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A clinical psychologist warns that the tendency to cut off family members, which are often promoted to “self-care” on social media, may actually fuel loneliness and worsen mental health.
“Severing off your social support, cutting off your family, creating loneliness and isolation for yourself is actually the worst thing you do for your mental health,” Dr Chloe Carmichael told. Fox News Numbers. “It’s like eating twinkies in healthy food.”
Carmichael, The author of the new book “Can I say that? Why freedom of speech is important and how to use it fearlessly.” Distancing distant relatives and political distancing can undermine family bonds, resilience, emotional well-being and freedom of speech.
Carmichael Donald Trump.
Dr Chloe Carmichael warned that connections to family and politics are not “self-care”, which may fuel loneliness and harm mental health. (iStock)
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“Unfortunately, we’ve seen an incredible trend in which young family members often cut off more senior family members, sometimes even their own parents,” she said.
She takes this trend from Tufts University It shows that liberals tend to have worse mental health than conservatives. According to her research, liberals are also more likely to participate in what she calls the “Five DS”: disconnection on social media, occupying distance in real life, falling behind relationships, propaganda speakers and declines to date – all in political differences.
“I contacted these because we know we are in a prevalent state of loneliness and we know loneliness is not good for mental health,” Carmichael explained. “So if you are part of a political population that tends to remove people from political differences, it is no surprise that we see this kind of isolation behavior.”
Gallup Data It shows that Americans’ assessment of their own mental health has become increasingly negative over the past 24 years. Over the past decade, the proportion of young people aged 18 to 29 who reported “excellent” mental health has dropped by 27 points, with some sharp declines reported by young women.
On social media, breaking connections with members of a politically different family is often constituted as empowerment or self-protection. Carmichael stressed that it is appropriate to create distances or boundaries in the case of naming or physical threats. But she warned against alienation as the default response.
Psychologist Chloe Carmichael warned that alienating family members from political differences leads to loneliness. (iStock)
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“What we need to learn how to do is how to be resilient and how to build relationships. Even if we don’t agree, we can have multiple perspectives and our lives will be richer,” she said.
She believes that the ability to express herself freely leads to more authentic interpersonal relationships and stronger social support, which is a “buffer” for the struggle for mental health. This also has a positive impact on the brain, she said.
“When we name emotions, our amygdala activity has been shown to decrease,” Carmichael said. “The amygdala is part of the brain that becomes active when we fear it. So we want to get rid of oppression, suppression and denial. We want to get into real communication more.”
So how do families deal with the political tensions in their families? Carmichael emphasizes practicing what she calls “listening.”
“For example, if you are listening to someone who is saying something you find very triggering or meaningless to you, sometimes practice can help, how many questions can I ask in a row before I feel the need to jump into my opinion in my opinion?” she said.
Psychologist Dr. Chloe Carmichael warns that political alienation in the family can undermine resilience. (ISTOCK image)
She also encourages recalling moments when her views changed.
“Maybe this person is going through a similar moment of his own. So even if we disagree with someone, we want to inspire our compassion and ability, even if we disagree with them.”
For those who strive to speak out, she recommends preparation and support, such as reminding colleagues before proposing work-sensitive points or prior to suggesting role-playing conversations. She also recommends reviewing workplace or university speech policies to better understand their rights.
Carmichael believes that freedom of expression and open dialogue can not only improve mental health, but also reduce bullying and polarization.
“We are not trapped in the wrong choice between freedom of speech and hate speech and bullying our lives,” she said. “When we provide people with tools to communicate effectively, that is the type of real, intense problems we actually reduce, like bullying and violence and the types of real, strong problems we want to avoid.”
President Donald Trump waves when he arrives in the U.S. Open Tennis Men’s Singles Sunday, September 7, 2025 (Photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
“If we really want to crack down on misinformation, the public conversation we need to have is able to review, check and debate,” she added. “That’s how we really do it.”
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As some free media figures continue to encourage her book to arrive Avoiding Trump-supported families Members after Trump’s victory in 2024.
A few days after the election, a show by Joy Reid, a former MSNBC-hosted psychiatrist, showed that distance from ace support loved ones during the holidays could be healthier.
“There is a driving force, and I think if someone is your family and they are entitled to your time, I think the answer is absolutely not,” said Dr. Amanda Calhoun, chief psychiatry resident at Yale.
In a July paper in New York Magazine, author Sarah Jones likewise argues that neutrality in relationships “does not exist” and that sometimes cutting off family members on political differences is the right course of action.
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