If you’re feeling stressed out this election season, you’re not alone. Divisive rhetoric
and partisanship can adversely affect our mental health, leading to anxiety, depression, sleep issues, and drinking.
Anxiety is especially problematic for those who are highly engaged in politics and
who have difficulty separating themselves from negative emotions, according to a study of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Other research has found that symptoms of both anxiety and depression increased steadily as the
2020 election approached.
Anticipatory stress related to election outcomes is also associated with poorer self-reported
physical health. According to a 2023 survey, 51% of Americans say they make less healthy food and beverage choices when experiencing
stress. Higher levels of cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, is associated with gravitating
toward comfort foods, which activate the brain’s reward centers.
Key Points
Political division can worsen anxiety and stress, especially for those deeply involved
in politics.
Managing stress involves focusing on controllable factors, like limiting news exposure.
Stay present and calm to reduce election-related anxiety.
Practicing gratitude and focusing on positive future outcomes can counteract the negativity
of election seasons.
Mental health risks can also remain elevated postelection. When researchers studied
individuals receiving counseling services after the 2016 national election, they found
an increase in relationship conflict. After the 2020 election, researchers estimated that 12.5% of American adults experienced election-related post-traumatic stress
disorder, twice as high as the annual prevalence of PTSD. This high rate of PTSD correlated
with negativity toward the opposing party.
Here are three strategies that can increase positive emotions, reduce unhelpful negative
emotional states, and encourage healthy choices in a climate of stress and uncertainty.
Focus on What You Can Control and Increase Positive Emotions
In a highly charged election season, we can feel powerless over events around us.
According to self-determination theory, feeling capable of directing our lives is
a basic human need. The more that need is met, the more we are able to flourish. Strengthening
our sense of control over negative emotional triggers, as well as positive emotional
experiences, can go a long way toward boosting overall well-being.
How to apply it:
As you move through the day, see if you can make a mental note of what’s more controllable
(for example, your reactions, media consumption, and ways of thinking) and what’s
less controllable (such as news events, the outcome of the election, and what people
say to you). This awareness should help you better allocate your mental and emotional
resources, giving you the opportunity to redirect your attention when you find yourself
worrying about something you cannot control.
Set sensible boundaries around your news consumption. Limiting your news consumption
to 30 minutes a day may be a good place to start since it’s estimated that adults
spend hours each day on average looking at screens. Rather than constantly scrolling through headlines,
choose a specific time of day to check in and avoid emotionally triggering content
as much as possible.
Create a schedule of activities unrelated to politics that make you feel good. Small
activities count! These can include doing something physically active, engaging in
a creative activity, or sprucing up your home environment.
Connect with nature. Research suggests that even brief amounts of time in nature can improve your mood. This can be as simple as going outside and noticing the sunlight,
clouds, trees, and birds.
Take positive action that serves others. When we help others in some way, whether
through volunteering in the community or on a personal level, it can reduce depression.
Practice Mindfulness of Your Inner Life and in Your Conversations
Mindfulness is the practice of bringing nonjudgmental curiosity to the present moment. When we
enter a mindful state, we become compassionate observers to whatever is occurring
within us and around us. This can help reduce negative emotional reactivity when we
get caught up in the hypothetical “what if” scenarios as we approach election day.
Those “what ifs” can spiral into imagining worst case scenarios related to our preferred
election outcome, which then amplify anxiety and frustration. Entering a mindful state
can stop that downward spiral by grounding us in the here-and-now and unplugging us
from the “story” of what we’re worried about.
How to apply it:
During your day, see if you can find a quiet space and take a minute or two to pay
attention to your breath. Just notice the sensation of breathing. There’s no need
to breathe any differently from how you’re breathing at that moment. If your mind
begins to wander into worry or political thoughts, notice that too. You can say to
yourself “Ah, my mind has wandered” and then guide your attention back to the focus
of your breath.
Be mindful about the types of conversations you do and do not want to engage in. If
there are certain people in your life with opposing political views, who also like
to talk about those views frequently, you can set a gentle boundary, saying, “I’m
wondering if we could avoid talking about the election today.” If you’re respectful
about it, the other person is likely to honor that preference. It’s also helpful to
pick out a less controversial conversational topic that would be well-received ahead
of time.
If you find yourself in a political conversation, practice mindful listening. Notice
any strong negative emotions or thoughts that may arise. Instead of reacting to them
within the conversation, see if you can label them and affirm your ability to choose
a different path: “I’m feeling highly irritated, but I don’t have to act on this right
now.” Try listening with curiosity and understanding rather than jumping to a rebuttal
in your head. This approach reduce tension and improve the quality of your communication.
If the conversation continues to draw out negative feelings, you can kindly excuse
yourself.
Cultivate Gratitude and Hope
In a stressful election season, it is easy for us to get trapped in what’s going wrong
or the negative side of the political landscape. Practicing gratitude helps shift the focus to what is going right in our lives, replacing a deficit mindset
with one that prioritizes the silver linings. When we feel grateful for something,
it can cause us to feel more hopeful and, when expressed to others, can strengthen our social bonds. In this way, hope
and gratitude can insulate us from the negative emotions of a tense political climate,
news story, or conversation. We can actively increase the level of gratitude and hope
we feel on a daily basis.
How to apply it:
Start a gratitude journal. Write down one or two things you’re grateful for each day,
which could be related to personal, professional, or social experiences. Make sure
you include why you feel grateful, as this can deepen the meaning and impact of the practice.
Share feelings of gratitude with those around you, even in political conversations.
You can thank someone for sharing their perspective, even if you don’t agree, or acknowledge
the effort it took for them to discuss difficult topics.
Regardless of what’s happening in the political realm, write down some ways the future
may be brighter, tapping into your optimistic self. If you’re having trouble coming
up with this positive vision, you can “borrow” the optimism of others by asking them
for their hopeful perspective. See if you can turn any negative “what if” into a “what
could be” from a positive vantage point.
Take some time each day to visualize those positive outcomes. Close your eyes and
really try to picture them, regardless of the election result, in as much detail as
possible. See if you can also identify your active role within those visualizations
in contributing to a better world no matter what happens in the election.
Remember that predictions based on anxiety-driven worst-case scenarios and catastrophic
thinking are often wrong. Heated political rhetoric can prey on our fears and increase
anxiety-causing predictions. However, if you write those predictions down, you can
begin to question them, critically evaluating their probability of coming true. This
logical, evidence-based approach can reduce the anxiety associated with those predictions
as you generate a more balanced outlook.
The Bottom Line
Election seasons are stressful, especially when they highlight deep divisions within
society. However, using strategies from positive psychology can help you not only avoid mental health struggles, but also lift you more regularly
into positive mental and emotional states. By focusing on what you can control, practicing
mindfulness, cultivating gratitude, and maintaining optimism, you can manage election-related
stress and continue to contribute positively to the many roles you have in life.
In the Master of Applied Positive Psychology program at PCOM, our students are learning to implement a wide range of life enhancement strategies,
including gratitude, self-compassion, deep listening, and self-validation, which can
create more harmonious inner states and reduce tensions that perpetuate division and
conflict. Many of those strategies are taught in our 7-week positive psychology program,
A Happier You, and the Health Support Program, a motivational interviewing-based approach to building
community and supporting healthy lifestyles.
