Angela Poe Russell: Election anxiety is real, here’s how to navigate all the political chaos

This time next week, we should have some sense of where the election is going. Instead of polls, we will be looking at the ballots counted thus far. With it being so close to election day, it might be time to brush up on some things we seem to have forgotten lately.

It’s a feeling I hadn’t experienced in years. I started breathing faster, my heart raced and I just had this sinking feeling. Then it hit me: I was having anxiety. Election-related anxiety. This has never happened to me. And you know the craziest part? It wasn’t directly about the presidential candidates.

You see, over the weekend, like a lot of people, I had consumed social media, news and advertisements.

In the last 48 hours, I heard someone suggest you couldn’t possibly be Christian if you were voting for a certain party. Another called someone to set fire to ballot boxes. One ad called a candidate the c-word and one speaker called one of the candidate’s staff members “a pimp.” And I wish that were all of it. Meanwhile, a survey revealed nearly half of Americans think members of the opposing party are evil.

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It’s the nature of an election to be competitive and high stakes, but I think it’s safe to say that we have officially gone off the rails.

What our country needs right now to get us back on track is a good hard reset from this election anxiety. A return to some basic principles.

Two things we can do right now

1. Slow down. Most of the ads and rhetoric right now are fear-based. And if you get anxious or angry — it triggers a part of your brain called the amygdala — when that happens it disables your rational mind. Your ability to reason temporarily goes out of the window. So if you are feeling stressed or angry, calm down before posting or engaging in political conversations. And when you are calm, err on the side of kindness. Rolling in the mud with people ultimately gets everyone dirty.
2. Let go. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but you’re likely not going to change someone’s mind. It’s true people do change views. But on their terms. Continuing to push is like beating your head against the wall.

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Now, that doesn’t mean do nothing – you can volunteer or use your platform to educate others on issues.

One poll by the American Psychological Association found more than seven in 10 adults said the election is a significant source of stress. Understandably, a lot is at stake, but regardless of the outcome, we can’t forget we have the capacity to make things around us a little better. As the saying goes, when you can’t find the light, be the torch.

No matter who is in office, we all have the power to do that.

Angela Poe Russell is a local media personality and contributor to KIRO Newsradio