RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT)—Millions of Americans woke up Wednesday to the news that Donald Trump would be the 47th President of the United States.
Many of them learned about it through social media, which led to a lot of discourse.
“Even though I have seen so much on social media leaning towards what I believe, it still went the opposite way and I feel like I’ve learned there’s definitely two sides of social media,” one VCU student said.
“It’s mostly just been a lot of discourse, I think. People are kind of blaming one another, being really anxious about what’s going to happen. That’s really what people are scared about,” said another.
Kaprice Jackson, a therapist at RVA Counseling, said she spent much of Wednesday speaking with patients about the election. Some were concerned about hot-topic issues like women’s health.
“A lot of those conversations have been very heavy,” she said.
She also said these conversations and feelings have been coming up more often among young people in recent years.
“The kids want to know, well, what does this mean for me? And my future and how do these affect me?” she said.
If someone is dealing with post-election anxiety, Jackson said to lean on a support system and air out those worries.
Next, understand not every conversation needs to center around politics. And probably most important, disconnect if social media becomes too much.
“Lot of friends on social media, and all of our friends have different views, and there’s nothing wrong with that, right?” she said. “So, it’s important to not get in a verbal back and forth of what is right, what is wrong, and that can add to the anxiety and stress of what we’re feeling right now.”
Jackson said that boundaries should be set if someone has loved ones with different views and a constructive conversation is challenging.
“Be flexible, right? Bounce in and out of those conversations,” she said. “If it’s not something you want to discuss or you don’t think you’re going to see eye to eye on it, hey, let’s not ruin a good time.”
Some believe it may take time for Americans to come together
“I don’t think the tension is going to die down anytime soon,” a VCU student said.
Jackson believes people have more in common than they think.
“[Once] we see each other as we truly are, which is people, we could come together on an issue,” Jackson said.
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