How to Handle Election Anxiety, According to Mental Health Experts

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A recent poll by the American Psychological Association found that two-thirds of people report feeling an increase in stress related to the election, an uptick from the same time in 2016. And that stress is bipartisan.

Once upon a time when my nerves were feeling especially frayed, I’d retreat to the movie theater. What was on screen never really mattered as much as the act of sitting in a dark room in the company of strangers; it was soothing. As my stress levels have continued to spike this year, it’s a place, and a feeling, I have found myself longing for over and over again.

“In the absence of the things that were our normal coping mechanisms, we’ve had to come up with new ways to manage our stress,” says Brooklyn-based clinical psychologist Nanika Coor, Psy.D. “Some people have been able to do that more easily, but most are feeling really overwhelmed without their familiar strategies, and the stress that builds up from that can start getting toxic.” In the lead-up to the, that stress has escalated dramatically.

That that sense of isolation during what is, at base level, an extremely fraught election is compounded since we are all, literally, more isolated than ever because of a pandemic. And social isolation is commonly and traditionally correlated with depression and anxiety. “People feel like their values are so deeply tied to whatever happens in this election so there’s a lot of catastrophic thinking happening on both sides,” says Thea Gallagher, Psy.D.

. Chief among them, and perhaps most relevant to our current state of sleeplessness, is separating yourself from your technology, and, more critically, from the endless news: staying informed doesn’t have to mean being constantly plugged in. Besides putting your phone to bed before you hit the pillow, Gallagher says you should put a timer on your daily consumption: she suggests ten minutes max. “We really have to be intentional about taking space,” says Gallagher.

 

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Did the mental health experts approved on the use of that image?

Is it the stress of the election or the stress from all these protests?

Stress lowers immune system too. Worst time for that to happen. 😐

That stress is SOMETHING THEY ALLOW

Yes. Truth.

Because you just.don’t. Get it

I spent three hours on the elliptical today... I’m literally to tired to be stressed, but I would be otherwise. I’m staying optimistic until proven otherwise. I’ve contributed to Joe and AOC.... I’m trying to just let it go and do some more writing. VoteBidenHarris2020

Relax, with calming PURE FOAM aromatherapy hair wash shampoo and conditioner Whip, NeimanMarcus Saks Cosmoprofbeauty SalonCentric

Ouch, my eyes.

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