Politically induced anxiety is at an all-time high, particularly in the United States. In less than a month, we’ve witnessed a shocking “debate” that ultimately took down President Biden, an assassination attempt on Trump, the selection of J.D. Vance as his running mate, broad presidential immunity, and a new democratic presidential nominee in the form of Vice President Kamala Harris.
With all these whiplash-inducing events, how widespread is politically induced anxiety and how can the average person cope with it as events unfold, no matter what country they are in?
Data and Trends
It will likely come as no surprise that, according to the 2024 American Psychiatric Association’s annual mental health survey, 73 per cent of Americans are stressed out about the 2024 US election, up from 57 per cent in 2022. And according to a recent study, this newly coined type of anxiety affects people who are not necessarily suffering from general anxiety.
As the digital director of The Health Insider, I always keep an eye on anonymous audience trends and insights that can be gleaned from our digital publication. Midway through July 2nd I noticed an unusual spike in readers finding the website through Google organic search terms related to the word anxiety.
While I can’t see who these people are or any personally identifying data whatsoever, Google does let us know which search terms and platforms lead them to the site, and where they come from.
Interest piqued, I dug into the data only to find that 90 per cent of these people were in the United States and that the surge in interest in anxiety content started on June 27th, the day of the Biden/Trump debate.
And with the head-spinning events of the past month, people searching for ways to assuage their anxiety has not let up on either The Health Insider or Google health search trends.
The Oura ring community also displayed a physical stress reaction to the June 27 presidential debate. Oura rings measure biometric data such as sleep, physical activity, stress, and heart health metrics such as heart rate, heart variability and cardio capacity.
Their scientific team tapped into the biometric data of a randomly sampled, anonymous group of 100,000 Oura ring members in the US as the debate began. They found that 15 per cent of these members experienced notable effects, with a 5.9 per cent increase in the average heart rate and a 4.3 per cent drop in heart rate variability (HRV – a key indicator of stress and overall heart health). Lower HRV is associated with a less resilient heart and a higher risk of death in people with heart disease.
While all this is fascinating for researchers, it points to one key truth: life is stressful these days, but should you be sacrificing your health in exchange for staying up to date with the news cycles? With data-informed knowledge in hand, that’s up to you.
Top 4 Tips to Reduce Politically Induced Anxiety
It’s hard to untether yourself from the constant news feed, but doing so will only help your health. While there are no simple answers to alleviating stress, here are four things you can do to help relieve your politically induced anxiety and hopefully avert the development of post-election stress disorder.
1.Self-care is of the utmost importance.
- Take time for yourself to meditate during the day.
- Heart-pounding exercise will help get rid of negative and strong emotions.
- Spend calming and centering time in nature.
- Do things that are meaningful for you. This could be caring for an elderly parent, tending to your garden or taking your dog for a walk.
- Stay socially connected with a wide variety of people with whom you can understand many different viewpoints – but avoid people who will co-catastrophize.
2.Realize that uncertainty is at the root of how you are feeling.
These are very uncertain times, and uncertainty is a breeding ground for anxiety and fear. Lean into what you can control and do things such as making sure you vote, volunteering for your preferred candidate, or other activities that make you feel empowered politically.
3.Limit your news and social media consumption.
Resist the temptation to log on and doom scroll. When you do watch or read, limit your time; be critical of your sources and read or watch varying points of view. Even reporters are encouraged to take news breaks when it’s too overwhelming; tune back into the news cycle when you’re ready.
4.Be aware of and track your own health data.
Get yourself a fitness or health tracker and use it to understand how stress may be impacting your health. A tracker can help you understand the baseline of important health metrics such as average heart rate, blood oxygen, heart rate variability and more. These devices can be your partner in staving off politically induced anxiety. After all, knowledge is power.
If it gets too overwhelming, there are many mental health resources to turn to. See The Health Insider’s Guide to Mental Health Support in Canada for more information.
And remember that while you can’t control the behavior and attitudes of others, you can definitely control your own.
Listen to psychologist Brett Q. Ford, PhD, and political scientist Kevin Smith, PhD, talk about how political stress affects people’s well-being; what high levels of political stress mean for people’s lives, for the U.S., and for democracy; and how to stay politically engaged while still maintaining your mental health. https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/political-stress
The information provided on TheHealthInsider.ca is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. TheHealthInsider.ca advises consulting a medical professional or healthcare provider when seeking medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment.
