Trump and dementia - I'm lying awake at night worrying

Septimia

The world is in a bigger mess at the moment than it has been for a long time, and it is worrying.

However, sarahcyn, it comes back to that prayer (and you don't have to be religious for the sentiment to apply): God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. (Attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr, Lutheran theologian (1892–1971))

It might help you to feel a little better if you can work on some of the things you can have an influence on, even tiny things like smiling at someone and brightening their day, giving to a food bank or phoning someone you know is lonely. We can't change the whole world by ourselves but we can make the world close to us a little happier.

Ah, this 100%. Such a good post, Septimia, thoughtful and addressing the issue without condescension (as I found some other posts).

I don't think it helps to not watch the news; I thought keeping myself abreast of issues would allow me to be informed and educated. I'm now more choosy about the news channels I watch - the bias on some channels is mind blowing! I watched 30 minutes of Al Jazeera on Saturday (I don't find that channel biased) and their coverage of Gaza hit really hard. Trump - oh man .... People relying on God (in whatever form they believe her to take) to make things OK is a concern to me.

It could be worth talking to your GP about anxiety tablets. Take care and be kind to yourself.

Turn off the news and don’t listen to it. Read a book you enjoy, listen to music and get out and walk in nature where everything carries on regardless of people.
You can’t change anything except your own thoughts and happiness and life is just too short to spend it worrying about what might happen.

Saracyn, basically I feel that you need a big hug, so I am sending you one now. I agree that positivity is the key to surviving life. We didn't make ourselves, we came here with nothing, but I believe in a Good Force who will look after us all. Look at how Britain came through the terrible days of WW2. We are all here still, and will be, with the help of our Maker and an overriding positive outlook. Who are Putin, Trump and other evil doers in the face of Good? Yes, they hurt, but they do not win.
A great big hug for you, Saracyn.

I think that any postulated force for good is very hard to find and I entirely understand the challenge that sarahcyn is facing. I do not think the answer is to search for something that isn't there.

The only answer as far as I can see is to simply be BE that force for good within our environment of friends and family and local community. Trying to take on the mammoth task of absorbing all the truly awful things that go on in this world is a recipe for misery, and that really helps no-one at all.

Human beings are both wonderful and awful. There is little we can do to change that. But we can change how we go forward with our lives. We can dwell on it and rant against our total impotence to make things better; or we can concentrate on creating happier lives for all around us.

Now and again we get a blip of power when we get to vote for our government. All we can do is to use that wisely for the good of everyone, not just ourselves.

I hope that you can find a way to rise above the forces that are pulling you down at the moment. You do need to develop a strategy for coping with this, as nothing is going away. We must each keep on keeping on in our own ways.

Sending a dollop of strength your way.

Cillafan

Donald Trump is a good man, he knows what's right and what's wrong, hope he is elected potus, things will get done, he is not afraid of anything or anyone, defender of the free world

Oh for goodness sake pen your eyes Cillafan - can you actually READ? Read both sides, research, & you will find that Donald Trump is as wily as a fox and will become an authoritative dictator just like PUTIN whom he admires. VERY FAR from being “a Good Man” he is a LIAR, Adulterer, Rapist, Grifter (remember the recent hawk of Trump Gold Sneakers’), and thoroughly NASTY, almost Evil Person. He cares NOTHING for the American people, just for himself. He’s only running for President on the Lie that the election was stolen (it wasn’t) to escape the Law which should be fast closing on his many frauds, lies and deceptions - and in case you think as he so often shouts, that the DOJ has been ‘weaponised’ against him, remember his Trump University (a con and closed down and fined) he’s been bankrupt a few times, his money was not earned by hard toil, but he was left billions by his father and he has lost most of that trying to run Casinos, etc, which failed (how do you fail with a Casino!) - and all this was PRE Presidency. he has had numerous affairs with sleazy people, this latest Hush Money scandal proved he slept with a Porn Star just before his son Barrons birth….I could go on and on…and THIS weasel is who you call ‘a good man’- you could not be further from the Truth! He’s a snake-oil salesman!
Oh and I’m in the UK, and have NO axe to grind in your election. My views are probably those that most of us outside the US can see from a distance EXACTLY WHAT a CON-MAN he is!

