For the first time in my 56 years, I am saddened to the core and borderline depressed

[Mr. Ected]

I live in rural Georgia and I have yet to meet a soul that wasn't ecstatic about the outcome of this election.

I feel utterly isolated, disenfranchised, and quite frankly, frightened for myself and for the safety of my family.

I am so afraid that my children may become fodder for another war. I do not trust these people. Their clumsy bravado invariably result in conflicts and wars.

I'll seek my peace in DU. Help me keep my head above water. I need the oxygen you folks bring.

[Bear Creek]

1. Same here

Have been waking up at 3:00 sick. The night it happened it was the worse feeling I have ever experienced.

[femmocrat]

2. I hear ya.

I live in rural western PA. Surrounded by deplorables on all sides. Why are there so damn many of them now? (rhetorical question)

Fortunately our refuge, DU, is back and we are among friends here.

[Freedomofspeech]

12. SW PA here

It used to be blue...Westmoreland Co. I hate it and cannot live in this duck dynasty culture anymore. House going on the market in the spring. Camo, confederate flags and guns....biggest ass holes on the face of the earth.

[randome]

3. It was a double gut punch wasn't it? Losing the election and DU being hacked.

But Trump and his band of incompetents will reach too far. This is not the end of the world.

Already Trump has gone back on the Mexican wall, outlawing Obamacare on Day 1 and we haven't heard a thing about convening the generals to come up with a plan in 30 days to defeat ISIS.

All his bluster and nonsense will have been for naught. We will have simply wasted 4 years with him.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[Tanuki]

4. I hope you will feel better surrounded by kindred spirits, now that DU is back up again.

Take hope, dear Mr. Ected. We will find a way!

[Bettie]

5. I have nailed down why my depression is so bad

at this point.

I disliked W, thought he would be a disaster, but I never thought that the people who voted for him actively hated me and everyone who wasn't exactly like them.

This time, the mask has been taken off and who they really are has been unleashed.

I thought we had come farther as a society.

I now see people who I thought were decent, kind people unmasked for the hate-filled creatures they are.

It depresses me. I really don't feel hopeful for the future.

[apcalc]

8. Me either. I feel this is a very sick nation.

[jimlup]

6. Hang in!

Here in Ann Arbor Michigan the mood is essentially the opposite so take heart.

[helpisontheway]

7. I'm very sad/depressed too...

thank goodness I live in a blue section of VA. There were many others that were shell shocked like me the day after the election. It still hurts but helps not to be surrounded by deplorables.

[phylny]

10. I'm from a bright red spot in Virginia.

My only solace is that my little speck of blue in a sea of red was added to your vote

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

9. Welcome to a not so exclusive club!

[yuiyoshida]

11. Marijuana has passed in California

This will be a stressful four years. I plan on having something to relax with that will be the least harmful thing, than Alcohol. This girl is gonna learn to vape and enjoy it, when I have the opportunity. No I won't be high all the time, just when there are depressing days and I need to
relax and feel the stress leave my body.

[sweetroxie]

13. No borderline here

I've been downright depressed and despondent.

[ailsagirl]

14. I try not to think about it

Easy to say, I know-- but I sort of psyche myself into thinking of something else anytime those awful thoughts try to intrude.

[bhikkhu]

15. In my case, I've been through it before

I was a big fan of Carter when I was 15; he was the smartest guy in the room back then, genuinely compassionate and competent, and I watched Reagan (and the media, and the populace in general) bury him. I have to confess, before I was of age to vote I was entirely disillusioned by the whole thing, and I didn't bother to vote for a very long time.

Having seen bad presidents come and bad presidents go, and all variety of promising candidates succeed or fail, I can only agree that "its a long game", and there is no end to it, no final winner or loser. As an individual you win if you use what you learn to hone your principles and resolve, and never give up.

The presidency has much less impact on lives than our culture does, and we decide and steer our culture, every one of us. There's more of us than there are of them, and as long as we don't shrink away into silence we remain the real deciders.

[Bucky]

16. I share your sadness. There's a shitstorm a-coming for sure. BUT... (and this is the big but!)

It's not hopeless. People are activated, people are alert, and Trump is on his way to making a clusterbomb full of unpopular decisions. He'll do some damage along the way, no doubt. And Pence and his bunch will have terrible influences too. But the good news is that every blunder, every miscalculation, every betrayal of American values they undertake... will make us and the movement to resist Trumpism that much stronger.

Be strong, find courage, borrow some of mine if you need to, Mr. Ected. We have work to do. We have a country and a world to save. It's time to get active.

[SammyWinstonJack]

17. 1000000!

[callous taoboy]

18. I see us coming out of this a much stronger party.

We are down now, but we have a tendency to come roaring back. I see this as the perfect opportunity to watch the R's fail splendidly as they did under shrub. I mean, look at shrub today. He is nothing. No influence. Karma will be a real bitch for Drumpf, mark my words. So, take heart. I will admit, though, that this has been a tough week.

[Vinca]

19. I hear you.

I live in a very blue area, but I feel as if I've been hit by a tractor trailer truck. I'm trying to go about business as usual, but it's hard to muster any enthusiasm for anything. Let's hope the dark cloud eventually lifts. I refuse to let a giant, orange turd ruin my life (yes, I'm throwing the old "respect the office" meme out the window).

[workinclasszero]

20. Those idiots will be singing a different tune real soon

You can take that to the bank.