Coping with Stress After the 2020 Election: Finding a Balance After Casting Your Ballot
The 2020 election was the biggest in our lifetime, and it transformed from Election Day into Election Week. Due to the prolonged electoral process, many experienced a strain on their mental health. With Joe Biden as President-elect and lawsuits promised from the Trump administration, the question is how to pay attention, but also take care of yourself.
While Election Day is over, political tension will remain in the U.S. for months, if not years to come. It may seem that in order to stay informed with political affairs, you must either be fully immersed or be fully disconnected. However, I propose there are ways to balance these two extremes.
There is a hyper-awareness of the tallies, swing states and percentages that makes putting your phone down or turning off the T.V. off impossible. It’s only more difficult when Snapchat stories that usually revolve around Netflix shows and makeup suddenly become a tap-through information session run by “political experts.” While I acknowledge the validity of personal stakes in this election because of the threat to human rights, overexposure still hurts everyone.
The results of a 2017 study by the American Psychological Association on Stress in America showed that while 95% of adults said they follow the news regularly to stay informed, 56% of those adults reported stress as a result. In addition, people become addicted to the news through negativity bias, or a tendency to focus on information that can potentially harm them. A Time article further supports this and reports the addictive nature of harmful news when attempting to stay informed: “One in 10 adults checks the news every hour, and fully 20% of Americans report ‘constantly’ monitoring their social media feeds — which often exposes them to the latest news headlines, whether they like it or not.”
Taking an opposite approach means a complete unawareness to political events. While most people don’t have the privilege to completely disregard politics, it may be overwhelming to start learning for those who do have this privilege. This can understandably be very cumbersome, and the temptation to engage in blissful ignorance is strong.
According to the Sanders Institute, voter turnout in U.S. elections has been consistently low, most often due to the lack of representation stemming from the two-party system, complex voting registration, or simply, a failure to acknowledge the struggles of anyone different from an individual's identity group.
“Voter turnout in the United States during presidential election years has remained around 50%-60% of the voting eligible population since the early 1900s,” the article included.
While political apathy is certainly the easier option, it is not the most rational one. Both of these extreme perspectives are understandable reactions to the immense stress many of us are feeling right now. Like most things in life, a healthy balance is what we should strive for. Regardless of our political stances, it is growing more important that we listen to our feelings and find ways to cope that don’t involve mindlessly scrolling through news outlets or leaving the television on for a week.
In order for any coping strategy to work, we must first listen to what our bodies are telling us. Stress caused by uncertainty can lead to sleepless nights, wavering and overall physical discomfort. Stress manifests itself in many ways with our physical health taking the brunt through symptoms like headaches, fatigue, muscle tension and digestive issues. The Mayo Clinic states that our bodies and minds are completely intertwined, allowing these physical manifestations of stress to result in feelings of irritability, anxiety, fatigue and isolation.
Right now, the best decision we can do to manage election anxiety is to listen to our bodies. Fatigued? Sneak in a nap. Tense? Drink some water and step outside for a walk. There many calming options, but it is important you remain in touch with your personal needs to minimize mental and physical stress relief.
Once you’ve caught up with the most recent news, take some time away from social media to do something you enjoy or focus your attention elsewhere. Doing a form of self-care is a great way to destress from what’s happening around you. Taking a shower, going for a walk or tidying up your space are effective ways to keep your phone down and practice mindfulness in your surroundings.
All of us are feeling post-election stress in some way, and many of us unintentionally revert to these extremes as a coping mechanism. However, it is important that we all find our healthy mediums of awareness, emotional intelligence, social media breaks and caring about those whose livelihoods are deeply impacted by the presidential election. Right now, our social media habits can take a lesson from our politically-polarized country and realize that moderation might be key.
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