Strategies to Alleviate Pre-Election Anxiety
The mere anticipation of stress often causes stress.
I’ll put all my cards on the table now: I’m a registered democrat and it has been a rough nine days.
For many like me, the fumbling debate by Biden has our hair standing on our neck, wondering what is to come, if he should even run, and if he doesn’t, who should run instead.
I’m visiting my parents, who are deep red republicans and, to some extent, are enjoying this chaos, but also sharing concerns about the future of the country. Given more than half of Americans follow the news closely, I know well that I’m not alone in these concerns, and that many of you feel quite distraught. This election feels as ominous as any if you share the belief that Trump is a threat to democracy.
Election stress can feel entirely overwhelming, thinking about all of the uncertainty and possibilities. It feels like the stakes have gotten progressively higher with each subsequent election. I remember being stressed in 2012 about the outcomes of that presidential election, but I’d have never fathomed how bad it would become today. For example, the 2020 election was seen as even more stressful than the 2016 election for American voters.
