2004: Post Election Selection Trauma
According to Florida mental health professionals, the following symptoms have been identified in John Kerry voters since Nov. 3 and are signs that one should seek help from a licensed mental health clinician.
Some supporters of John Kerry shocked by President Bush’s victory in last week’s election continue to seek out psychological help, prompting at least one mental-health center to offer free counseling through the end of this year.
The Florida-based American Health Association has released symptoms of what it calls “post-election selection trauma,” or PEST, which include: feelings of withdrawal, feelings of isolation, emotional anger and bitterness, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, nightmares, pervasive moodiness including endless sulking, and being excessively worried about the direction of the country. 
Symptoms of Post-Election Selection Syndrome (PEST)
According to Florida mental health professionals, the following symptoms have been identified in John Kerry voters since Nov. 3 and are signs that one should seek help from a licensed mental health clinician. Although therapists report that patients so far have uniformly identified themselves as Kerry supporters upset over their candidate’s concession, they urge that the trauma is not necessarily unique to Democrats.
Democrat, Election, Character, Funny, Crazy
NEW YORK — It’s a long way from the Manhattan office of psychoanalyst Sherman Pheiffer to the Cambridge, Mass., practice of psychologist Jaine Darwin. But both are in blue states that voted heavily for John Kerry, and on the day he conceded, they heard plenty of distress about the election.
Democrat, Election, Character, Funny, Crazy, Jobs
A staffer for a congressional Democrat who came up short on Tuesday reports that a team of about five people stopped by their offices this morning to talk about payroll, benefits, writing a résumé, and so forth, with staffers who are now job hunting. But one of the staffers was described as a "counselor" to help with the emotional aspect of the loss — and a section in the packet each staffer was given dealt with the stages of grief (for instance, Stage One being anger, and so on).
Democrat, Election, Character, Funny, Crazy
More than a dozen traumatized John Kerry supporters have sought and received therapy from a licensed Florida psychologist since their candidate lost to President Bush, the Boca Raton News learned Monday.
Boca Raton trauma specialist Douglas Schooler said he has treated 15 clients and friends with "intense hypnotherapy" since the Democratic nominee conceded last Wednesday. "I had one friend tell me he's never been so depressed and angry in his life," Schooler said. "I observed patients threatening to leave the country or staring listlessly into space. They were emotionally paralyzed, shocked and devastated."
Democrat, Election, Character, Funny, Crazy
More shocked John Kerry supporters on Wednesday sought psychological help with “post-election selection trauma” in South Florida, prompting the American Health Association to officially release symptoms of the disorder and open its doors for free counseling.
“There’s a lot of older Democrats here and they outnumber Republicans and you don’t want an epidemic of suicides with the elderly. So our counseling center is now open free to those with post-election selection depression, PEST, who need to exorcise their demons.”
Democrat, Election, Character, Crazy
For last week's election losers -- Democrats and other Kerry voters this time around -- it's all over but the tears. The quadrennial exercise of electing a president has always had its vanquished partisans, nursing their disappointment and political wounds and plotting a comeback at the next polling.
But after an election campaign marked by bitterness, high energy and a sharply divided electorate, those who tend to Americans' mental health are worried about the emotional state of the losing side. Beyond the tears shed over an election lost, they see anger, uncertainty, paralysis and downright denial among defeated Kerry backers. They see a depth and breadth of grief that many say they have never seen before.
“The problem is out there and it’s not going to go away anytime soon,” Schooler told the paper. “Conservatives are calling me to say these people are weak-kneed kooks..."