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The K nomination battle this week is the first time the news has physically made me ill enough that I couldn't function. As before, I've had to disengage from the news for my health.
Some parting words on it: this is not "just how the world works." Our leaders have chosen dysfunction and power consolidation as their only viable strategy for weak governance.
It's easy to become cynical, when this is the closer to how abusers convince you there is no alternative to an abusive pattern. There is.
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While it's important to remain engaged and present while all of this is happening (also, for the love of everything good, please vote), it's a good reminder that you don't need to constantly be immersed in what's happening.
It's entirely fine to be yourself, to protect your sense of self, while bad things are happening. And it's pragmatic to plan for a better future, instead of putting life constantly on hold because of situations outside your control.
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And I guess I'm writing that here, in part, to get it out of my own head and so I take my own advice. Please take care of yourselves and remember that it is okay to just be you.
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When I was in an emotionally abusive household (with parties I will not name, as their situations have changed substantially since that time), my way out of the abusive pattern was limiting my exposure to it and planning for my own future. I spent a lot of time reading fiction, and many of my art projects focused on building a better world than my day-to-day lived existence.
It's taken me awhile to realize that that isn't escapism. It's pragmatism when existence takes on an unreal quality.