Got Election Stress?

Has this year’s election got you stressed? Hang in there! We have three Mindful tips to help you relieve stress with the American presidential election.

This year’s presidential election has been filled with impressive highs, disappointing lows, and an overabundance of drama. As mindful citizens, it’s our job to rummage through the noise, take the facts, and make an informed decision in the voting booth, but millions of Americans are finding this to be quite a challenge.

In the last Presidential election, a Harris Poll about election stress was conducted on behalf of the American Psychological Association (APA). The poll found that the election has been a source of stress for 52 percent of American adults. This election stress impacted a large pool of Americans—Democrats (55 percent) and Republicans (59 percent), men (51 percent) and women (52 percent), and even Millennials (56 percent) and Baby Boomers (50 percent). It’s believed that the constant bombardment of election news (on television, the Internet, social media apps, and smartphone newsfeeds) is exacerbating this stress.

3 Tips for Election Stress

Reducing your election stress is important, especially now that the presidential candidates are racing to the finish line. Listed below are three simple tips to help you beat the stress of this presidential election.

• Take a step back. Having all the facts is an important part of being an informed voter, but keeping up with the latest political scandal can stress you out. So, know your scandal limit. If you’ve had enough of politics for the day, log off your social media accounts and turn off the television for the night. You can always start fresh tomorrow.

• Find a mindful distraction. Whether it’s working out, going to the movies, playing board games with family, volunteering, or even scrapbooking, finding a distraction from politics will help you relax in the final weeks of the election.

• Do non-partisan research. The drama between the major political parties can be a discouraging mess and finding unbiased information can be tough. If you are looking for straightforward facts about the candidates? Consider getting nonpartisan information about national and local candidates from Project Vote Smart and Vote411.

Bonus. Remember, this is the time to exercise your right as an American citizen. Don’t take your responsibility lightly. Elections are always a little stressful, but it shouldn’t keep any of us from lining up outside that voting booth!

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