is anyone else having trouble with all that has been going on?

[AmandaRuth]

I know I sound like a winey little self-pitying wimp, but I haven't really slept or ate since Saturday. I am just so disgusted with the denial, the vitriol, the psychopathic press, all of it. I'm not even beginning to move on.

Maybe we need a big group hug.

or I just need a good cry, or a beer, or a meal or something.

[murielm99]

1. Here's a hug.

I have been having trouble, too. It is hard to put into words just exactly how I am feeling. I even tried to express how I felt about the last "Gray's Anatomy," that aired before this shooting. The plot featured another bloodbath, based on the Virginia Tech shooting. The show bothered me a great deal and I could not watch all of it.

Is any of this real to us any more?

:hug:

[Ineeda]

2. Yup. Except the eating part.

[applegrove]

3. A good cry will get you to the 'new normal' faster than anything.

[Crystal Clarity]

4. Yes.

You are not alone. :grouphug:

[AmandaRuth]

5. thanks

i just want one media spewer to address the fact that repub elected officials, declared candidates, and repub state parties have been using violent, revolutionary rhetoric that added to this situation. I don't see anything really getting better, and it seems we're just treading water until the next liberal or dem gets shot.

pessimistic. no doubt. I will start to feel better in a couple of days, eventually I will sleep and that will help. :grouphug: :cry: :grouphug:

[AmandaRuth]

6. and i can't find my goddamn glasses.

:) :) :)

[wickerwoman]

7. Yes.

I recommend turning off the TV and going to park if the weather allows it or doing something else you enjoy that helps you connect with real people. If you're having trouble sleeping, try really vigorous exercise to tire yourself out.

Getting upset is just playing into the hands of a.) the mass media and b.) the shooter.

You have the power to control your reaction to both of those things. We shouldn't ignore the wrongs going on in the world, but we shouldn't give them the power to hijack our lives either.

[Crystal Clarity]

8. Good advice here.^

Thanks. :-)

[AmandaRuth]

11. thanks

going swimming tonight. dang liberals and their public pools.

[AmandaRuth]

12. just went for a walk

saw this in my yard, and it makes me feel immensely better.

[wickerwoman]

13. LOL. It's a conspiracy.

Love a good swim too and glad you're feeling better.
:hi:

[Lucian]

9. Not really.

What happened Saturday really sucks and should've been prevented. I hope Loughner gets punished with the fullest extent of the law.

But has it affected me personally? No.

[MiddleFingerMom]

10. As bad as this has been, I can USUALLY lock these things up...

.
.
.
...and let them out a little at a time until I can deal with them in totality.
.
.
.
But, for all sorts of reasons, the death of the little girl is beyond even that
for the moment. If I start thinking about that, I start crying. Like now.
.
.
.
:grouphug:
.
.
.

[femmocrat]

15. Yes, I think that has affected many people the same way.

So senseless and heart-breaking.

:grouphug:

[femmocrat]

14. I haven't been able to tear myself away from the TV.

I wasn't even familiar with Gabrielle Giffords before Saturday. I don't know why I am so "obsessed" with hearing every detail about what happened on Saturday. I know I should just turn off the TV already.

[tandot]

16. I don't want to go to shopping or the mall with my son anymore

I want to keep him away from any crowded place. Whenever I do take him shopping, I always look around and see if there are any people who might be ready to snap.

I don't have bumper stickers on my car anymore because there are too many lunatics who think it is okay to use violence against people who they disagree with. I've been almost run off the road several years ago because of my anti-Bush and anti-republican bumper stickers.

It might sound crazy to be that paranoid, but I just can't help it. I see that picture of that little 9 year old girl, and just think that it could happen anywhere to anyone :(