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Voters endured long lines to vote for their presidential choice — Donald Trump

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Happy birthday Spencer Jacob Smith!

<p>A hard-fought battle, in the form of the 2016 Presidential Election, has come to an end. From campaign television ads to get-out-the-vote campaigns, the 2016 election season was divisive.</p><p>Many analysts on CNN, Fox News and other media outlets repeatedly said President-elect Donald Trump had a narrow path to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. But his late-night victories in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania, along with traditional Republican strongholds, gave the New York City-based businessman the path he needed to win, the Associated Press said.</p><p>For those who supported Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton &#8212; now what?</p><p>Local psychologist Robert Griffin, based in Forty Fort, said people&#8217;s feelings of loss and anxiety over the election make &#8220;perfect sense&#8221; and are &#8220;legitimate.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;The fact that it was a surprise makes it harder to take,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Individuals have taken to Facebook to mourn the loss of America as they knew it.</p><p>Former Bear Creek Village resident Thomas Rudick, who now lives in Tennessee, said he&#8217;s &#8220;grieving at this moment.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Today, I do feel ashamed to be an American because something very dear to me died last night,&#8221; Rudick posted.</p><p>Griffin related the loss of Clinton to losing a parent. He sensed people saw Clinton as a &#8220;nurturing mother&#8221; and Trump as an &#8220;abusing father figure.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;When someone you love passes on, people tell you to get over it or grow up,&#8221; Rudick continued. &#8220;It&#8217;s really hard for me to believe she (America) is in a better place.&#8221;</p><p>Bobby Light, of West Pittston, said in a phone interview that, as Wednesday went on, he&#8217;s been able to breathe more and realize the fear factor associated with a Donald Trump presidency is not good for him or the country.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sensing a weird sense of hope,&#8221; Light said. &#8220;Anything is possible.&#8221;</p><p>In his Facebook post, Light, who is openly gay, acknowledged &#8220;through blurry eyes as tears stream down my face&#8221; why he&#8217;s upset with voters.</p><p>&#8220;The Vice President (-elect Mike Pence) is someone who openly advocates electroshock therapy to turn gay people straight,&#8221; Light wrote. &#8220;(Pence) very recently voted to pass a bill that would put gay people in prison just for applying for a marriage license.&#8221;</p><p>Light said with a Trump win, the &#8220;unimaginable happened&#8221; but noted he&#8217;s hopeful because it&#8217;s &#8220;forcing people to say okay, let&#8217;s get through this.&#8221;</p><p>The Kansas City Star newspaper has encouraged people to make conscious decisions to redirect election emotion by taking a walk, playing a mindless game on a mobile phone or even reading a book.</p><p>Griffin agrees.</p><p>&#8220;Go see a movie; go see a concert,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The one feeling Griffin said people should not feel is bad about feeling bad. He advises those finding the election result difficult to swallow to attend a support group.</p><p>The American Psychological Association (APA) released a survey in October which found 52 percent of American adults thought Tuesday&#8217;s election had been a very or somewhat significant source of stress.</p><p>To change, especially a big change, like a president who doesn&#8217;t support personal values, Griffin said, is hard on people.</p><p>&#8220;The biggest thing in life is to adapt,&#8221; he said, noting he believes Northeastern Pennsylvania is a slow-to-change area.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Melanie Mizenko</p><p>mmizenko@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>Seeking help after the divisive election?</p><p>&#8226; Trans Lifeline - 877-565-8860</p><p>&#8226; Trevor Project Lifeline - 866-488-7386</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Melanie Mizenko at 570-991-6116 or on Twitter @TL_MMizenko</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Psychologist: Feeling fear, anxiety over Clinton’s loss makes ‘perfect sense’