Am so overwhelmed, but am going to keep getting up and fighting

We keep fighting and we are gonna make it through this. That bastard is gonna rue the day he messed with those of us who are still sane!

I was taking care of family who were heading to the exit through the first years of the mango menace up to the beginning of the pandemic. Rough in spots, but oh I miss them. This time I am on my own and can scream without scaring anyone. I do.

And I gather with good folks and protest 3 days a week. It makes us all feel better to be together.

Like here on DU. Sending fierceness!

We've had to fight before - for rights, for equality, for sanity. And we know HOW to do it.

Damn straight! Fierceness!!!!!

It's why I don't post so much here lately. I still love this place. I keep a tab open to DU 24/7, but I just don't know what to say anymore except aaaagggghhh!

I sit here at my keyboard sometimes with my mouth hanging open because just when I think he's done everything he can to surprise me, the asshole does something else.

But we will be standing long after he isn't! Hang in there!!!

I am continually jsurprised by him, and it's exhausting. I'm never surprised to hear he's done something awful (again), but the specific awful things he decides to do constantly take me by surprise. I've given up trying to predict anything, because my brain isn't warped and twisted enough to anticipate what his warped and twisted brain might come up with, and every new piece of bad news is like a sucker punch.

My response has been to block out as much of it as I can, but it's getting harder and harder.

Some of my own "flabbergast" comes from the fact that no one calls him on his absolutely ABSURD comments. We just need one media person to stand up and I'm convinced that others would follow. One needs to ask and when he tears into that person, the others need to stand behind that person, ask the same questions, turn their fucking backs if necessary.

But someone needs to let him know that we don't all buy his lies and crap!

The part where I can lose it and sit down and cry, that was during 1.0. Now, I sit in silence and let my mind go into 'safe mode' where I just do nothing for a spell. Unfortunately, that spell can go for a couple hours before I am able to address anything beyond being still. When I moved last year, I left my counseling behind, haven't felt the need to seek anyone out yet, but that might change by the end of the year. If I can find a HC provider that is. So far, I'm managing.

That's the best revenge. Do what you need to do to take care of yourself. This isn't a race to see who can make it to the end first.

But it IS a race to see who can make it (at all) to the end. You stay with us! We all stick together and we will be at the finish line together!!!

Fuck Trump!

From where I was, that was one of my acts of defiance and I feel much better where I am now.

My big diversion is to find another box of stuff to empty out and filter through. When I run out of those I have plenty of artsy fartsy shit to do so I can keep occupied and only take in the outer bullshit as I can handle it.

I'm okay most of the time and I am in a 'legal' state so I have access to mind altering refreshments!

I suspect its a feature and not a bug to inundate us with shock and awe on a daily basis to desensitize us to the increasingly illegal and horrific behaviors and misadventures.
Isnt it called psychologically softening up ?

Well,Ive found that listening to binauralbeats on youtube help.Many varieties are avaiable as an antidote to smooth out the jangled nerves and anxiety.

It's a feature. Anyone who read "The Shock Doctrine" will recognize these tactics.

You and BattleRow are right - it's all intentional. I'm convinced of it.

the saying goes hamsterjill, when you're going through hell, just keep going! Sending you extra roaring woman vibes!

We are gonna continue to fight and kick ass every chance we get!!!!

and The End for "the others" is nearer than they know

I am strong.
I am invincible.
I am woman.

We can bend, but never break.

Hear us roar!!!

I play it often, and I raised a daughter to appreciate it, too!!!

"Fuck that sonofabitch to the end of eternity. As long as there is breath in this body, I will continue to get my ass back up and fight him. I hate him and I hate all of the assholes in this country who allowed this to happen and continue to do nothing."

I am in ny early 70s and am also fierce in the same ways. I stand and roar with you, my fist raised in defiance. Noooooo!!!

It's not like we haven't had to do it before, right?

Thanks for ferocity!!!!

You tell me where and when, and I will have your six! Trumpenstein is NOT going to win. And the enablers, they are going down, too.

We WILL win in November, no matter what they throw at us!

Take care🤗

nothing." Whether or not she said it, it always helps me think... that maybe we weren't born to have, or to expect, an easy life. That there is always danger and stress in the human condition.

And, growing up as many of us did, under the shadow of nuclear annihilation, the Vietnam War, Civil Rights unrest...with parents that had suffered through the Depression, AND Second World War...well, peaceful stress-free times seemed fleeting and rare.

Politically, for every Kennedy, or Johnson, or Carter, or Clinton, Obama, or Clinton, or Biden we got elected, there would be a Nixon, or Ford, or Reagan, or Bush, or Bush, or Trump, or Trump to ruin and tear down each time what the Democrats had rebuilt. Bloody depressing!

