So You're Feeling Hopeless After The General Election...
Photo taken in Shakespeare & Co in Paris, 2018. A reminder that we all need going into 2020.
The General Election has happened. The Tories gained a huge majority. It’s shit. It’s disappointing. It’s scary. You’re probably feeling hopeless about the state of the country, of the world even. But wallowing in this hopelessness is not productive in any shape or form, for yourself or for the bettering of the world.
What is productive is fostering the hope you’ve been feeling over the last month in the run up to the General Election at the prospect of a better, more equal country and using it to creative positive change. The General Election may be over, but the world is not and there are so many things you can do to make the world a better place, even if the ruling party choose not to.
Hang on to the issues you care so deeply about, whatever has struck a chord for you during this election, whether that’s the NHS, the climate crisis, homelessness or whatever else. Find charities and campaigns that are championing these issues and become a part of them. Becoming a part of something you believe in, in which you can see clear change happening as a result of your actions is so rewarding and will turn at least some of your feelings of hopelessness into optimism. And although the prospect of the Tories being in power for another 5 years is daunting, this is 5 years in which you can campaign for whatever political party you believe in, rather than just doing so a couple of months before the election which is not as effective both because of the tension people are feeling and the limited time.
You can do this with your time or money, whatever works best for you but I would add that giving up your time is especially rewarding. However considering there’s only 12 days till Christmas (at least that was always going to be a silver lining after the election), consider giving charitable gifts this year, whether it’s donating to a charity of your choosing on someone else’s behalf, or buying a gift from the ChooseLove store for someone (I particularly love this idea).
What is key here is actually making change happen. Although social media seems like a great platform for activism at times, especially if you have a large follower count, it can be superficial and have little effect on the world, which can be frustrating. Whilst being out in the real world, making change through your actions has the opposite effect and is deeply fulfilling.
The connections you can make campaigning in real life are also often so much more sincere and impactful than those you can make through social media too. This is largely because social media is somewhat of an echo chamber for most of us, in which we only see our own left-wing views repeated back because, of course, we don’t want to follow people we disagree with.
I think the social media echo chamber is a significant reason why the General Election results might feel so devastating to many young people because it’s easy to be fooled by the 700 people you’re following that everyone thinks about the world in the same way you do, forgetting that there are over 66 million people living in the UK with incredibly diverse views.
This floored me during the past election and particularly during the EU referendum, as, although I was too young to vote in it, it initiated my interest in politics. But the politics I was interested in and thus surrounded myself with, were left-wing and pro-EU and thus, I was devastated by the result of the referendum. Whereas in this election, by staying informed as much as I could on what’s going on in the real world, the shock was minimised and my mental health has not been affected to such an extent.
Now I’m not advising be-friending Tories or filling your Twitter feed with opinions you disagree with. Instead, just gain an awareness. Read newspapers whose political leaning might be a little more right-leaning than your own, or at least be aware of what they’re saying. Talk to people who aren’t just your closest friendship group. Don’t immediately close off a conversation with someone just because their views are more right-wing than yours. By any means, you don’t need to be uber-polite to them. But at least engage in the conversation, if only to affirm that the politics you believe in are the ones you want to champion.
This awareness is not only necessary to advance any sort of left-wing politics (as the divisiveness we create in staying in our own bubble and shouting at anyone who might disagree with us is deeply harmful) but also to protect your personal mental health because being overly-optimistic unfortunately often leads to disappointment and despair. Although I am deeply saddened by the results of the General Election, by staying informed, it’s not far from what I expected. And for me, being able to prevent such despair is critical to my mental health.
Photo by @badasscrossstitch on Instagram
Finally, stay off social media as much as possible for the next few weeks. It’s going to be a site of tension, divisiveness and anger and it’s not a positive space in any sense, neither for your mental health or for creating a better world. Spend your time, instead, educating yourself, volunteering, becoming an activist, with your loved ones, with yourself and maybe even with your counsellor.
Because it’s absolutely okay if you do feel devastated by the result of the General Election. It’s okay if you think it’s triggered some of your mental health issues. Some might see it as ‘just politics’, but for many this General Election came with so much hope for the future and Thursday night’s exit poll probably felt like that broke down entirely. However, the world is not ending and there are so many ways we can make it a better place, but before you can do so, you have to ensure you’re in a good place. Although do consider doing both at the same time. Volunteering and activism can be an incredible way to feel fulfilled and improve your mental health, giving your able to do so, alongside whatever else you might need to stay healthy, including medication and counselling.
There is so much to be anxious about as we enter 2020 and this Tory government is certainly part of that, especially for vulnerable people in society. But lets channel our despair and fear into making a better country and a better world and lets use our time, money, voices- our privilege in whatever form it takes, to protect those who are truly vulnerable and to fight for what we care about.