A friend recently posted that she is really scared and stressed out about the election and doesn’t know how she’ll get through the next 10 days. Whenever I feel really anxious or stressed about something, here’s my advice, FWIW. /1

I find it helps to focus not on what’s happening, but on what it MEANS that I’m stressed & scared. For this election, it MEANS that I care about America, that I want change for the better, that things drifting toward autocratic rule is alarming, and that the truth matters. /2

It means I believe people should survive this pandemic rather than be discarded. I am worried that millions of folks are out of work and desperate. When I focus on what my feelings me, I realize this all comes from a place of caring, from a place of positive feelings and hope. /3

So the answer to the question,“What does it MEAN that I feel scared and stressed” is this: I actually CARE. Very, very deeply. If I didn’t feel stressed and scared, then I would be truly worried. I mean, after all this, if I didn’t care at all, what would that say about me? /end