So, I'm right with you when you say the simplest frustration sometimes unlocks the floodgates of pent up rage and dread.

I hope that MLK was correct to hope that the universe "bends towards justice". I want to be around when Trump and all his enablers get brought to account for their blowing up of our precious democracy.

I want to still be around. So my plan is simple: stay healthy, limit my mass media news intake, keep friends close, bear witness at protests...AND keep several bottles of Korbel (US) Champagne chilled for the jubilant day of reckoning I hope comes soon!

I may need to up my dr. pepper to something more celebratory when that time arrives!!!! LOL And that time WILL arrive.

n/t

I have honor, integrity, self-respect, virtue and a clear conscience. They can eat shit and go to hell.

I knew what he was from day 1 and screamed at the top of my mountain of friends and acquaintances. I live in Texas around a bunch of MAGA and they are just plain stupid. They didn't want to hear anything bad about him. Now, many of them are seeing his effects first hand - and I don't have sympathy.

They can all eat shit.

I hated living there (Dallas area) so much. Materialism, racism, classism, with a double-dollop of ego and a hallelujah chorus. I’ve had a good life since that decision. One cannot love both God and mammon. End of story.

I'm old enough to remember "the good ole days" when Texas was blue, and it was a different place in my opinion. Now, you're right in that Dallas has always been about materialism, etc. No argument from me about that area.

But there used to be good in the State and honor and integrity actually USED to be important. Those days are long gone, and I would have escaped long ago had I not family ties, etc. that have kept me here.

It started in the eighties when a bunch of wealthy idiots decided to move to Texas and take over. There was business opportunity and they were greedy and star struck. Handshakes no longer meant anything. Sue and plunder and get all you can became the name of the game. Then the local rich people saw how that behavior enhanced the outsiders, and hell, they threw what was left of any integrity and honor that they might have had out the window to be able to compete. The crazy evangelicals (and I am always forthright about the fact that *I* am a Christian; just not one of those kinds!) took root and here we are.

For the first time in a long time, I see Texas progressing to blue again. Make no mistake, I'm no fool and know we still have a long way to go and a lot of work still, but it's moving that direction at least. If we ever make it, I will be dancing naked in the streets!!!

from another pretty gutsy broad...

There are a helluva lot of us gutsy broads, right? We've been there before and we know how to take care of business!!!!

+ fix this nation...

🤣🤣🤣

Everyday we wake up & wonder "What fresh Hell is coming next?"
Will we lose our Medical coverage?
Will we lose our Social Security benefits?
Will we lose our SNAP?
Will we lose our voting rights?
Will we lose our Civil rights?
Whatever minimal safety nets we have are being targeted for elimination while we are being told that they are things we cannot afford or deserve. They are Hell bent on taking them away from us.

fellow traveler in many respects. cooking today for a branding crew of which I am a part - yay I get twice as much work! may have a brief melt down at some point this weekend.

but I will get back to work after I go find whatever tool I just flung at the sun.

giving voice to ALL the stress we ALL feel ALL the time!

This is an issue many of us face and I think your approach is pretty healthy. When it becomes too much, sit down and have a good cry, but then do something active. We need to accept our feelings but we also need to take action, even if it's just getting that damn filter replaced. And keep the perspective that TSF is facing a lot of resistance from every possible direction, some of which, like the protesters in Minneapolis and elsewhere, is a glory to behold. We are not alone.

You are the good people HJ and I'll share one of my favorite quotes to share:

"Illegitimi non carborundum"

Or another I love lately

"Never give up. Never surrender."

One is from a series. One is from a movie. If you know, you know

Don't let the bastards get you down!!!

related to the Trump administration. It was the same during his first term and yet the bastard still got elected for a second attempt to destroy everything. There is something seriously wrong with the 77 million that voted for this when the writing was on the wall.

literally making me sick. I'm going on 87 and things seem to bother me much more than when I was young!

Anyone NOT bothered by Trump has to be some unfeeling nutcase. None of us here qualify as that. I hear your lament from so many people, and obviously *I* feel that way.

Please take care of yourself and do what you need to do to stay healthy and manage the stress. Easier said than done, I know. But we have to try to keep living (not simply existing, but actually LIVING) through these perilous times.

Wishing you all the very best.

Yes, we want them to come over to our side, and yes, we welcome those who have come to their senses. But we must never forget what they did to the rest of us.

I knew when he was "re-elected" that it was going to be another miserable time. Anyone with ANY sense would feel the same way. So no wonder there is a huge spike in stress and anxiety. It's certainly true because we all feel it!

