What you should know
- Are you feeling stressed and anxious about the elections? You’re not alone
- 68 percent of American adults say elections are a major source of stress, according to a new survey by the American Psychological Association, a dramatic increase from 52 percent compared to 2016
- Yet according to the same survey, 7 out of 10 Americans are hopeful about the future.
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Are you feeling stressed and anxious about the elections this Tuesday? Well, you are not alone.
Stores began closing ahead of the election amid fears of unrest and an unknown political future. In addition to the political uncertainty, COVID-19 fears and safety guidelines, including waiting in long, socially distant lines, are still present.
“We’re going to get out of here after the vote,” a woman on a New York City street told our sister network NBC 4 New York. “There could be some protests or riots.”
“I mean, you walk down the street and you see them closing all the stores. It’s scary, “said another.
Sixty-eight percent of American adults say elections represent a major source of stress, according to a new survey by the American Psychological Association, a dramatic increase from 52 percent in 2016.
“What we’re all experiencing is something called ‘existential angst,'” Harris Stratyner, a psychologist, told NBC. “We all fear for our own existence.”
A constant stream of information and campaign coverage can be overwhelming and difficult to reject, so what can people do to strike a balance?
“Just walk around the apartment. Try playing relaxing music. Try to play a game if you can, believe it or not. Lonely. Something, “Stratyner said.
Doctors also say that productive participation, like early voting, can help.
“I think it was a way out,” Stratyner said.
If something unites us these days, it is stress. The vast majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents say the political process is stressing them out.
But we also have something else in common. According to that same poll, 7 out of 10 Americans are hopeful about the future.
“We have to realize that yesterday is over. Tomorrow is not here. Let’s stay in the moment,” Stratyner said.
Stress, like long lines, is sometimes part of our world, whether it’s voting for president or buying a gallon of milk. We must all learn to manage it.
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