I hate him.

[Larissa]

32. Try detachment

I know it's hard because he's everywhere. He's hard to escape when you just want to give your psyche a break now and then. In the countdown to the election, as things become more intense, I have been limiting my exposure to political discussions on the regular news/talk channels. I get the NY Times delivered, but now -- at the most -- I just skim through the articles focused on his latest effery. The ongoing news articles about Trump's continuing campaign to ruin the environment were triggers for me. As of late, his efforts to throw a monkey-wrench into the running of the U.S. Postal Service was another. And, of course, the continuing stress of living through a pandemic that is raging out of control in this country. Covid-19 is wretched: there are folks who have lost loved ones; once infected some patients never fully recover -- this beast can gum up your internal organs and make breathing a challenge even after you've been "cured." To top it all off is the fact that Trump has done absolutely nothing to reduce the mortality rate in this country. He is criminally negligent. Every time he stands up in front of the cameras and lies about how great America is doing compared to other countries - - -

But here's the thing. It is possible to emotionally detach from something that is very stressful, but it takes practice. Regular practice. I went through an unbearable, life-threatening situation in my life that I believe I only survived because of the tool of detachment. In this case it was presented to me by the Al-Anon program. To this day I believe that it saved my sanity and my life. In the case of Trump, it can do the same as it can relieve the stress on your health. And right now we really need to be working on reinforcing our immune system and that means working on the stress that undermines it. Also, I cannot say enough about the practice of meditation. Your brain and mind have been running on all cylinders for nearly four years. It needs some down time. Do it.

Here is one of my favorite Trump detachment stories. Many folks may not have the resources to go this extreme, but you get the idea. Detachment can do it for you:

NYTimes.com: The Man Who Knew Too Little
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/10/style/the-man-who-knew-too-little.html