More than half of Americans have a case of election stress
Oct 24, 2016, 5:53 PM | Updated: Oct 11, 2024, 9:56 am
More than half of American have election stress in 2016. (Photo by torbakhopper, CC Images)
(Photo by torbakhopper, CC Images)
If you’ve been feeling anxiety about the upcoming presidential election, we now have statistical evidence to prove that most Americans are suffering from election stress as well.
In its annual Stress in America survey, the American Psychological Association found that 52 percent of Americans are stressed out by this year’s presidential election.
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“Those registered as Democrats and those registered as Republicans were equally likely to say that this election is incredibly stressful,” said American Psychological Association’s Dr. Vail Wright. “Same went for both men and women; they were equally likely to say they were stressed by this election. We found that those aged 71 and older, and those who fell into the group we call millennials, were significantly more likely to say they were stressed by the election compared to other generations.”
Dr. Wright said senior citizens are generally the least stressed population, but this particular election is really riling them up.
“They might be reflecting on what kind of impact this election is going to have on the future generations, their children or their grandchildren,” Wright said. “We think secondly, issues that are important to older adults like social security, Medicare and prescription costs aren’t really being talked about all that much in this election.”
“And third,” he said. “We really think it’s the negative and angry rhetoric, these particularly antagonistic campaigns that are really kind of disgusting older adults. It’s just not how they were taught to deal with disagreements.”
What to do about election stress
Dr. Wright says adults who use social media are more likely to get a case of election stress than those who don’t.
“If you think your stress is really coming from the 24-hour news cycle, we suggest limiting your media consumption,” Wright said. “Read just enough to stay informed. Or, at the end of the day, you just might need to take a digital break from all media. Just turn it off and instead engage in an activity you find soothing or enjoyable.”
Another way to relieve yourself of election anxieties? Vote.
“By voting, you’ll hopefully feel like you’re taking a proactive step and, in fact, we’ve heard reports from individuals who have voted early, and that for them that was the best way to manage their stress,” he said. “Once they voted they felt they didn’t have to pay attention anymore and that they could just let it go.”
The APA has been doing this survey for the past 10 years, and this election ranks right up there with the top stressors.
“In the previous years, the top three stressors have almost always consistently been money, work, and the economy,” he said. “What’s interesting is that stress related to the presidential election is seen reported at similar numbers to those reporting stress about the economy in the past. So we know it’s right up there with what these other top stressors are.”
Most of the APA’s tips for dealing with election stress are common sense, but sometimes we need to be reminded. If you find yourself often engaged in political conversations that make you tense and anxious, stop having them.
