Coping with Election Anxiety
By Cheryl Tien, M.S.
Regardless of your political beliefs, you may be experiencing some stress, worry, or anxiety as we approach election day on November 3rd. These feelings may be heightened with the current COVID-19 global pandemic. During these times, it’s important to be sure to pay attention to how your body is responding to what you are reading or seeing. Listed below are some tips to cope with your election-related stress.
Take media breaks. You might be feeling like you need to keep up with the news, especially with everything that we have happening in our communities right now. But remember that the news media’s goal is to shock and get strong reactions from us so that we keep watching. Consider taking breaks from watching or reading the news to give yourself a chance to process and calm down after taking it all in.
Try to focus on what you can control. Hearing any news can be stressful, but election news could feel particularly stressful. You may have feelings of losing control or hopelessness. Focusing on the things in your life that you can control will help reduce those feelings. These things don’t necessarily have to be election-related activities unless you want them to be. Is there a new hobby you’ve been thinking about picking up? Doing something new or giving yourself other things to focus on will help distract you from the news.
Plan for how you’re spending election night. If you’re worried about election night, think about the kind of support you might want for that night. Do you want to be around your loved ones? Do a virtual election night party. Rather spend time with yourself but are worried you might be stressed out? Plan to practice lots of self-care that day. Have a bubble bath, do that face mask, or play those video games!
Plan a fun event for after election day. Having something to look forward to after the election will help you focus less on the election and more on other things happening in your life. Or it could just a planned election debrief you have with your support networks to help you process. Either way, it’s important to make sure you’re finding ways to take care of your self after the election.