‘Trump Trauma’: Hollywood Therapists Cite Uptick in Patients

November 17th, 2016 2:33 PM

It’s safe to say that none of the Tinsel Town celebs are actually moving to Canada. But they will be going to therapy, a November 16 Hollywood Reporter article clarified. After all, as comedian Sarah Silverman tweeted, "for a lot of people, this is the Great Depression." 

According to THR’s Lorena O’Neil, “the population of this blue city is suffering from mood indigo and anxiety.” One psychologist told O’Neil that he was “swamped with complaints from patients after Trump won.” The president-elect’s victory, he explained, was “traumatic” for many in the entertainment sphere.

Psychologist Philip Pierce opined that “the level of threat – or perceived threat – has gone up. I think you’ll see an increase in panic attacks.” Another practitioner revealed that one patient kept “pulling over to the side of the road and bursting into tears.”

Considering celebrities’ lachrymose election night Twitter posts—replete with mentions of shots, tissues and anxiety meds—this uptick in therapy sessions is no great surprise. In fact, before the victor was announced, some stars were already counseling each other on the four stages of grief.

But some, like actress and producer Lena Dunham, engaged in more unconventional approaches to anxiety relief. In a November 8 Instagram post, she wrote: “@ladygaga let me into her vagina for safety when I cried. And that’s beautiful.”

On November 14, she traveled to breathtaking Sedona, Arizona to “ask the Canyon for some guidance.” Referring to that same canyon, Dunham penned: “She said this week is going to be revolutionary, and so I threw my arms open and said ‘bring it.’ (Good thing we got the week’s first true smile on camera.)”

It takes all kinds.