Political Anxiety Therapy
….It actually does kinda matter that the state of the world is kinda sorta awful right now. There’s joy too, of course.
Your reaction to the world is not irrational. The goal is to not convince you that it is. Sometimes the goal is to help you live in that world better.
Pictured: Michele holding Civilization and Its Discontents by Freud at a bookstore
(A work explaining how demands of society vs the individual’s demand for freedom can be in conflict)
When the world is making you anxious….
I was trained primarily in an approach that values intersectionality but even before then have considered myself an activist and leftist. I think it matters that you’re stressed about the rent, and that you spend your days figuring out how to get healthcare while working a free lance job. The hypotheticals go on.
A lot of therapy approaches feel that these things don't matter, and we can just change ourselves and get a little stronger to get ourselves out of “a jam” If only you had some more resilience, or you came up with more coping mechanisms. Like yes, it’s actually awful your student loans are why you are not imagining buying a house.
Uhhh sure…But what if like, soul crushing capitalism isn’t a cognitive distortion I can wish away?
What happens when it’s on-going?
You might say, okay, well you can’t change the world. And you’re right- I can’t, not alone, or in the therapy room.
But, I don’t believe it’s a pathological response that you are deeply upset by the state of things. It makes plenty of sense to me you’re incredibly depressed watching some of your rights be legislated away. In that sense, I am affirming, and consider myself a leftist in my politics.
I work with people experiencing political anxiety, chronic stress, financial and socioeconomic stress, uncertainty about the future, and the emotional exhaustion that can come with living through periods of political and social upheaval. Capitalism can feel oppressive, and many people are struggling with “internalized capitalism”.
If you're stressed about making rent, trying to figure out healthcare while working freelance, worried about losing rights, or watching political events unfold and wondering what kind of future you're going to have, to me, that is not irrelevant. It is very relevant.