Despite the fact that most of the country is still collectively suffering from PTSD from the 2016 presidential election, the first term of Trump’s administration is drawing to a close and yet another election year is upon us. The democratic primaries are still underway and I’m already completely exhausted from the incessant political coverage. Considering the fact that I work in PR and it’s my job to stay up-to-date on what’s dominating the news cycle, burying my head in the sand and trying to avoid politics altogether simply isn’t possible (and frankly, while ignorance may be bliss, ignorance is still never recommended whether you work in PR or not).
If you’re feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of 8 more months of nonstop politics leading up to the election, know that you’re not alone. In a survey by the American Psychological Association after the 2016 election, 57 percent of respondents said that politics stressed them out. In another survey, from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, about a fifth of people reported doing or saying something they later regretted as a result of feelings related to politics. Another 20 percent said that politics had negatively affected their relationships with friends and family.
In today’s volatile and heated political climate, how does one keep their sanity throughout an election year? I did some research and compiled some of the best tips I could find from mental health experts – keep reading to find out how to fight off the crippling anxiety that comes from checking the President’s Twitter page or watching a debate.
- Learn how to change the topic. As Men’s Health notes, hearts and minds are not won via cocktail-party chatter. They evolve over time through lived experience. So when the election comes up in conversation—and it will, whether you want it to or not—you might want to change the subject, lest politics hang heavily over your social occasion like a lingering, noxious fart. The easiest way to extricate yourself is to say, “You know, I haven’t been following it lately. Instead, I’ve been . . .” and then talk about literally anything else. Or pivot with a question. If they say, “Hey, did ya watch the debate last night?,” you say, “Nope! I watched the Rockets game. Think those guys can go all the way?” They say, “If my candidate loses, I’m moving to Canada.” You say, “Oh, man, where exactly will you go?” They almost certainly won’t have a real plan; empty threats like this are just how people talk about politics, and they’re yet another reason not to engage. But in the unlikely event that they’ve thought through their American exodus, you already know what to say next: “Can I help you pack?”
- Silence your notifications. Part of the problem comes not just from the type of information we’re getting online but the sheer amount of it coming our way. The endless stream of notifications in our browsers and on our phones, from social media, news apps and emails, can quickly shift from feeling like information to feeling like noise. And when those notifications bring stressful or upsetting news, the effect is magnified. Here’s the thing: you can turn those notifications off. The email newsletters and news stories will still be there when you actually want to go check them, whether or not your phone beeped 35 times to let you know they exist. (Headspace)
- Don’t be afraid to unfollow. Give yourself permission to unfollow with impunity. You don’t have to follow every newspaper’s Twitter feed. You don’t need to watch the live blog for every political debate or rally or event. And while you might not be able to delete the uncle who posts a near-endless stream of inaccurate memes on Facebook, you can certainly hide his updates. If you find that you feel stressed out every time you see tweets or Facebook posts from certain accounts or contacts, find a way to not see them anymore.
- Stand for, not against. Instead of putting down the candidate you don’t support, stand up for the candidate you do support. Discuss the concepts and ideas that align with your purpose and value. Volunteer for the candidate you support. Make a positive impact for the candidate you believe in. (Live and Love Work)
If your candidate of choice loses…
Men’s Health shared this strategy for coping if the election doesn’t go your way. Someone, eventually, is going to win this election—which means many other someones will lose. Perhaps even your chosen someone will be swept into the dustbin of history. If this happens, do not despair. Resist the urge to purchase a piñata in the shape of the winner. That won’t help. What will help is moving off the sidelines and into the game. Instead of channeling your hopes into someone else, start a little grassroots activism yourself. March. Organize. Protest. Boycott. Write an op-ed. Run for local office. You’re a citizen. Act like it.
Also, take solace in the fact that losing candidates typically land on their feet. John McCain returned to the Senate, where in 2017 he cast the decisive health-care vote. Even John Edwards bounced back from fathering a secret love child while his wife was fighting cancer; he’s now a civil rights lawyer.
If you absolutely can’t quit your candidate, you’ll find a way to keep backing them. But frankly, it’s better to move on. Whoever loses the 2020 race will be just fine. And so will you.
