8 Ways to Cope With Your Election Anxiety

If you're into politics, elections are always stressful to some degree. During this election season, however, it seems like most of us are feeling anxious about it, no doubt aided by 24/7 news coverage and the endless doomscrolling influence of social media. No matter who you support, it's difficult to avoid feeling overwhelmed, and with that feeling can come a lot of anxiety.

Election anxiety can manifest in many ways. You might feel constantly worried about the uncertainty of the election and the way it might turn out; you could find yourself having intrusive thoughts about what could happen if your candidate doesn’t win; or you could be obsessing about Election Day itself and the stress that waiting for the results will cause.

Now that we're in the home stretch, you may be feeling more stressed than ever. Read on to find out what you can do to cope with your election anxiety before, during, and after the election.

The Election Anxiety Struggles We're All Facing

“Anxiety about big events like an election can be particularly difficult to cope with because we have so little influence on an individual level on the outcome,” says Amy Marschall, PsyD. “No matter what I personally do, it is unlikely that I could generate enough influence to actually swing the results.” This realization can be extremely anxiety-inducing, as it suggests a lack of control.

These feelings are also exacerbated by the fact that everywhere you turn, someone is talking about the election—there is no reprieve from it. Between the 24-hour news cycle and the overwhelming presence of social media in our lives, you’d have to hide under a rock somewhere in order to not hear about it.

8 Ways to Prioritize Your Self-Care Right Now

While it might seem as though you need to suffer through your election anxiety in silence, there are plenty of coping strategies you can implement to help get you through this stressful time:

Identify Your Needs

First of all, do some soul-searching about your feelings about the election. “It’s important to know yourself well and identify both your triggers and capacity to engage in election material,” says Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD. “This capacity can change from moment to moment and it’s important to be flexible in terms of what you are needing in different situations.”

Set Boundaries

Identify your boundaries, and stick to those boundaries.

“Enforce and communicate your boundaries to friends and family,” suggests Dr. Romanoff. “If watching the news drives you into a tailspin, limit your exposure. If your coworker is stressing you out about constant doom-and-gloom election talk, tell them you’re feeling overwhelmed and ask if it’s okay to change the topic or politely excuse yourself.”

Protecting yourself in this way can mitigate the anxiety you feel at any given time.

Practice Mindfulness

There are also mindfulness exercises you can do if your election anxiety is threatening to overwhelm you. “If you are feeling over-stimulated, take breaks, either internally by deep breathing or by grounding yourself through your five senses,” Dr. Romanoff advises.

Sit still for a minute and identify five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can smell, and so on. This helps you slow down and come back to your body when you are in the middle of an anxiety spike.

Touch Grass (Seriously)

"Externally,” Dr. Romanoff says, “you can leave the situation by trying to ‘touch grass’ or get fresh air.” Taking time to calm yourself down in a moment of heightened anxiety can help you gain control of yourself and your feelings.

So if you find your election anxiety is spinning out of control, take a moment to ground yourself. Take deep breaths, look for a change of scenery, and protect yourself by knowing your limits. Take a break from the news or social media if you find yourself consistently triggered.

Unplug!

“It is okay to unplug and take breaks from news and social media to keep your peace," Dr. Marschall says. "This can let you preserve your energy for things you can take action on.”

Election anxiety can cause unrelenting stress, and this kind of chronic stress is really bad for your mental health, especially if you don't take some time to yourself to unwind. "The constant news and waiting on results can be extremely anxiety-provoking, especially over weeks and months leading up to and following the election," say Dr. Marschall.

Control What You Can Actually Control

“Election anxiety tends to manifest through intense checking behaviors (e.g., checking the news, projective polling results), distraction strategies (e.g., spending free time on social media, eating, filling silence with a podcast/music), and surveying friends, family, and peers to ensure they are voting to help create a sense of unity and control,” says Dr. Romanoff. “Many with election anxiety tend to seek out information to establish a sense of certainty about the future."

This can put you deeper into the rabbit hole of election anxiety. Realistically, there is not much you can do right now besides casting your vote and waiting. Yes, that too can feel stressful, but it can also feel freeing to accept this lack of control.

Engage With Your Community—Safely

If you know that you can’t avoid political discussions—or if you are actively seeking out discussion—it’s best for your mental health to make those discussions as open and respectful as possible. There is a huge difference between expressing your opinions and hearing others’ opinions from a place of acceptance and understanding and getting into a screaming fight with someone who doesn’t agree with you.

Screaming fight = bad for election anxiety. Open and respectful conversation = good for election anxiety. Try to remember that, no matter someone’s political opinion, they are a human being first.

That being said, it might feel more comfortable to you to surround yourself with like-minded people as the election approaches. Identify who among your community of family and friends feel safe and supportive.

Talk to a Therapist

With all this anxiety rampant in the country, what are mental health professionals doing about it? How might a therapist be able to help?  

“Mental health professionals can offer tools to cope with election anxiety, but also more significantly they can help identify and make meaning out of the deeper issues and conflicts election anxiety tends to uncover,” says Dr. Romanoff. "With the help of a clinician, individuals can begin to better understand themselves and how they view the world.”

Keep in Mind

There’s no doubt that election anxiety is a huge issue in the country right now, and figures to be for some time. But there are things you can do to address your election anxiety—recognize your limits, and take breaks from the 24/7 news cycle when you are feeling overwhelmed; have respectful conversations with others, whether or not they agree with you; and speak to a mental health professional about how this election has been making you feel.

Almost everyone has been touched by election anxiety this year, so no matter what you are feeling, know that you are definitely not alone.