A Therapist's Tips to Navigate Politically Divided Relationships

With Dick Cheney endorsing a Democrat and a Kennedy endorsing a Republican, this election is uniting strange bedfellows. But how can couples who actually share a bed sustain their connection in Election Anxiety? How can politically divided families and friends thwart a civil war at dinner? We the people at Carmichael Psychology share tips to form a more perfect union in relationships:

Politically Divided Long Friendship

Tip 1: Map common ground: Unlike congress who won’t cross the aisle, those of different politics who crossed the wedding aisle or formed friendships likely did so because they bonded beyond policy. This shared history can be lost when anxiety temporarily narrows focus to detect threats, activating a fight or flight response. Remembering our common ground helps to strengthen connections. The mapped highlights of my friendship with a conservative TV news reporter reveals: decades of laughter, love for his sons, and our support of each’s raw human moments. Also mapped is his wedding (dance party) which he asked Supreme Court Justice Scalia to officiate. Conservative Justice Scalia and Liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg found common ground in their own friendship including a love of opera, and Justice Ginsberg’s appreciation of receiving two dozen roses from Justice Scalia every birthday.

Tips #2 and #3 shared in next blog....

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