Healthy ideas for your inbox
From presidential races to your local city council, elections are stressful. The stakes are very real: the results will directly affect your life and your community. And yet, no matter how many articles you read or polls you click on, there’s no way to know who will win and what will happen on election day. Elections can also create tension with people in your life who have different values or priorities.
It is, however, possible to stay informed and discuss an election without anxiety spirals or shouting matches on social media — or in your own household. Here are some strategies for staying grounded.
Ask why you are clicking on this
If you’ve been consuming so much election content that you’re starting to feel overwhelmed, ask yourself this question before playing that next video or opening the latest poll: What is the purpose of clicking on this?
“If we can train ourselves to ask that, it can be really, really powerful,” says Dr. Koriann Cox, a clinical psychologist at UW Medical Center. “Is this going to offer me a new perspective or am I clicking this article because I already agree and I’m reading this to justify my emotion — my anger, my frustration, my fear?”
If it’s the latter, continuing to click might not be the best use of your time. If you’re already upset about something a politician said, reading or watching more about it probably won’t do anything but make you angrier or more scared.
Similarly, if you’re clicking on something to feel certainty or reassurance that your candidate will win, then it’s probably not worth your time either. In reality, no poll or political analyst can predict with certainty what’s going to happen, and neither can that hot take in your social feed.
On the other hand, if you’re clicking on something because you’re genuinely curious — maybe about how a ballot measure would affect your community or a policy a candidate is proposing — that’s different. Being informed and engaged is extremely important in an election.
Take a breather
It’s not always easy to know when you need a break: The line between taking care of yourself and being complacent or uninformed can be blurry when the stakes are so high.
What you can always do, says Cox, is “slow things down so that you can make a conscious choice and consciously engage.”
The best ways to do this? Put down your phone, turn off your TV, close your computer and take a breather.
“If you notice your body feels really tense, or if you’re feeling really upset, set a timer for 10 minutes, walk away and do not engage with articles or people or whatever,” says Cox. “When the timer goes off, check in: How are you feeling? Do you feel like you can come back to this? Do you feel like this is a helpful, effective thing for you to be doing? Do you want to engage in this way?”
If it’s right before bed, you might decide it’s not the healthiest thing.
“If I’m seeing a lot of political content before I’m about to go to bed, I’m going to watch a video of a baby goat instead of reading that article because that article is going to be there in the morning, and the article is unlikely to help me sleep any better,” says Cox.
Set boundaries with your screens
If your screen time has been skyrocketing, it might be time to set some limits on your social media apps and news sites — reading articles and scrolling social media can activate the same reward centers in your brain as a behavioral addiction to something like gambling.
“If you’re finding that your engagement with these media is negatively impacting your life and you’re finding yourself really struggling to stop, go in and block those apps for a while and set use parameters on your phone,” says Cox.
If you’re falling asleep to your favorite cable news channel and waking up anxious, make a rule to turn off the TV at 9 o’clock. Even better, take the TV out of your bedroom until the election is over and maybe charge your phone in another room, too. Even if you’re not perfect at controlling your screen time, the important thing is putting up roadblocks to give yourself a chance to slow down and make a conscious choice.
Set boundaries with people
Boundaries are also important for talking to the people physically around you, including those in your household who you can’t easily avoid. Just because they want to argue or they have beliefs you disagree with doesn’t mean you automatically need to engage.
“Know what your boundaries are for yourself; know what you are willing and able to tolerate in that moment,” says Cox. “There are going to be times when you’re able and willing to engage, and there are going be times where you’re just like, ‘No, not today.’”
Deciding not to get into a political debate with a loved one at dinner doesn’t mean you don’t care about or respect them; it just means that you need to take care of yourself in order to show up as the best version of yourself in those conversations.
“If it is someone who you do want to engage with you but you’re feeling really heated and overwhelmed, you can say, ‘Hey, I need a timeout,’” says Cox. “Say, I’m going to take 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and then I will come back to this and see if I’m ready and if you are ready to continue this discussion.”
Cox stressed that having a specific time to check back in makes it clear you’re not abandoning the conversation or dismissing the other person.
“You’re communicating to the other person, ‘Hey, I do actually want to keep talking to you. I’m willing to keep talking to you. I just need a little bit of time to calm down, to check in with myself,’” says Cox.
If you’re still not ready after that amount of time, that’s OK. Just communicate that you need another 20 minutes or maybe return to it the next day.
Look at multiple sources
Whatever your political leanings, it’s hard not to get trapped in an information bubble depending on where you get your news and what the algorithm serves you on social media. Often, this can make things feel more extreme or dire than they really are.
It’s important to remember that rumors containing inaccurate or misleading information have been found to spread more easily when they trigger anger or outrage. Seeking out multiple sources when you read something that stokes your outrage can both lessen your anxiety and prevent the spread of rumors. Another outlet or source might present a different perspective, draw a different conclusion or even refute the claim being made. It might even just offer a more even-keeled interpretation of the latest poll or political development.
Try a grounding technique
In a political environment like this one, sometimes you can’t avoid hearing something upsetting or seeing a frightening new development when you’re not ready for it. Maybe you get a news alert on your phone while you’re in a meeting or walk by a television in the airport and hear something that sends you into an anxiety spiral before you can stop it. Then, there is the intense stress of election day itself.
In these situations, Cox recommends grounding techniques that pull you back into the present moment. These include:
- Looking around and finding every color of the rainbow. Can you find something that’s red? Yellow? Green? Purple?
- Using all your senses. Can you notice five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can touch, two things you can smell, one thing you can taste?
- Feeling a surface. If you’re in an office, can you feel your desk and notice its texture and temperature? If you’re on the bus, can touch your backpack or pants and notice what it feels like? You can even buy textured calm strip stickers and put them on your phone or water bottle.
- Sensing solidity. “Take a moment to feel the sensation of your feet on the ground,” says Cox. Or touch a wall or table try to draw its solidity up into your feet or arms.
These kinds of techniques can help take you out of your anxiety spiral and ground you back in the present.
“The present is here; it exists right now,” says Cox. “And the more you can practice connecting to the present moment, the more you can unhook from those anxiety stories because anxiety is only telling you part of the story.”
It’s a complicated and uncertain time, there’s no getting around that. But you can respond to it by making conscious decisions to engage or to take a break. And in doing so, you’ll be taking care of your mental health and showing up as a better family member, advocate, citizen and friend.