I think you are wasting your breath suelld - there are some posts worth ignoring.

Luckygirl3

I think you are wasting your breath suelld - there are some posts worth ignoring.

I do agree, though I could not stop myself responding

My DH had this when covid hit. He was sick with worry. We agreed he shouldn't watch or listen to the news more than once a day and set the limits on what Facebook and other social media he partook in. It helped enormously.

MaizieD

HousePlantQueen

Sarancyn, I completely understand your worries, I too have had the 2am lying awake thinking that this is a dangerous time, and calls to pull yourself together are patronising at best. We are living in challenging times.

Quite.

And telling the poor woman she is mentally ill... 🤔

Sarahcyn. Totally agree. You are hardly mentally ill, it is a very clearly intelligent and well-constructed posting… I totally agree with all that and the link you post, tho I would have to add that I don’t think Trump is as demented as he thinks, he’s as wily as a fox too!! Just read his neice’s book about his upbringing “ Too Much and Never Enough”.
I have been avidly following all that’s been going on in the USA for years now and am as worried as you but NOT to the extent of keeping me awake at night…other things do that! I’m so sorry that all this has gotten to you badly - as others have said ther is nothing WE can do about it - but you have to have hope that all these dire things in the world will eventually work themselves out for the good of humanity. You don’t say how old you are, but you are on Gransnet so I have to assume a reasonably elder age. I am, British and 78 this year and over 2 years ago I nearly died. I was always terrified of dying, but after that I became relatively flegmatic about it - there is /was nothing I could do about it -if I died I died - all the petty and material things faded into insignificance…. So now I am avidly following all that is happening in the US and globally, most of it is horrible…but THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT any of it … I have chronic kidney disease, and loads of other medical issues, but overall am OK if I keep stable… again it’s not a reversible disease, so little I can do about it either. So I concentrate on the day to day, doing things I love, reading, watching films/TV, talking to family (both sons and family live far away), going out to the odd group when well enough, still working from home part time (tho it feels like full time) and generally keeping occupied, or just slumping when a bad day is upon me - I don’t sleep well at night,( sleep much better during the day!!). Maybe try a bit of that - I get angry about all the things you mention, to the point of mentally spitting in that pouty little Trump face when I see it. But realise there is Nothing I can do…. Try just doing things for YOU and try to forget the outside world - mentally curse and rave at the perpetrators when you get riled…then realise nothing can be done by you and sigh and read a book, watch an escapist film, go and cook or sew or whatever is your ‘bag’. Join a group, the local U3a might be right up your street? You don’t say if you live alone? If so - as above, if not, SHARE your worries with someone/DH or? The old saying a ‘Worry shared is a worry halved’ is VERY true. If you are so down about all this that it affects your daily life badly do go and talk to a doctor, you might be clinically depressed ( not mentally ill) and MAYBE there is something else at the bottom of these worries which you are projecting on to the worlds crises? All the very best - glad you were able to vent here just doing that might help?

I feel that the world is going to hell in a hand basket but I personally can’t effect any change globally. So, I will do the best I can in my own life and try to help others when I can. I learnt many years ago that it is not helpful to worry about something you cannot change. I hope you feel better for venting here today.

I have stopped watching the news though I read bout world events. There is nothing I can do about things but I do try to deal with day to day problems: reading the meter, checking my bills; ordering groceries etc. These are within my control. It might be helpful to concentrate on your day to day happenings or problems. Not easy, I kow. If you lie awake at night, read a book; play a game on your iPhone or iPad ; make a cup of tea. Don't lie there and brood. If it happens during the day, go outside and walk for a short time, even if it's raining. Get a rescue cat! I'm not being facetious. It will rely on YOU for care and will reward you with affection. Stroking a cat is soothing. Sadly it won't help world affairs! Those are out of our hands.

sarahcyn

Is anyone else feeling that the end of the world is coming? This has been a dreadful week.

