People are so stressed by this election that the American Psychological Association has coping tips
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Even first lady Michelle Obama is feeling it.
In an emotional speech Thursday, she shared that the Republican presidential nominee’s comments from the now infamous “Access Hollywood” video about groping women had “shaken me to my core in a way I could not have predicted.”
Weeks before The Washington Post made that 2005 video of Donald Trump public, before Trump supporters were interrupting Hillary Clinton rallies by screaming that Bill Clinton is a rapist, before Trump told Clinton to her face that she should be in jail, Americans were already seriously stressed out by this election.
In August, the American Psychological Association included a question in its annual Stress in America survey about this election. It released the results of that particular query on Thursday, and it found that more than half of U.S. adults, regardless of party, felt very or somewhat stressed by the election.
One can only imagine that what’s transpired over the past week has intensified the disgust, anxiety and disbelief felt by so many Americans.
That the election is causing anxiety in more than half the country’s population puts it in line with other major life stressors, such as the economy, money or work, said Lynn Bufka, the APA’s associate executive director for policy.
“It could be how negative the whole campaign is, the discord is particularly heated, we seem to be more polarized,” she said. “Also, we can work ourselves up over what the future president could do and if we get wrapped up in a lot of what ifs, that can make us really stressed, too.”
As we noted in another piece about the very real “Election Stress Disorder,” Americans have been expressing serious anxiety about a potential Trump or Clinton presidency as far back as January. One element of the elevated stress people feel is that these candidates in particular evoke stronger emotions than most politicians.
Not surprisingly, adults who use social media were more likely than those who don’t to say the election was bumming them out, according to the APA poll.
“One of the challenges of being active in social media is that it’s always there,” Bufka said. “The social niceties seem to slip away when we’re online, we might be bolder or blunter, or it’s more readily misinterpreted. I urge people, walk away from it, it’s okay to not be plugged in all the time.”
[Feeling anxious ahead of the debate? Here’s how to cope with ‘Election Stress Disorder.’]
Notably, the demographic feeling it the most are seniors. Close to 6 out of 10 people over 71 years old said they were stressed by this election. Millennials were the next most angst-ridden group.
“We do know that older adults typically report lower stress levels than younger generations, so it is particularly surprising to see the reverse is the case with the election,” said Vaile Wright, a Washington, D.C.-based psychologist and member of APA’s Stress in America team. “So we can only guess as to the reasons older adults might be more likely to report election stress — one possibility is that they are concerned about the future for their children and grandchildren. Another is that the issues that are particularly important to older Americans — Social Security, Medicare, prescription costs — aren’t being talked about that much by the candidates.”
But, here’s the good news. For people who are willing to address their election stress head on, there are real-life skills to be harnessed. For instance, Bufka said people can learn how to more actively set boundaries in conversations. It’s okay to tell people that you’d rather not talk about the election and change the subject, she said. Or, if they can manage to keep their cool around a co-worker with opposing political viewpoints that could carry forward to other future interactions.
[Yes, you can practice mindfulness and still stomach this presidential campaign]
The APA outlined a few more ways to manage the stress of this election. And, if none of the below helps you cope, just keep reminding yourself there’s less than four weeks to go until it’s over.
Source: washingtonpost.com
