Learn How To Cope With Voter’s Anxiety!

By Danielle Pastula
Voter's Stickers

Even if you’re not an avid news-watcher, with politics invading our social media channels, it’s becoming increasingly harder to block out the political chatter, especially this election season. Unfortunately, with a 24/7 news cycle and the fact that we’re more connected to technology than ever, the constant noise of politics could be taking a toll, no matter who you’re voting for. If you identify with any of these political sickness side effects like voter’s anxiety, know that you’re not alone and that there are some things you can do to detox politically.

Voter’s Anxiety

Whether you’re unsure of who to vote for or you feel you can’t put good faith in your vote, it’s easy to rack your brain with why one candidate might be more deserving of your vote than the other. And then comes the spiral of thinking, “What if my vote results in a winner who ends up being a total failure? I contributed to that!”

It’s easy to get sucked down the rabbit hole, which can then rear its head in the form of anxiety. Whether it shows itself as excessive fear, poor concentration, sleepless nights or even full-blown anxiety attacks.

Social Upheaval and Anxiety

Again, with social media allowing everyone to publish their opinions for the world to see in a matter of seconds, we all know at least one person who we like, but completely disagree with politically.

Sometimes learning someone you’re close to has such an opposite stance can be upsetting and trigger feelings of social anxiety or upheaval in your inner circle. Of course, we’re all adults here and know we can agree to disagree with other people, but if those people are family members, friends or colleagues, know that it’s perfectly OK to feel unsettled by your political differences.

Depression

Sometimes stemming from anxiety or simply from the constant weighing down of your emotions, political depression could be the source of your blues during the drawn-out political season.

Think about it; politics is mostly focused on things in our country and world that need repairing or abolishing. A lot of candidates talk about things that aren’t working rather than things that are going great. It makes it easy to slip into a “doom and gloom” mindset when that’s the repeated conversation for months on end.

Political Detoxing Tips

If you’ve been noticing feelings of slight depression, voter’s anxiety or social upheaval spurred during the political season, try some of these political detox tips on for size.

  • It may sound obvious, but give yourself a full-fledged social media break. Disable your Facebook if you feel the need to go that far, but merely logging off and deleting apps from your phone could be enough to ease your burden.
  • If you find that certain people in your newsfeed are always the ones to post things that get under your skin, unfollow them. You can unfollow someone on Facebook and remain friends, and they’ll be none the wiser.
  • It’s understandable that even with political sickness symptoms, you would want to keep in the know. After all, there’s something to be said about an informed vote. If you do feel the pull to stay tuned in, only allow yourself a certain daily or weekly window to consume the political news — keep it off anytime outside that window. Instead spend that time connecting with nature, your family or your community.
  • If you find yourself feeling overly anxious, step away from the latest news report and try exercising to relax. Aside from serving as a distraction from your political worries, exercise also triggers the release of endorphins in your brain, which helps boost your spirits.
  • Finally, be sure to have a healthy, balanced diet of politics and comedy. Whether it’s making time to watch your favorite sitcom or having game night with your family, don’t let the political media bring you down. Life is as good as we make it, and that starts in our own homes before it does in Washington.

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