Therapists Explain How to Cope with the Stress of This Hellish Election

Last week, Politico reported on the thousands of therapists who are worried about the psychological impact Trump's campaign specifically is having on Americans. In one national poll, 43 percent of respondents reported experiencing emotional distress related to Trump and his campaign, while 28 percent reported similar distress related to Hillary Clinton's campaign. Overall, 90 percent of those who reported feeling distress said it's worse in 2016 than it has been with any previous election.

In another survey recently released by the American Psychological Association (APA), 52 percent of American adults reported the 2016 election as "a very or somewhat significant source of stress." Both Democrats and Republicans reported election-induced stress at similar levels.

Concern about the nation's future is one explanation, but the media blitz this election has caused makes thinking about the election and its potential consequences difficult to avoid. Social media, especially, adds to the stress, and the APA's study found that adults who use social media are more likely to be stressed by the election than those who don't.

It also doesn't help that studies have shown the news often slants negative because people are often more drawn to depressing stories, often without even realizing it. The 2016 election cycle has been, especially in recent weeks, extremely vitriolic and at some times graphic, from the 2005 video of Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women to the stories of numerous women who have come forward accusing Trump of sexual misconduct and assault to the racist, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant rhetoric in Trump's speeches.

Thanks to social media and the 24 hour news cycle, news around the election has become increasingly difficult to escape. Even before the election, studies have shown that over-exposure to social media has negative consequences on mental health, but the added stressors of political rhetoric and constant news updates only compounds that negativity.

"There's a fear of missing out," says Dr. Lynn Bufka, a psychologist and the associate executive director, practice research and policy at APA. "'If I'm not on top of it, what might I be missing?'"

It's difficult to say with scientific accuracy if this campaign has been more anxiety-inducing than those past, but it certainly feels that way too many. Dr. Bufka tells Broadly that part of this may be because voters are so polarized. Additionally, many of the topics brought out by this election—moving beyond economic policy to accusations of sexual misconduct and bigoted remarks—hit many voters personally, making some feel isolated or even attacked.

For example, public discussions about sexual violence can be triggering for those who have been threatened or assaulted, and hearing people deny or attempt to debunk the stories of those coming forward can be immensely upsetting. Dr. Sarah Vinson, a board-certified psychiatrist in Atlanta, Georgia, says many of her patients who are victims of prior sexual assault have felt triggered by the discourse around Trump's comments.

"Not only because he said them," she says, "but because of how dismissive many have been about them: diminishing them as 'locker room banter' or that sort of thing, essentially saying it's OK. For women who have felt they couldn't come forward—or when they did come forward they weren't taken as seriously as they should have or their trauma wasn't respected for the trauma that it was—there's this fear about what this says about our culture and about their safety as women."

Race has also been a central issue, specifically regarding the remarks of Trump and the violent outbursts of his supporters during the campaign. Studies have shown that racism can take a serious toll on the mental health of those who experience it, from increased stress, elevated blood pressure, as well as higher rates of depression, and Dr. Vinson says she has seen increased racism-related anxiety at her practice.

Dr. Vinson finds that many people are particularly concerned that, "Trump's candidacy has emboldened racists and emboldened hateful attitudes and gestures," she says. "Even if you don't live in a neighborhood where KKK signs are popping up —which has happened—the fear of that happening is very real. And if that doesn't happen, the anxiety, the preoccupations, that nervousness can impact how somebody operates on a day-to-day basis at its most extreme level."

The election has taken a toll on personal relationships, which Dr. Vinson says has to do again with the polarizing nature of the campaign. "There's been a kind of fraying of social networks to some degree," says Dr. Vinson. "For some patients I have who are in interracial couples, it's made it hard to have those discussions about, for example, 'what it's like for me as a black woman to hear you as a white man say that you're going to support Donald Trump given the things he's said about people of color.' So it's having very real effects on relationships and how people are interacting with each other because for some it's revealing really surprising attitudes that people have found hurtful."

For the average citizen, Dr. Bufta points out that there's no real advantage to being constantly tuned in to the election news cycle. In fact, there can be benefits to only checking the news occasionally—you can take your time to get more in-depth analysis and, at the very least, fact-checking.

However, Dr. Bufka argues that there's one simple way to mitigate election-related stress: vote. "The action of voting, even if you're just one of a million, is the step we can take—and with it, there's a sense of empowerment."

Additionally, the APA additionally advises voters to "channel your concerns to make a positive difference on issues you care about. Consider volunteering in your community, advocating for an issue you support or joining a local group. Remember that in addition to the presidential election, there are state and local elections taking place in many parts of the country, providing more opportunities for civic involvement.

One of Dr. Vinson's patients is a survivor of a sexual assault who, as part of her treatment plan, is not reading or exposing herself to the stories about the 2005 video of Trump and its fallout as it continues to play out online. "There's benefit to being informed, but at this point, even though you have a lot of people saying they're undecided, most people know what they're going to do," she says. "So if it's getting to the point where you're feeling yourself angered or feeling hopeless or feeling threatened, it's just not worth continuing to expose yourself."