depression comes and goes. Cycling through on a daily basis. Definitely can't see myself bargaining - or reaching acceptance. So my own model is destined to be broken for four year at least.

Anyone else having better luck dealing with this monstrosity of an outcome?

[gademocrat7]

1. No.

Feel the same as you do.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

2. I'm already at acceptance, but depression hasn't left.

It only took me a day to get to acceptance, however. I long ago realized that most of America is made up of complete idiots who would rather elect someone that speaks on their level than someone who appears smarter than they are.

Also, humor has helped.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512610216
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12512611267

[Seedersandleechers]

3. Anger and depression,

totally skipped denial and bargaining and will never accept. Guess I'm doomed.

[SaveOurDemocracy]

4. I'm stuck right where you are.

It defies credibility that abomination will occupy the WH.

[boston bean]

5. I am in fighting mode.. not where that falls...

I have had all that you mention though at different points, but not lasting... I always still wanted to fight it,.

[SamIam715]

6. 3 out of 5..

I'll never get to acceptance. Bargaining?? I'm not even sure what that means. Went to a Forum on Where To From Here at the county library in my home town last night and I saw no solutions. It seemed the elephant in the room was barely mentioned. It was a start for me anyway, I guess . Just leaving the house was a start as a white nationalist family lives less than 60 feet from my front door. The one thing I won't do though is give up fighting for progressive causes. All things will come I guess but never ever acceptance.

[herding cats]

7. The first five days each morning when I woke it was my first thought.

I'd wake up and think I was having a terrible nightmare, then it would all come back and I realized it was true. Seriously, I'm not kidding. The first day I woke up and it wasn't my very first thought, I realized I was beginning to move out of my denial.

I'm angry and depressed now, but not feeling any room for bargaining. I doubt I ever will. I expect my next stage will be accepting it, and preparing for the inevitable in ways that protect those I love as much as I can, but I'm not feeling any signs of that just yet.

[tallahasseedem]

8. No.

In fact, I never realized how much of my internet time was devoted to politics until the day after the election. Coming to DU is one of the first internet activities I've done (besides work) in a week.

[CajunBlazer]

9. You are certainly not alone

I am totally still in denial. I find myself doing stuff like checking my garden, and suddenly I will think about the election and that Trump actually won, but my mind rebels and labels such stupidity as impossible. Of course reality quickly asserts itself, but the same think keeps happening again and again.

Anger, definitely! But it is kind of a free floating anger that is yet to attach itself to anyone or anything except for the monster himself. Other possible targets for my anger keep popping up in my mind, but they are so many, my anger can't be properly directed to anyone of them. I certainly blame the deplorable who were motivated by racism, hatred and misogyny. I also blame the ignorant who refused to take the time to educate themselves so they could have debunk his lies and because they were willing to overlook a myriad of his atrocities that would have normally totally disqualified any Presidential candidate. But how I can I effectually direct my anger at tens of millions of faceless individuals?

Bargaining has begun in my case. I am starting take some solace in the fact that Trump will have great difficulty in enacting his agenda and that failure is certainly possible. I also starting to consider that Trump has totally destroyed any chance the Republicans of attracting the fastest growing demographic, Hispanics, AA's and single women, going forward.

Depression, I have had some taste of that, but If I can help it I don't plan wallow in that state.

Acceptance: I don't ever plan to enter this state,though I guess it is inevitable. However, I don't think it will ever be possible to use the word President and the mad man's name in the same subject.

[athena]

10. Get some exercise.

Go out and take a long walk in the woods. It won't make the situation any better, but you will be able to deal with it better.

[NRaleighLiberal]

11. Oh, I (we -my wife and I) do - walk our dogs a few miles twice each day

bike...kayak...dig in the garden. Yes, it all helps.

But it does not solve the root cause of the problem - Trump and what is to come.

[athena]

18. Sorry, I can't solve Trump.

I thought you were asking for ideas on how to work through the five stages of grief. In my case, going out for a 6-mile run last Friday helped me get out of the weird state I was in.

I wake up feeling awful every morning, but at least I am not crying in public or having random outbursts of rage any more.

[NRaleighLiberal]

22. .

[haele]

12. Just remember, acceptance in this case does not mean shrug and go on...

It means that you step outside yourself and accept the reality of a situation as it is. And you no longer try to deny it, you let go of the understandable red-haze reaction of anger about the way it happened, you stop trying to pretend you can still affect the outcome, and you can finally get past the depression over the fact it happened.

There's nothing in anything I've read about dealing with grief that says that acceptance means giving up.
What it says to me is this:
Either something is finally over, and there's nothing more you can do so you need to move on, or
The result of an action is that something has been damaged, and your choices are either choose to leave it as it is until it goes away or fixes itself, or begin an action to fix the damage.

I choose acceptance to mean that America has been damaged, accept the realities that brought it to this state, and accept that I have to do my damnedest within my powers to help salvage what can be salvaged and work to fix what is broken. But I can no longer deny anything, I cannot bargain with that which damaged my country, I can't be depressed about it, and I can no longer allow my Anger over the situation control my actions or cloud my reasoning.

I have decided to step past my grief. I have work to do if my grandchildren are to thrive in a country that they can be proud members of, instead of working objects to be disposed of once they outlive their usefulness to those Supremacists who want to be petty dictators.

Haele

[NRaleighLiberal]

13. well said...thanks.

[CTyankee]

14. I threw up when I saw Trump had won on election night.

I threw up again just two days ago.

At least that has stopped but when it hits me again that he's won, I try to retreat into my art or call a friend.

[TrekLuver]

15. I've "accepted" although I will use that term loosely and I'm ready to fight.

[redwitch]

16. Trying to move on to Resistance! here.

It is damned hard. We can't let him/them blitzkrieg us for 4 years. I did spend a few days curled up in the fetal position but I cannot stay there. I refuse to move to acceptance when it is totally unacceptable.

[meow2u3]

17. Right now, I'm at anger and bargaining

Anger at the monster the "right" states elected and bargaining manifested by signing petitions to throw out the tainted results.

Yes, the Russkies did admit to interfering with the elections.

I'm also at depression, but it's hard to tell. I don't think I'll ever accept the thing about to go into the White House.

[yallerdawg]

19. I was going to see a woman president last week for the first time in a lifetime.

Now I know I will never see this.

Would this be...acceptance?

[nashville_brook]

20. seeing plenty of angry denial

[Martin Eden]

21. Anger and Dread

Anger at the media, at Comey, at Republicans, at all the bigoted morons who voted for Trump, and at all the people who didn't bother to vote or voted third party in key states.

Dread for all the real harm to human beings and to the environment that lies ahead of us.