No matter the camp that you fall into or the candidate (if any) you support, election cycles can take a serious emotional toll on us. From seeing campaign ads on television, to clickbait news headlines, to social media meme sharing, and late night television monologues — it can get completely overwhelming.

What is the emotional toll?

Heightened Anxiety

Heightened anxiety can occur, especially when triggered by uncertainty of the future. People can be particularly anxious worrying about outcomes that can impact their healthcare, finances, civil rights, and safety or security. 

Relationship Stress and Tension

Relationship stress and tensions are often increased especially when encountering people in your life that have different beliefs from yourself. Many times, people are trying to maintain relationships with really important people in their lives who hold conflicting opinions and sometimes any conversation topic can feel like navigating a minefield. Existing in a world with such polarization can create or exacerbate a sense of loneliness or isolation. 

Information Overwhelm

The onslaught of information put out into the world can be overwhelming to keep up with. Trying to absorb the overload of information that is accessible seems like an impossible task and it can lead to fear, depression, helplessness, hopelessness, and dread. It is likely you will end up emotionally exhausted and burned out.

Disrupted Sleep

Some people may even experience disrupted sleep, either from worrying and racing thoughts or from trying to keep up with information.

When you are finding yourself overloaded with election-related stress, it is important to take a step back and focus some energy on taking care of yourself.

What can you do?

Take a Media Break

This means limiting your consumption of election related information. You don’t have to watch the news at every opportunity to stay informed. If your social media feed is inundated with posts that stress you out, log out. 

Ways you can set limits: 

• Set specific times of day you will look at updates

• Set time limits for how long you will allow yourself to read or engage with information (ex. 10 minutes)

• Pick a handful of sources of media that are most informative or helpful to you and only check those sources and only during your designated times

• Remove or “offload” the app from your phone to keep you from opening it out of habit
  

Limit Political Discussions

You don’t have to talk politics with anyone. If it stresses you out, set boundaries with people. You don’t have to have differing beliefs to limit political discourse. It can be a topic that comes up time and time again, especially as the election day gets closer. Let people know you are trying to set limits for yourself and politely request a change of topic. If the person does not respect your boundary, you may need to remove yourself from the conversation for the time being. 

For more details on how to manage uncomfortable conversations, check out this post on Managing Holiday Stress.

Make Time for Stress-Reducing Activity

Set aside intentional time and space to do things that you know help you to relax, recharge, or ground yourself. Even a few minutes a day can have a big impact. 

Some things you might try: 

• Spend time outdoors - get some fresh air, sunshine, and engage with nature 

• Move your body - go for a walk, stretch, do yoga, or dance around the living room  

• Try mindfulness or meditation - there are so many free ways to try mindfulness exercises online 

• Engage in a hobby that brings you joy or relaxation - it could be a sport, painting, reading, baking, or cooking

• Explore more suggestions in this Self-Care is Not Selfish blog post.

Connect with Others

Spend time with people in your network that make you feel safe and calm. Connect with friends that help you to feel grounded or with whom you know you will have fun. You can also find people in your life or through an online community where you can process your stress or emotions without making them worse. Generally, I think we have an idea of who the people are that can increase our stress in certain situations. When you are feeling overwhelmed, they may not be the go-to person for a chat. 

Get Professional Help

Don’t dismiss the serious mental, physical, and emotional impact election stress can cause. If you find your stress is becoming unmanageable, it may be time to reach out for professional support. You don’t have to do it alone, and I’m here to help.

Summary/TL;DR

Remember, if you are feeling overwhelmed by stress during an election cycle - you are not alone. It is normal to experience some stress and frustration during this time. With the barrage of information and the intensity of the headlines at times, it would be almost impossible to not have some stress, anxiety, or tension at times. 

If you build awareness of your stressors, engage in healthy self-care, and stay connected to others you will be able to navigate through this challenging time.