Welcome to DU!

Your post is an inspiration! We all get overwhelmed and sometimes we need a good cry. I'm a guy and I cry, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I know it helps. Thanks for your post, and your gumption! You Rock!

I think men who can admit to being human (i.e., we all cry!!!) are the strongest of their kind. There is nothing wrong with having emotion and being able to show it and let it out.

My father was a literal cowboy. I don't mean someone who dresses up in jeans and boots and pretends. I mean a real COWBOY! He trained horses, ran cattle, you name it - the whole nine yards. He's been gone for many years, but I saw him cry on several occasions. It did not diminish the strength he had. It showed character.

Welcome to DU!

it's GREAT that you tackle stuff like that yourself - it's a huge pet peeve of mine when seniors let others take over tasks they can easily learn how to do themselves - not only does it help to keep mind and body active, it helps to dispel stereotypes that lead to ageism in the workforce

As for Trump, yeah, it's a clusterfuck and I find myself so angry not just at Trump voters but anyone who voted third party or didn't even bother to vote - in my mind they utterly DISGRACED America. And don't even get me started on the Trump humping GOP, WTF

Well we are in this together; we WILL get through it. And despite all the bad stuff goin on, we decent folk DO outnumber those assholes, WE DO. We WILL prevail.

My girl! Damn straight! I try to do as much as I possibly can on my own. For the very reasons that you mention. As long as I can, I intend to keep living that way. I have a good supply of tools and some experience. If I can't do something, I typically walk away for a bit, think about it, and come back and try again. I can't tell you HOW MANY times that has served me well.

I feel the same way about the ones who voted third party. I think they just wimped out. It was a choice that they could easily make and tell their friends as if they weren't rocking any boats. Well, I want the boats rocked!!!!

We will prevail. We just gotta hang on and hang tough. At some point, it's going to become crystal clear that there are more of US than there are of THEM.

I know you and I are on the same page about this.

There are a lot of us tough ole crones!!!! We've been through shit tougher than this before.

It’s gotten me down lately too and I just have to step back from here and other news.
I’m in my mid sixties and have been paying attention since my teens, but never have I seen this country in such a stupid state.
The sadistic fuckwit and his entire cabal of rabid supporters may just be the death of us.
Hope not

Only instead of crying I find myself completely checked out in kinda a trance, just staring.

That's why I post so many frivolous cat and dog shorts in the longe.

I’m sure many of us feel the way you do, at least on occasion. For me, it’s almost a constant hum in the background even though I’m personally somewhat insulated from the direct effects of this administration’s words and actions. I also care for a relative who is recently disabled. I totally feel that moment when a simple task gets overwhelming and the pent up frustrations rise up. I almost had that moment yesterday with some very dark cupcake brownie batter that seemed to spread on more things I the kitchen the more I tried to clean a spill on the cupcake pan up. I have mainly used this site as a news aggregator and to hear ideas in motion, but stories like yours provide the human connection that I sometimes miss.

Most of the time, we can take it, or at least endure it and/or find a work-around. But sometimes it doesn’t cooperate. Sometimes it all just seems to go all akimbo, or straight to Hell, whichever comes first.

The last six years have brought me SO much pain and grief on a personal level that I can't even begin to account for all of it (and I know I'm far from alone there). But the added stress and anxiety caused by the never-ending firehose of just pure SHIT aimed at us every day from every angle is sometimes just overwhelming.

I've read "The Shock Doctrine." I *know* on an intellectual level that this is being done by design to flood our defense mechanisms. Doesn't make it any easier when something so trivial (like the filters of which you wrote) becomes the straw that breaks the camel's back for that day.

The worst part (and again, I know I'm not alone) is how many DECADES I have been standing in the street screaming with signs warning that all of this was coming, and hardly anybody even bothered to look up, it seemed.

in the same boat feeling that same overwhelming stress and emotion. Lucky for all of us, we have DU to relieve some of that pressure. You are not alone.
Stay strong and be well, hamsterjill.

"Lean on Me"-Bill Withers, comes to mind.
"Sometimes in our lives we all have pain, we all have sorrow"

I know EXACTLY what you're saying! Rage against the dying of the light!!!

I'm right there with you. I must admit that I am full of anxiety and sometimes scared. We have had no day of peace since from him. I fight the good fight everyday.

Right down to the - hear my late sixties fat ass roar.

I am so with you. I made a playlist I called Divas, here are three of the songs that pick me up when I feel like you just described.

As long as there is breath in this body, I will continue to get my ass back up and fight him.

