I can honestly say I will be glad when this election season is over. The stress created around the candidates is palpable. Politics can be extremely divisive among family and friends. It’s to the point where few people even want to discuss their vote without fear of retribution from someone.
Researchers at The University of South Florida conducted a nationwide survey and found that more than two-thirds of registered voters describe politics as a “source of stress.” Many report disruptions to their social and mental well-being as a result. Back in the 2020 election, the term “election stress disorder” was coined. Now, this is not an actual mental health disorder, but the term came from the amount of anger and anxiety people felt and often expressed.
When high amounts of stress that include negative emotions are abundant, those emotions are more contagious than positive ones. This means, we may feel overwhelmed, might have trouble sleeping and concentrating, and experience awkwardness or tension in our relationships.
So, here are 5 tips to ease election stress:
1. Stop anticipating the worse scenarios and remember the directive by Christ: don’t worry. The rise and fall of kings and leaders are no surprise to God. He has ultimate control.
2. Tune into your body. If you are not sleeping, feel tension in your neck and shoulders, upset in your stomach or just feel overall stressed, then try to relax and meditate on the goodness of God. Take deep breaths and make efforts to relax your body through humor, nature walks and Christian mindfulness.
3. Take a break from news coverage and social media. Watching and listening to the negativity and bias upsets most people. A good strategy is to limit your viewing and stay off social media if the stress and vitriol of others is getting to you.
4. Don’t talk politics with people you care about. Unless you can do this with no threat to your relationship, talk about other things and agree to avoid politics for this season. You can love people and not agree with them, but due to a lack of civil discourse, the disagreements may be better kept private.
5. Change the subject if election talk becomes contentious and escalates. You can simply say, “Let’s talk about something else since we are all getting upset.”
These are my challenges to you during this election season: Will you be known by your love? Does Christ make a difference in your behavior and treatment of others? Do you respect different political beliefs and avoid stereotyping people? Do you manage your emotions even if others do not? Do you allow the self-control of the Holy Spirit to be evidenced in you? Rather than succumbing to stress, pray for our country, for the election and for your reactions to be Godly.
Easing election stress
