Podcast Episode 046 – Surviving 2020

Last updated on November 26, 2023

Podcast 046; Season 4, Episode 10; November 3, 2020

This podcast is scheduled for Election Day in the United States, November 3, 2020. Though I have some interesting episodes with guests recorded, I decided this was not the week for episodes on education or general health topics. Instead, the election of 2020 is a reminder that this has been a challenging year around the globe. Sometimes, it’s good to step back, take a deep breath, and realize that surviving difficult times is an accomplishment.

Surviving 2020

Welcome to The Autistic Me Podcast. I am Christopher Scott Wyatt, speaking as The Autistic Me.

I had thought about finishing work on a different episode this week. I’ve recorded some roundtable chats on education, self-care, and time management. This simply isn’t the week for those.

Instead, I am taking this week to pause and remind everyone that we have survived an extremely disruptive year.

If you’re exhausted this week, you have every right to be emotionally drained and physically tired.

Autistics like order. We like routine. We are emotional, contrary to the myth we lack empathy. Many autistics, myself included, have thrived working at home and reducing our physical social interactions.

That doesn’t mean this year hasn’t been difficult.

As this episode gets released by podcasting platforms, it is Election Day in the United States: Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Like many, I’m hoping that this doesn’t become Election Month or even Election Months. A quick resolution might be possible, but with 250 lawsuits already filed across the nation, I’m not optimistic that this campaign will end definitively within a week or two.

For some people, a week or two of election uncertainty will cause anxiety and stress.

The year 2020 could be summed up by those two words: anxiety and stress.

We began the year with the impeachment of President Donald Trump. Most of us anticipated the results of the impeachment. Regardless of personal politics, the divisions in this nation and around the world bother me.

Autistic adults have been conditioned to avoid conflict. I hate arguments and have a difficult time with passionate debates. I don’t doubt my friends and family all want a better future, but we’re increasingly unable to work through differences and towards common goals.

The impeachment trial reminded us that the nation is deeply divided. At the time, way back in February, I assumed that the year would get better. We’d move ahead, towards something closer to normalcy. I know many good people from across the political spectrum, and none of them feel good about our national situation.

I imagined that after impeachment people would move on, maybe ignore national politics for a few months and focus on our communities.

I was too optimistic.

We’re more divided, angrier, and more distrusting of people with different political views.

Today reminds me of the 1970s, and that’s not a good thing. When I was young, there were more than 2000 political bombings in a year. Yes, bombings. The Vietnam War, Watergate, and a recession were ripping the social fabric of the United States. We were also struggling to confront the nation’s history of racial inequality.

For me, 2020 feels too much like 1972.

On Saturday, an armed group of Trump supporters prevented a peaceful Biden-Harris rally planned for Austin, Texas. The “MAGA Cavalry” surrounded the bus carrying campaign workers from San Antonio to Austin and tried to run the bus off the interstate.

That’s not how I expect fellow citizens to behave. You campaign, you vote, and you accept the results. Then, you repeat the process and try to persuade other people that your ideas might help the country prosper and thrive.

It’s tempting to take a step back and ignore politics for a few months. Call it a mental health break from partisanship.

No emotional breaks from stress and anxiety allowed, 2020 decided.

While the impeachment process was underway, the Novel Coronavirus 2019 was beginning its transition from regional endemic to global pandemic. This week, 100,000 daily positive test results were reported in the United States. Nine million people in this country have tested positive during the year. Meanwhile, our leaders seem incapable or unwilling to take dramatic action.

Who could have imagined that a pandemic divided us further instead of uniting us.

COVID-19 has exposed problems with healthcare systems and economic safety nets around the globe. Only a handful of nations, notably New Zealand and other Pacific nations, have successfully mitigated the pandemic. Not having many shared borders seems to help, along with smaller populations.

Sadly, Europe is now experiencing a dramatic surge in new cases and winter looks to be worse than last year. Europe tried much harder than the United States to stop COVID-19 through aggressive testing and lockdowns. If France, Germany, and Belgium are struggling once again, what will happen in the United States this winter?

Remind yourself that within 11 months, from last December through this October, we have been surrounded by chaos. The pandemic casts a shadow of death greater than all U.S. military actions since World War II. That’s Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf Wars, and our actions in Afghanistan.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/22/health/us-coronavirus-deaths-200k/index.html

COVID-19 in the United States has been 100 times more deadly than Hurricane Katrina. It’s cost our economy more than the Great Recession.

And we might only be halfway through the deaths and economic disruption.

Many autistics have health concerns that increase our risk of severe reactions to COVID-19. We’re already at higher risk of serious infections from the seasonal flu and pneumonia. Now, we’re going to anxiously endure a winter with the trio of threats looming over our friends, families, and us.

Though my wife and I aren’t going out and about, we did decide we needed immunizations. Four shots later, including a nasty reaction to my second shingles shot, I’m as prepared as I can be for the winter. I’ve endured chicken pox twice, so I cannot ignore shingles. Every year or two, I also endure bronchitis that turns into something else.

The nurse told me that people aren’t getting vaccinated yet, for anything. The doctor expressed relief that I didn’t assume I’m safe at home.

How can we not be anxious? Too many people aren’t going to get their seasonal flu vaccines. Many adults are skipping the pneumonia immunization, too. When there is a COVID-19 vaccination, I doubt enough people will trust it.

Autistics have shorter lifespans, probably for a multitude of reasons. I’m obsessive about my health. No way am I assuming other people will do what is best for society. I’m not trusting other people to think about each other.

Trust people?

Research suggests we’re at an all-time low in trust. Seriously. We don’t trust each other, we don’t trust politicians, and now we don’t trust our justice system.

While we were busy trying to process the pandemic, along came the social unrest linked to policing practices and racial inequity. The Black Lives Matter movement began in the United States, but spread globally, too, as protesters marched in Australia, France, the United Kingdom, and other nations.

Autistics are at risk during interactions with law enforcement. Too many autistics have been seriously injured or died while dealing with police. Male autistics, especially Black and Latino autistics, have been drugged, Tazered, choked, and shot by police. Even their caregivers have been injured by police.

Twenty-two percent of all people shot and killed by police in the United States since 2015 have had mental health conditions, including autism. The Washington Post database on police shootings lists 1254 deaths under the category “mental illness” over the last five years.

Have some more anxiety, 2020 seems to be saying.

It’s okay to feel like this year is too much to bear. It has been a lot. And now, during the end of this election, the stress and anxiety have taken a toll.

How can we not be sick and tired of this year?

Things won’t be magically better in 2021. However, we can each make things a little less bad.

No matter how 2020 ends, I’m going to keep writing about and speaking on issues that matter to me.

However, I want everyone to realize that if you’re not healthy, it’s hard to be engaged with your community. Take a mental health break from social media if you need. Engage in some hobbies. Read something you enjoy. Treat yourself better in 2021.

My plan for 2021 is to begin working on landscaping projects around the house.

I’m going to continue to advocate for change locally, statewide, nationally, and even globally. But, I’m not going to let myself be consumed by what I cannot reasonably control or influence.

Future podcasts will address the issue of self-care. We need to be better at recognizing our emotional and physical needs.

Two more long months remain in 2020. I’ll be here, blogging and recording podcasts. I’ll also be spending time taking care of myself.

I am Christopher Scott Wyatt, speaking as The Autistic Me.

Thank you for listening.

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