@Marts 9 February 2022 more from that month

Politics - My Anxiety Trigger It's official. The campaign period for the Philippines ' national and local elections has begun. As if the ads and posters since last year weren't enough, now all the official candidates are officially allowed to woo us with their campaign jingles ranging from catchy and witty to downright abomination to our eardrums. Moreso, posters - posters everywhere!

*A little side story: I remember the time when I was still processing my COMELEC registration. I was a naive college student then. I was accompanied not just by my friends but my teenage crush as well. The feeling was surreal, I tell you! Until it was not.*  *She borrowed my phone (smartphones weren't a thing back then), texted, and called her suitor (or boyfriend? I'm not sure) and did not even bother to erase their conversation on my phone - both sent and received messages. It's as if she's telling me to back off, in a discreet but equally devastating way! Glad I'm totally over her. Haha! Akala niya ah!*  *** Back to the Philippine elections. As the campaign season intensifies, so are the hardcore supporters online and offline. I can't tell you how many times I tried to shut myself down from using social media and stay away from people whose lives seem to revolve around politician worship. I hate this season. I hate what it makes of us. I hate how slowly it devastates us - relationally, emotionally, morally, socially, systemically. Amplified by social media and fake news peddling, Philippine politics is a hot mess. I wish I could go back to the time when I can still tolerate arguments here and there. But now, I easily get anxious over friends throwing ad hominems and insults against each other. I get depressed over recurring news that keeps on flooding my news feed. I tried to work around the algorithm by sharing and liking other topics - from superhero movies, anime, cute dog pictures and videos, even crochets! But the topic of politics seeps in like gangrene. Honestly, it already affects my sanity. Sometimes I wonder, am I just overreacting? Am I just too close-minded that I can't tolerate how people wage war over political ideals? Maybe I am. Maybe I am not. I don't know. All I know is the anxiety is real.  There was a time when while discussing politics, I palpitated and had difficulty in breathing. Also, there was a time when I almost snapped and my emotions took over. It's sad that I can't handle the heat of political arguments. Not because I am apolitical - God knows how political my mind is! But because I am emotionally brittle. And so in order not to get scorched, I stay away from the kitchen fire. In the past couple of weeks, I have unfollowed, unfriended, and snoozed several of my toxic and mean friends on social media. But since that's not enough, I installed a browser extension that wipes out my entire news feed and replaces it with an inspiring quote. Thanks to my friend, now at least I feel like I unloaded a huge chunk of unnecessary burden.  *If you're curious about the browser extension I'm talking about, here's the link:* *News Feed Eradicator.*  https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/delete-facebook-news-feed/ How I wish this election season will be over soon. At the end of the day, what I can do is cast my vote responsibly, pray for the results of the ballots, and let the Lord take over. If there's anything I'd promote to people is that they do the same - and exercise their convictions. That's as long as their convictions are founded on the truth, evidence-based arguments, and not on fake news and mere opinions. As a Christian, my role is not to force-feed them with my choice. My role is to introduce God's standards for leadership.  *Image credits: Unsplash.com*