The U.S. military recently pulled out of Afghanistan. Many agree the US should have pulled out, but many are unhappy about how the U.S. exited Afghanistan. The U.S. Afghanistan exit has made many people experience stress, sadness, disappointment, and anger; especially after many individuals and families sacrificed greatly during the Afghanistan war.
The emotions experienced from the Afghanistan exit are understandable. However, there are some ways to cope with these emotions to get some emotional relief. Check out this clip to see these methods! One of these methods for coping concerns gaining a sense of control.
This can be done by learning about the issues following the Afghanistan war and understanding how you might play a part. Some ways to contribute time or resources are to aid response organizations, Veterans organizations, or international refugee aid efforts.
Hi, I’m Dr. Matt B and these are your Emotional Minutes. The US military just pulled out of Afghanistan. Although many Americans agreed it was the right move, many feel upset about how the US pulled out. This has led many people to experience stress, sadness, disappointment, and even anger.
This is especially true after spending so many years there and having watched so many Americans and families sacrifice. So, today we will talk about these difficult emotions and how to cope with emotions and stress about the U.S. exit from Afghanistan.
To be clear, this is a complicated situation and the difficult emotions you experience about it are natural. Here are some ways that can help relieve some of that stress. They can also help relieve difficult emotions about the U.S. exit from Afghanistan. These methods are related to some of the methods we’ve talked about before on Emotional Minutes (for example, climate change anxiety and stress or vaccine anxiety). However, we can apply those same techniques to this unique situation.
Tips on dealing with stress about the U.S. exit from Afghanistan
1. Seek social support. Speak openly about the stress you feel about the exit with trusted sources of support.
An important thing about social support is not fixating on the arguments for or against the exit.
2. Try to accept the way you feel about this situation (even if you don’t accept the situation itself).
3. Limit your exposure to the news or take it only in small doses (e.g., 5 mins per day).
4. Engage in enjoyable activities that give you meaning to focus attention away from constant thoughts about it.
5. So much of our stress and difficult emotions can be driven by our lack of sense of control in situations. This can be helped by engaging in things you can control and enjoy in your life. You can also do this by taking back a sense of control over the issue itself.
Take back control
This idea about taking back a sense of control links with the National Day of Service and Remembrance (a.k.a. “9/11 Day”). Ways to attain a sense of control on the issue itself include:
– Take an active approach by learning about what help is needed for this specific issue. Is it relief for Veterans and their families, who sacrificed so much for this war? Is it help that may be needed for refugee organizations?
– Learn more about ways you can contribute to organizations providing relief to the region or refugees. Then assist in any way you can. The Red Cross is one of many organizations that can provide relief.
– Address the issues in actionable ways. For example, writing your elected lawmakers about changes you want them to make. Research the policies of candidates for future elections and how they may deal with the outcomes of this and other similar issues.
All of these things can make you feel a sense of control. They can also give a sense of being effective in helping our efforts to cope with this difficult situation.
I hope discussing ways to cope with stress, sadness, and other emotions you may have about the exit from the Afghanistan war was helpful. If any of these emotions become distressing or interfere with your daily life, finding a therapist can help.
I’m Dr. Matt B and these are your Emotional Minutes. We’ll see you next time.
