New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she’s in therapy following the “trauma” she incurred from being inside the Capitol complex during the Jan. 6 riot.
The congresswoman also faulted former President Donald Trump’s administration’s treatment of Latinos as another reason she has sought counseling.
“Yeah. Oh yeah. I’m doing therapy, but also, I’ve just slowed down,” she told NPR’s Maria Hinojosa on a podcast episode of Latino USA, which aired on Friday. “I think the Trump administration had a lot of us, especially the Latino communities, in a very reactive mode, and so I’ve been putting myself in a more proactive space.”
The Democrat said Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley convinced her that she went through “trauma” in the beginning of the year.
“I think after [Jan. 6], I took some time — and it was really Ayanna Pressley. I explained to her what happened to me, like, the day of because I ran to her office, and she was like, ‘You need to recognize trauma,’” she said.
“If I take a couple months and just be really good, then I don’t have to live with this thing festering and lingering with me like a roommate in my apartment for years,” she added.
In mid-January, Ocasio-Cortez hosted an event in Congress in which representatives recounted their experiences during the riot. The New York Democrat, one of the most liberal members of the House, remarked that she almost died.
“I can tell you that I had a very close encounter where I thought I was going to die,” she said at the time. “I did not know if I was going to make it to the end of that day alive.”
Lawmakers have not forgotten about the siege as the House passed a $1.9 trillion bill to bolster security at the Capitol on Thursday after legislators agreed to move forward with a commission to investigate Jan. 6. Both proposals have seen staunch opposition from Republican leaders.
More than 400 suspected riot participants have been arrested and charged in the aftermath of the unrest.
Author : Jake Dima
Source : Washington Examiner : AOC says she’s in therapy due to ‘trauma’ of Capitol riot