I am literally lying awake at night these days worrying about the world. Near the top of my list, maybe right at the top, is the dreadful possibility that a man with advancing dementia is going to be President of the USA.

www.salon.com/2024/02/23/dr-john-gartner-on-a-tale-of-two-brains-bidens-brain-is-aging-brain-is-dementing/

This is only one of a plethora of articles raising questions about Trump's mental state. The distinction between him and Biden is important and one which any of us who have known dementia cases would be aware of. The experts say that Biden shows signs of a normal ageing brain for an alert man of his age - forgetting the odd name. But Trump goes into flights of fancy - thinking his father was born in Germany when it was his grandfather who was born in Germany is a big red flag. And what about his pronouncement that whatever he does, if he is President, is legal?
My husband points out that actually the US constitution does allow for a President with dubious mental capacity to be removed from office. But what damage could he do before they plucked up the courage to do that?
I feel as though I am watching a slow-motion global car crash where madmen, real actual madmen, are taking charge. Putin invades Ukraine and threatens Nato. Trump and his shameful band of Republicans refuse aid to Ukraine. Europe gets drawn in to the war. Or Putin just takes over after even more bloodshed. And then decides to invade a few more Eastern European countries. Conscription all over Europe. Endless, Orwellian war. And eventually, in about 2038, my darling, sweet four year old grandson in Poland will die in a muddy, freezing foxhole on the Polish-Belarus border.
Everyone is distracted by Gaza. I am no fan of Netanyahu - he should bloody well go - but Israel, for all its faults, is a genuine democracy in a region dominated by theocracies and autocracies. I do wonder why the Arab states do not do more to help the Gaza civilians; and why George Galloway's hero Putin is egging them on.

The murder of Navalny has sent me into a downward spiral. Help, somebody give me something to feel positive about.
Sorry but I'm sitting here waiting for a plumber to sort out the bad smell in my rental property which is making my tenant, justifiably, very angry and I feel helpless and useless.

Stop reading the papers and watching the news, obviously not doing you any good.

sarahcyn

Is anyone else feeling that the end of the world is coming? This has been a dreadful week.

I am literally lying awake at night these days worrying about the world. Near the top of my list, maybe right at the top, is the dreadful possibility that a man with advancing dementia is going to be President of the USA.

www.salon.com/2024/02/23/dr-john-gartner-on-a-tale-of-two-brains-bidens-brain-is-aging-brain-is-dementing/

This is only one of a plethora of articles raising questions about Trump's mental state. The distinction between him and Biden is important and one which any of us who have known dementia cases would be aware of. The experts say that Biden shows signs of a normal ageing brain for an alert man of his age - forgetting the odd name. But Trump goes into flights of fancy - thinking his father was born in Germany when it was his grandfather who was born in Germany is a big red flag. And what about his pronouncement that whatever he does, if he is President, is legal?
My husband points out that actually the US constitution does allow for a President with dubious mental capacity to be removed from office. But what damage could he do before they plucked up the courage to do that?
I feel as though I am watching a slow-motion global car crash where madmen, real actual madmen, are taking charge. Putin invades Ukraine and threatens Nato. Trump and his shameful band of Republicans refuse aid to Ukraine. Europe gets drawn in to the war. Or Putin just takes over after even more bloodshed. And then decides to invade a few more Eastern European countries. Conscription all over Europe. Endless, Orwellian war. And eventually, in about 2038, my darling, sweet four year old grandson in Poland will die in a muddy, freezing foxhole on the Polish-Belarus border.
Everyone is distracted by Gaza. I am no fan of Netanyahu - he should bloody well go - but Israel, for all its faults, is a genuine democracy in a region dominated by theocracies and autocracies. I do wonder why the Arab states do not do more to help the Gaza civilians; and why George Galloway's hero Putin is egging them on.

The murder of Navalny has sent me into a downward spiral. Help, somebody give me something to feel positive about.
Sorry but I'm sitting here waiting for a plumber to sort out the bad smell in my rental property which is making my tenant, justifiably, very angry and I feel helpless and useless.

You're a bundle of joy aren't you

*JdotJ. “ You're a bundle of joy aren't you “

What a very nasty snide thing to say! I could add more but I won’t!

I really can't understand why the American people have only 2 elderly men to choose a president from. What is wrong with this country that no younger people want to be their leader?

MaizieD

HousePlantQueen

Sarancyn, I completely understand your worries, I too have had the 2am lying awake thinking that this is a dangerous time, and calls to pull yourself together are patronising at best. We are living in challenging times.

Quite.

