The day after the 2016 election, I left the office with my boss and spent the afternoon in a nearby Irish pub crying into Baileys and coffee. I could never have predicted what the ensuing four years would have brought, suffice to say it’s at least as bad as I imagined on that gloomy November afternoon. This story is not unique, and I think many are afraid of how much worse a second Trump term could get.
What is election anxiety?
The past four years in America have been anxiety inducing for many. What election anxiety looks like, or focuses on, is different for everybody. It can vary from day-to-day or even minute-to-minute, whether it’s the voting process, the outcome, or the contested transitions of power. Unfortunately, reality testing (the psychoanalytic theory in which the ego recognizes the difference between the external and internal world) doesn’t help much with these transitions. But it doesn’t mean you have to stay trapped in the cycle.
What are some of the signs?
Election anxiety often manifests physically, like any other anxiety—activating the fight or flight response. “Mentally we experience excessive worrying thought loops, feeling agitated, and restless,” says Dr. Will Osei, a psychologist at Brooklyn Minds. “Physically common symptoms are rapid heartbeat, sweating, shaking, and dry mouth. These symptoms may happen for extended periods of time, exhausting the person physically and making us more prone to more worry symptoms.”
What are some ways you can cope?
People handle election anxiety in many different ways. Maybe you just do your best not to think about it, picking up hours at work or different to have some distraction, or using substances more often to turn your brain ‘off.’ Or perhaps you hyper-fixate, spending hours refreshing your social media feeds, doomscrolling into oblivion.
Develop a coping and resiliency plan.
Dr. Osei encourages everyone to “develop a coping and resiliency plan.” Coping, he says, “is how we overcome difficulties, while resiliency is the capacity to recover quickly from problems.” So what does that mean in practical terms?
Commit to practicing mindfulness.
Focusing on the present moment is important to assuage this anxiety. We cannot know what will happen on or after November 3rd, and bringing our focus and awareness to what we can do in the here and now instead is a crucial first step. If you meditate, make sure to keep your practice up. Make it a practice to have small moments of mindfulness, focusing on a meal, a shower, walking, or just listening to music or a podcast that cheers you up. Dr. Osei also urges us not to “neglect your physical body”; there is plenty of research about the mind/body connection, and even 15 minutes of a YouTube workout can really help.
Get involved with others who are doing good.
There are also active ways to engage in the world that can help ease the anxiety, or at least use some of that anxious energy in service of the greater good.
There are a lot of ways to get involved and make an impact, depending on your personal bandwidth, comfort level, and interests. Mutual funds and non-profits are always in need of donations so perhaps making a recurring donation is something you can budget and plan for. Remember that every little bit helps; I personally have budgeted $20 weekly to donate to different causes. Some of my favorites are The Okra Project, Extinction Rebellion, and Social Tees Animal Rescue. A quick search on Google or your preferred social media will bring worthy causes to your attention. (Remember to verify that your money is going where they say it is!)
You can also contact groups and offer your skills; if you have a professional niche and can volunteer some time helping an organization, that type of work can be invaluable for grassroots organizations. Other volunteering, like picking up a shift at a food bank or helping distribute coats to unhoused people, is a great use of time and has a direct, positive impact. Of course, things are complicated now due to COVID, but many of these programs are still operating. You can assess your own risk tolerance when you determine where to put your energy.
Unfortunately, all the world’s coping mechanisms won’t turn us into fortune tellers, or fortune changers. But with some mindfulness and focus on ourselves and what we can do, we can avoid sinking into despair. And little by little, that is how we change the world.
