National Congressional Recap, How Do We Recover From This Election?

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• Election Recap: Congressional Races Nationwide

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  Harry Enten, senior political writer and analyst for FiveThirtyEight, joins Central Time to discuss the nationwide races for Congress.

• After Divisive Election, Can We Get Along Again?

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  Now that the presidential election is over, how do we heal our relationships? How do we unify and move forward as a nation? We talk with a clinical psychologist who says reconciliation sounds good, but it’s not always feasible, especially given what Americans just experienced.

• Psychologist Offers Advice For Getting Along After Divisive Election

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  This year’s divisive and frequently ugly presidential election has divided both the nation and personal households.

  It’s turned friends against one another and caused couples to retreat into silence. The American Psychological Association confirmed “election stress disorder” was a real thing.

  Now that it’s over, the question becomes how do we begin to come together and heal, both for the sake of the country and our relationships?

  In case you haven’t paid much attention to your calendar lately, there’s a certain holiday right around the corner which seems practically tailored for confrontation with its crowded seating and abundance of foods capable of flight.

  “Within families there are tremendous differences that people feel vehemently about and that’s going to be incredibly divisive as we head into Thanksgiving,” said Janis Abrahms Spring, a clinical psychologist. “Family members are going to have to negotiate these differences among each other, and with friends and families, and everyone in their world.”

  In order for those negotiations to be successful, Spring said, it’s important people sincerely approach those with differing opinions with a genuine curiosity and to treat him or her as a reasonable and intelligent person. If we’re not respectful, things could get ugly.

  “If you go in and it’s going to be a battle and you just want to prove I’m right and you’re stupid, things aren’t going to go well,” Spring said.

  Most of us know that certain people may be more likely to needle us than others, and Spring said it’s important to go into potential explosive interactions prepared.

  “I think it’s helpful to have a mental plan before you go in,” she said. “What is this Thanksgiving meal going to be about for you? So when you leave the table, how’s it going to feel? What is going to be your input? How are you going to make that happen?”