And telling the poor woman she is mentally ill... 🤔

No-one has said that, have they?

However, sarahcyn is getting herself very upset and says she is in a downward spiral about things over which she has no control. Others may have experience of these feelings at some time in their lives, sometimes everything feels overwhelming but talking to someone eg her GP, might help get things in perspective.
First thing is sort out those practical things which are in our control.

Someone else posted the Serenity Prayer but it is worth saying again.

The Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world As it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right If I surrender to His Will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life And supremely happy with Him Forever and ever in the next.

Even if you are not religious, some parts of it may be helpful.

Wheniwasyourage... made me laugh out loud.
sarahcyn, why not follow, and support if you can, the Good Law Project, your own region's version of Byline Times and watch the Led by Donkeys videos.
We all possess the greatest power that fuels the world, 'purchase power'. Way back the 70's, we were all aware of ethical buying. In your own small way, you can have a go at boycotting goods from repressive regimes etc.
And remember to make the best use of your once every 4ish years General Election vote.
Hope you feel less anxious soon.

I suspect the 'telling her she is mentally ill' was in part a response to my mention of catastrophising. There is absolutely no shame in recognising mental health issues and l was simply mentioning my own experiences which seem relevant as it may be useful.
It seems some have a very old fashioned, unhelpful and potentially dangerous attitude towards mental health.

I suspect that my great-grandmother who in 1914 was the mother of two grown-up daughters, of whom the eldest was newly married and expecting and twin sons nearing conscription age felt exactly the same.

We all, as we age, become more pessimistic about the human condition that we were in our twenties.

IMO no-one over the age of 70 should be able to become either a president or a prime minister, as we can never know when or if our mental acuity will diminish once we are past "the three-score years and ten" that the Authorised Version calls the span of man's life.

Trump may well be suffering from dementia and if so, Europe will just have to fight Putin alone. Let us for Heaven's sake realise that we do not need the USA. It will not be the first time America has talked of "Europe's war" after all.

OldFrill

I suspect the 'telling her she is mentally ill' was in part a response to my mention of catastrophising. There is absolutely no shame in recognising mental health issues and l was simply mentioning my own experiences which seem relevant as it may be useful.
It seems some have a very old fashioned, unhelpful and potentially dangerous attitude towards mental health.

I think some posters are confusing anxiety or feeling depressed, and in fact catastrophising by itself, with mental illness, OldFrill.
And yes there is absolutely no shame in recognising mental health issues.

If this is taking over sarahcyn's life and making her anxious and depressed, worrying about what may happen in 2038, then talking it through with a health professional may help her to put things into perspective.

I don't like him.

Gossamerbeynon1945

I don't like him.

Who? Trump? Does anyone really like him? He’s a leader of a cult or sect in reality, brainwashing his followers who imo must all be completely deluded!

I'm with Fleur 24 Stop listening to, watching or reading the news. What do you think you can do to resolve all the situations you are worried about?

sarahcyn I’m an immigrant (refugee) coming to the US when I was a baby in 1949, now a naturalized citizen. I love my country dearly. To see what has happened since 2015 and all the chaos since Trump’s presidency has everyone on edge, to say the least.

But it’s also all the other things and events in the world that you mentioned that is contributing to the unrest globally. I do feel that everyone is looking at the USA - the strongest country in the world, the protector of democracy and the first responder to catastrophe - to see if we will succumb.

It’s up to the electorate in November - it’s always up to the voters, they are responsible. Most know what Trump will dThat’so in his deranged and demented state, but the other half are sycophantic cult followers. They’re not remembering history nor are they paying attention to the facts, instead choosing to believe disinformation and conspiracy theories.
That’s s the worry here right now. November is still a ways off… anything could happen between now and then.

Try not to lose sleep over things we don’t know about yet. That’s wasted energy. I’m just trying to stay informed and active to make sure people won’t lose hope and will go to the polls.
Pray and wish us luck.
USA Gundy

suelld

*JdotJ. “ You're a bundle of joy aren't you “

What a very nasty snide thing to say! I could add more but I won’t!

suelld
If you don't like the answer, don't ask the question.
Do NOT tell me its a very snide thing to say.
Do you think it makes you appear superior by saying ' I could add more but I wont" .... It doesn't!!!
Get off your soapbox