I’ve been watching our Facebook page get taken over by a bunch of school yard bullies over the past few months. It’s a pretty confusing thing to see for a support group.

Living in Florida, I’ve gotten an up close and personal view of Trump lighting people up. It’s great to see everyone so excited about the future of the US.

It’s less exciting to see my otherwise lovely neighbors start talking about Liberals like they’re less than human.

Given that Liberals and Conservatives share the same DNA, I imagine they’re doing the same thing over in their own Facebook bubble, although I don’t see much of that.

One of the great things about doctors offices is they don’t ask about your political affiliation before they treat you. They just treat you, because any good doctor doesn’t care what bumper sticker you have on your car.

Caregivers aren’t bond by the Hippocratic Oath, but joining The Caregiver Space suggests you’re here to talk to other caregivers and support each other.

That’s suddenly hard for people, because everything caregiving related has become a button unleashing a political firestorm.

I know these are all words that are just asking for trouble: Obamacare, repeal and replace, Meals on Wheels, Medicare, subsidies, tax credits, health insurance, provider network, work requirements…the list goes on. These words turn people into internet trolls and bullies.

The problem is, how do we talk about our lives as caregivers without mentioning them? I don’t think we can.

But there’s a solution.

We’re all old enough to remember a time when complaining about copays was just that — complaining about copays. Not a commentary on the President of the United States or a declaration of our political feelings. It was a commentary on our personal experience. I would complain about copays and someone else would say agree that they really add up and it stresses them out, too.

We can still do that.

If someone says they’re worried about changes to their health insurance, I can respond to another caregiver saying they’re worried.

If someone is stressed out about how they’re going to pay their kid’s medical bills, I hear that they’re stressed out.

If someone is upset because they tried to sign up for a social program and they got placed on a waiting list, I can relate to feeling frustrated.

If someone writes a post about how they wish the rules for FDA approval would change and I completely disagree, I can say that I disagree without going on a personal attack.

Some people have a great experience with the VA, some people don’t. That doesn’t mean anyone is wrong, it means they had different experiences.

We all know this already. We’re polite to people we disagree with all the time. I disagree with my husband about things. My parents and I seem to have opposite opinions about pretty much everything. And we still love each other. I still support them through all sorts of things and they support me.

We all have enough stress in our lives. We come here to share our ups and our downs and know other people understand what we’re going through. I come to The Caregiver Space for support, but lately it’s been stressing me out.

Let’s leave the political arguments for another Facebook page and get back to supporting each other.