“Does anyone want to meet up and shout? Then we can get food.”
I saw this post on Insta the other morning, a cry for help from The Midult (@themidult), a UK-based forum-led platform that some friends of mine founded. It got me thinking. Forget the election and its aftermath. How the hell could we? arrive November 5?
I don’t know about you, but to me, the Democratic convention — which took place two months ago — seems like a distant, pleasant time. Since then, the 2024 election cycle has been brutal. And hardly a day passes without an alarming outbreak of MAGA world (Donald Trump calling January 6 “love day”; the vigilante’s threats to go after FEMA workers) left me chewing what was left of my cuticles.
So, as a public service agency, my friends, here is a list of 25 things we can all do between now and the 2024 election to calm ourselves down — and keep conscious. We are all in this together.
1. EARLY VOTING. I know. It’s counterintuitive. But the first thing you can do to reduce your anxiety is to get involved now and early voting. Mail your ballot. Or vote via the drop box. Or come to your area in person. Check with your local elections office for details: Many states allow some form of early voting. For more information, visit voting.gov.
If you can check that box, you will exercise some control. And you’ll simply feel better about having fulfilled your part of the bargain of living in a representative democracy. Let’s face it, your vote really matters (as I suggested in this space in mid-term 2022). Especially when the margins are razor thin.
Then, of course, there’s the art of distraction. I’ve played more live games in the last six months than in the last six years combined. Social connection and community building are a panacea in stressful times. And now that the pandemic has subsided, playing games together IRL is not only personally satisfying, but also an ideal way to redirect one’s attention. Some examples.
2. BAM, CRACK, DOT. You haven’t truly lived until you say “mahj!” Lately, wherever I go, when I mention that I just learned to play mahjong (American version), I meet someone else playing. Usually, it’s someone like me – a newbie. While the game has recently garnered a cult following in certain circles, its popularity is cyclical. Vanity Fair, in fact, wrote about Mahjong fever after it hit America like a storm in the Roaring 20s.
