Post-Election Session: Facing the Unthinkable in Uncertain Times
Shrinking Trump
Really American Media
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 8 November 2024
⏱️ 87 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Welcome to the session of Shrinking Trump we all need after a difficult week, where Dr. John Gartner and Dr. Harry Siegel address the aftermath of a surprising post-election landscape that has left many Americans grappling with uncertainty, fear, and trauma. Along with their guest, John Skrovan, a renowned therapist, they delve into how to process these overwhelming emotions and maintain a realistic sense of hope.
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Dr. Skrovan joins the show to offer a calming perspective on how to navigate this new, hostile world. He advises on reconnecting with one’s surroundings and focusing on present, tangible sources of joy and goodness as a means to counteract despair.
Dr.’s Gartner and Siegel reflect on their own surprise at the election results, having expected different outcomes based on their analyses of the candidates' psychological health. The episode focuses on addressing the collective trauma experienced by listeners, comparable to an emotional earthquake that leaves people in a state of shock and confusion.
The hosts emphasize the importance of openly discussing feelings associated with trauma, as bottling them up can hinder the healing process. Dr. Siegel draws parallels with historical and personal experiences of loss to highlight the deep emotional impact of the election results. And In perhaps the most profound moment of the session, we’ll find meaning amidst the chaos, sharing the example of Austrian Psychologist Viktor Frankl’s resilience during dire times.
The discussion transcends politics, touching upon the fundamental human need for stability amidst the fear of malevolence and unpredictability. We’ll conclude with a reminder of the power of community and collective action. There are always ways to resist authoritarianism and safeguard democracy. Whether through meditation, activism, or community involvement, the call is to stay engaged, informed, and connected.
Be sure to join us next week as we continue to navigate psychological dimensions of America’s ongoing political turmoil.
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Transcript
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| 0:28.2 | ending soon. |
| 0:29.9 | I'm Dr. John Gartner. |
| 0:32.0 | I'm Dr. Harry Siegel. |
| 0:34.1 | And welcome to this emergency session of shrinking Trump. |
| 0:38.8 | This is really our post-election show. |
| 0:43.3 | And John and I talked a lot about it. |
| 0:45.7 | Those of you who don't know or seeing this podcast for the first time, |
| 0:50.9 | we're both clinical psychologists who were very alarmed by the ways in which the |
| 0:57.1 | public, the press, and the political elites were not really noticing not just Donald Trump's |
| 1:04.5 | severe personality disorder, but what we saw as clear signs of dementia that were beginning with his language issues, |
| 1:15.6 | with his simplistic nature of his thinking, which actually became remarkably worse over the last few weeks before the election, |
| 1:26.6 | which left John and I thinking that maybe |
| 1:30.7 | Kamala Harris would win. And we were both very encouraged by her psychological health and |
| 1:38.3 | by the crowd size of people, 75,000 people at the ellipse. |
| 1:45.0 | And like many of you, I guess, we were very surprised by the outcome. |
| 1:51.0 | And we thought instead of doing a regular show where we show clips and make points, |
| 1:57.0 | and that we would really instead take some time to think about what this experience, what this event |
... |
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