Shocked supporters of defeated US presidential candidate John Kerry are seeking help from psychologists, who refer to their condition as "post-election selection trauma," the Boca Raton News reported Tuesday. The daily said Palm Beach, Florida trauma specialist Douglas Schooler alone has already treated 15 clients and friends with intense hypnotherapy since the Democratic candidate conceded on November 3.
"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 paralysed, shocked and devastated," he told the daily.
"We're calling it 'post-election selection trauma' and we're working to develop a counselling programme for it," said Rob Gordon, the Boca Raton-based executive director of the American Health Association.
"It's like post-traumatic stress syndrome, but it's a short-term shock rather than a childhood trauma," he told the daily.