As a psychologist, I’m in the business of helping people deal with stress, and lately there has been a growing amount of it. According to a recent survey of the American Psychological Association http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2016/10/presidential-election-stress.aspx, 52% of American adults report that this election is the cause of moderate to significant stress. I suspect those numbers might have risen since this survey was conducted. The stress has been so high during this election that the term “election stress disorder” has been used in the media and elsewhere to characterize this phenomenon. I have certainly seen this among my patients, friends and family, manifesting in such symptoms as difficulty sleeping, greater irritability, underlying anxiety, and at times discord and disagreement that have even turned into physical aggression. While the APA has offered some helpful suggestions for how to cope with election stress, I have a few thoughts of my own.
Research has shown that how we view negative events, and whether we believe we have any control over them, can greatly impact our perceived level of stress. The highest levels of perceived stress are often experienced when people feel no personal control and believe there is nothing they can do to have any positive impact in a situation. It might be easy to fall into this mindset during this election season.
Even though we don’t have control over the events unfolding during this election, or over the behaviors of our leaders, we can control our own behavior. The importance and value of this is not to be underestimated. Many of us may not have official positions of high leadership, but we are all important leaders in one aspect of our lives or another, whether it is in our work environments, our communities, or our own homes. By focusing on where we do have control, by monitoring and managing our own stress levels, by acting respectfully toward one another, and by demonstrating our values through our behaviors, we can experience a small but important sense of personal control.
Here are several suggestions for managing election stress:
1. First, we can use our self-awareness to be mindful of our stress levels rising and recognize when we need to take action to prevent ourselves from getting pulled into intense anxiety, frustration or anger that is unproductive and unhealthy. Being able to take a critical pause when we first notice our stress escalating makes it easier to disengage from negativity before it takes over. In that pause we can step back and ask ourselves: 1 -How can I best take care of myself in this moment? and 2 – How do I want to act in a way that reflects my best self? For example, if people around you are in a heated political argument, you might choose not to engage in a battle that will do nothing but raise your blood pressure or make enemies.
2. Second, with this emotional awareness, we can make the decision to “change the channel,” both literally and figuratively, when we notice negativity creeping in. One way we can change the channel is by putting our attention on something good or positive or helpful in our foreground. If a candidate’s rhetoric is evoking outrage in you, or an acquaintance or stranger on social media is firing you up, walk away and direct you attention to something that is meaningful to you, or uplifting, unrelated to the election. If watching the news late into the evening will lead to a sleepless night, perhaps pick up an inspiring book or listen to a piece of relaxing music instead. Focusing our attention in these ways can help dial down stress and is a good form of self-care. We can also change the channel through our actions, by engaging in small acts of kindness, caring, or appreciation, that help generate positive emotions. We may not be able to change the world, but we can focus our energy on making it just a bit better. This can help to decrease stress and increase feelings of positivity and agency.
3. Third, if a loved one or good friend is espousing a position with which you strongly disagree, leading to feelings of anger or disconnection, try practicing some form of empathy or compassion. As horrified as you might feel about their political choices, try to refocus your attention on the qualities that you love and care about in this person. Also, focus on the shared humanity, suffering, and challenges we all face as human beings on this planet. Chade Meng-Tan writes about a beautiful variation of a popular loving-kindness practice in his book “Search Inside Yourself” https://siyli.org/resources/ – _book. It combines reminding ourselves of this shared humanity and our similarities as beings on this earth, with wishing others happiness and strength (“I wish for this person to have the strength, the resources, and the emotional and social support to navigate the difficulties in life” [Meng-Tan, p.170]). Engaging in this kind of practice can help to bring out the best in ourselves and in others, and research has shown that it can have far-reaching benefits for our emotional and physical health and well-being.
4. Fourth, to address fears stirred up in the election about the dire ramifications of your candidate not winning, recognize that the rhetoric of the election is meant to exaggerate such fears. Focus on what you have control over. Direct your energy toward the things that you cando, on issues that matter to you. For example, if you are passionate about issues related to the environment, there are many things you can do on a personal and community level to make a difference. Also, practice mindfulness and focus your attention back to right here and now, in this moment, where, despite the challenges of our lives, most of us are safe and getting by. No one can truly predict the future, so now is the only moment that we can live in. Bring yourself back to it, again and again, instead of living in some uncertain future in your mind. Focus on what is safe and good about this moment.
Instead of letting this election get the best of us, let it bring out the best in us. In doing so, we can not only regain a sense of personal control to help cope with our own stress, but we can also role model the qualities of effective leadership that we most want for our nation.
©Beth Kurland, 2016
Beth Kurland, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and author of the book “The Transformative Power of Ten Minutes: An Eight Week Guide to Decreasing Stress and Cultivating Well-being.” For free meditation audios and videos to help reduce stress, and for a free PDF of “Top Ten Tips to Live Life with Less Stress and Greater Joy”, go to BethKurland.com.
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