Rec

Collapse and stand.

Been a month since my hip surgery and since it was from fracture takes longer to heal. But some days I sit in the shower chair and just cry because of the pleasure of the hot water. I am so desparate to feel pleasure in my life. All the things I did to calm me from trumps shit are gone for now. I cant take a bath, go hiking, go dancing, go to a pub or out to eat, go to my fun senior classes or gym or do yoga.

So when I feel the hot water on my body I cry every time because of the pleasure.

Like you I refuse to give in to pity party and enjoyed the sun on my face as I did my 20 min walk listening to a audio book a thriller.

Old broad who does all her home maintenance (except snowplowing my quarter-mile road). Understand the stress and frustration and fury.
Have decided to stay and fight to my last breath. Have champagne chilling for That Day. Send a prayer to Mrs Karma every day.
Thank you for a superb post!
For all of us -- we stand together. Our superpower.

I love you and all the feisty woman who get back up and fight. This old man is about to do the same.

And stand beside us! Thank you!

Strong and amazing.
You have friends who feel your anxiety!
I'm one of them!

also comes out when people encroach on us. Rude behavior, which has become more normal, is not just about intolerable. My ver sweet neighbor had a blowout with a woman who parked her car in the do it yourself car wash while she went next door to do her laundry. Cars were lined up behind her. She was saving her space even though the laundry had empty spaces.
I almost made an issue of an old man using the last treadmill to hang his coat while he used another one. He was even going over his allotted time limit. I didn't say anything because I realized my reaction was out of the ordinary.

trump has encroached on our lives, and mental well-being and some of us are running out of room.

Tough lady for damn sure . And I especially loved reading all these posts from real fighters. Sure gives me hope and faith there are lots of us.
We are all sick of the hate he puts in us for them all.
More post like this to feed our fight is needed.
Keep Up the fighting for our sanity, and getting back up, we sure gonna get kicked down many times to come.

I cried just about every day for six months.

Once the vaccines came out, it got better.

I say this, even tho I'm at the end of my rope, too. Frustration and feelings of impotence rage inside me. It's so overwhelming and always there, I have to fight myself hard not to take it out on other people. And I find myself finding agreement with lines in shows I'm watching... like Picard saying the dreams are lovely, but he's beginning to resent waking up. That's EXACTLY where I am now. Oh, it's not just trump and the shitshow that's america right now... like you said, it's all that on top of the everyday stuff... and especially now that the everyday stuff includes my husband... my best friend... being lost to me due to dementia. Some days, I have no idea how I'll get through to the escape of night and sleep.

But, as hard as stuff is right now (including a court date for hubby on the 26th), I am planning on being in KcK for the No Kings II march... and I'll be bringing a bunch of signs I printed up, for anyone to use who couldn't make one. If I'm lucky, my friends will be with me this time, too. We had so much fun together at the last march. It seems, that's what hope looks like for me these days.

I'm definitely a Picard fan, and so many of his lines were simply profound. I love the interview with Patrick Stewart where he talks about his mother having been abused by his father when he was growing up. When she desperately called the authorities, they would always ask her "why, what did you do, Mrs. Stewart"? The delivery of his understanding of that charge to his mother is monumental.

I am very sorry about your best friend being lost to you. I think it's amazing when someone sees their spouse as their best friend. Shouldn't that always be the case? For most, it isn't. For some lucky ones, it is the truth. So, your loss must be immense, and I feel for you.

Thank you for planning to attend the No Kings II March. I hope you can have a day with your friends that is filled with purpose and love and share fun.

Remember to take care of yourself through all of this.

The least little miniscule thing sets me off. It's a daily pile-on. I used to be quite a strong being. The garbage chips away at my strength, psyche, entire body. It'll come over me like a wave. I don't get angry, I wail, brought to tears sobbing. Then I have to exert control. Feels like a coronary coming on.

Peace be unto you. 🫶

We have to let the steam out. Each in our own way, but we need to do that. Then, as you say, we exert control and remember who we are and what we are capable of.

Wishing you all the very best...

You are stronger than he ever will be.

I could relate to every single word. But we are strong. We keep getting back up and in the fight to defend our nation and our way of life.

Donald Trump is wrong. Fox News is wrong. Elon Musk is wrong. David Ellison is wrong. Jeff Bezos is wrong. Steve Bannon is wrong. Mark Zuckerberg is wrong. Benjamin Netanyahu is wrong. Vladimir Putin is wrong. But you know what? You keep fighting for what is right. Putting an end to this fascist shit show for good and putting these sick, psychotic fucks in prison where they belong is what we gotta do. That's what is right.