Mental Health and the Election Cycle
2024 is an election year, and even those living under a rock must know about it. Between the 24/7 news cycle, the non-stop political ads and social media posts, and the general smell of political tension in the air, it’s pretty obvious that election season can leave even the most laid-back American stressed. So, let’s talk about election anxiety and your mental health.
It may be the candidates, or it may be the constant presence of politics in our daily lives, but political stress is real, and the new hot term being used these days is “election anxiety.”
Election anxiety is so prevalent, psychologist Steven Stosny even coined the term “election stress disorder” to better identify the experience of millions of Americans right now. However, it certainly is not a new phenomenon. The APA found that the 2016 Presidential Election left 52% of American adults feeling stressed. The APA further found that around two-thirds of Americans felt significantly stressed by the 2020 election. It feels like the stress is getting worse.
What’s election stress all about anyway?
Voting has always been important to Americans. While some election seasons are worse than others, one of the most controversial elections happened 150 years ago (I’m looking at you, Rutherford Hayes). Of course, we have been living in a highly charged political scene since 2016 (I wonder what the common factor is there?). So, what’s stressing people out anyway?
Social media is one relatively new factor that wasn’t a problem 20 years ago. During the 2020 election, a 2020 Pew Research Center study found that “55% of U.S. social media users say that they are ‘worn out’ by political posts.” But it’s not just political social media posts. With so much information online, people are getting caught up in another new phenomenon: doomscrolling.
Doomscrolling refers to the act of spending too much time online consuming negative content. Since most people are consuming all this information on their phones, they are quite literally scrolling through negative news and posts, and going down conspiracy rabbit holes that are not helpful for mental health. If you think doomscrolling leaves you feeling like dogshit, it’s because it is.
The term “doomscrolling” emerged during the 2020 Pandemic, and it became clear that the more people consumed negative media, the more stressed and fearful they became.
That 24/7 news cycle isn’t good for your mental health, even in non-election years. A constant influx of negative news leaves many feeling overloaded, anxious, fearful, and stressed, and can even lead to hopelessness and helplessness. None of this was good for us in 2020, and it isn’t good for us now.
By February 2024, a “Pew poll found that 65% of U.S. adults always or often felt exhausted by politics and 55% always or often felt angry.” The APA reported that, “Across three separate surveys, 1 in 20 people also reported being so distressed about politics that they had suicidal thoughts.” By May, another survey found that 73% of Americans were feeling stressed about the election. The most recent APA survey dropped in October and found that “More than 7 in 10 adults (72%) said they are worried the election results could lead to violence, and more than half of adults (56%) said they believed the 2024 presidential election could be the end of democracy in the U.S.” needless to say, Americans are worked up right now.
Election anxiety is not just some extra stress for many people. One study found that the negative impact of politics can quite literally make us sick. Some symptoms of mental health problems related to the election might include:
Short temper
Anxiety
Depression
Obsessive thoughts
Physical symptoms including headaches, fatigue, and tummy problems
Sleep loss
Substance use
Feelings of fear/PTSD
How to cut down election anxiety
The simple answer to cutting down election anxiety and general distress around the election season is boundaries.
Set boundaries and focus on other aspects of life that matter to you. Focus on your mental health and self-care to fight those feelings of anxiety, stress, and depression.
The constant exposure to election coverage on social, TV, and everywhere in between, is not healthy. How to combat that? Look away. Read a book. Take a walk. Turn on old episodes of Friends. Here are a few more ways to stop the election stress:
Practice self-care daily, especially if you’re feeling anxious and depressed
Practice mindful news consumption - be in the know, but don’t doom scroll
Step back from political discussions - it’s okay to do other things, even during an election year
Be kind - just because someone doesn’t agree with you doesn’t give you the right to be mean. The energy you put out comes back, so don’t engage in negativity.
Set boundaries (that one is worth saying one more time)
Election anxiety is real. But it doesn’t have to be all-consuming. When it comes time to engage in the life that is in front of you, don’t spend it staring at your phone. The presidential election won’t make or break your life. Your life is what you make it. Focus on what you can control: vote, be kind, and live a life worth living.
