Trump Depression is Real

I have been rationing my sense of all-encompassing doom to get me past the election and through the holidays. After it was clear that Donald Trump was going to win this election, I decided quickly that there was a definite need for some self-induced delusional behavior, as if none of this were really happening. The problem is that my job is based on covering politics and the most salient legal issues, so my head is currently spinning about how to pivot and where to look next.

We just went from the very predictable, very manageable style of President Biden — where no one made any sudden moves and a calm and measured hand was always in play — to an alternate universe where Donald Trump can just waive his little orange hands and make hundreds of kingly pronouncements.

But, this time around feels different. We aren’t all laughing incredulously at the mockery Trump is making of our political system this time, because we are all very tired and we have seen it all before. It’s hard to know which direction to look first, and where we should go next, or if any of this will be so bad that it will leave a permanent mark on the rugged skin of our struggling American democracy.

The first time around I had more faith in the legal system. I knew justice was a slow burn, but I was confident if we crossed every “t” and dotted every “i,” there would be an important point to it all, and that it was worth it. I don’t mean to be alarmist, but when someone like myself — who likes to view the world with special Pollyanna glasses and a “can-do” attitude — starts to wonder what the point of it all is, there might be bigger issues at play.

The bottom line is that there are so many reasons to feel depressed or unmotivated, and the barrage of nihilist action we have seen from the Trump administration this past week could dampen anyone’s spirits. Until I find my writer’s footing in this new era of tuning in and then quickly tuning out to protect our mental health, I am going to start with the basics of self care, to get on an even keel and continue doing this work I love.

On Bluesky yesterday, I sent out a post asking people how they dealt with depression, and I got a lot of interesting answers from people who, I am assuming, are struggling with this kind of feeling a lot. For many of us, the inauguration of Donald Trump (again) has created some site-specific feelings of hopelessness, that has made this new terrain unrecognizable.

I have not lost my sense of optimism, but I am noticing that it is getting harder to access that bubbly undercurrent of well-being that I am used to experiencing on a daily basis. In a quest to get it back, I am taking some of this advice, incorporated in this article, as I find my footing here in this post-apocalyptic political landscape.

With that, I will leave you with a few of my favorite quotes and a reminder that you are not alone this — we are all trying to find our new normal and be inspired to move forward. Thank you for reading SHERO and for continuing to fight this fight with me.

“If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” — T.S. Eliot

“Every great and deep difficulty bears in itself its own solution. It forces us to change our thinking in order to find it.” — Niels Bohr

“Let everything happen to you
Beauty and terror
Just keep going
No feeling is final.”

―Rainer Maria Rilke

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Amee Vanderpool writes the SHERO Newsletter, is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines, and an analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.

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