How to cope with 2024 political stress

It’s officially on. The candidates for the 2024 political election are set–each having gotten enough delegates through primary elections–pending any number of unprecedented and peculiar things that could happen given we have two of the oldest candidates ever running, and one’s involved in a number of (criminal) court cases. (I’d published this on March 21, 2024; unprecedented events happened! Including the withdrawal of the older candidate from the race and the criminal conviction of the other. Who knows what else will happen; we still have about 100 days till the election.)

The election is primed to cause stress, anxiety, and depression. On podcasts, I’ve heard Democrats are more likely to feel depression than non-Democrats. There’s a large degree of despondency, despair, dread, and resignation felt when thinking about what could happen (and what polls are currently showing where voters’ minds are at this moment). Whether or not to trust polls (and don’t!) isn’t the topic of this blog–and should be covered by political scientists, not therapists. (Though I have a master’s degree in political science, I didn’t study this area.) 

But the dread and despair are real–as we face the same options we had four years ago. So, how are we to cope?

Create boundaries for your news exposure

Many of us don’t want to pay attention to the news. We know it’s not great for our mental health, and we know it stirs up lots of emotions that aren’t exactly helpful while you’re trying to carry on with your daily life. It’s not uncommon to tell yourself you’re just not going to pay attention, and you don’t want to talk about it. However, it’s hard to just run away from what’s happening around us unless you truly live in a protected bubble. Instead, I suggest creating boundaries around your news exposure. Many options exist for the type of boundaries you might set.

Perhaps you want to limit from what sources you receive your news. (I enjoy hearing news from podcasts where swear words are sprinkled frequently throughout, as it makes me feel less alone to know others share my perspective. And who doesn’t love a liberal dumping of sprinkles?) You may not want to consume news through numerous sources–such as written (think newspaper/news magazine), podcasts, and doom-scrolling through whatever social media you use. One source may be plenty. 

Perhaps you want to limit at what time or times you consume news; it may not be best to read or hear news as you wake up and are about to start your day. It also may not be best to consume it before bed, as anxiety or any other number of feelings could prevent you from sleeping. If you’re about to give a really important presentation (or do something else requiring full attention) at work, you may want to avoid looking at the news beforehand because that could trigger you at a time at which you can’t afford to be triggered. It could be helpful to listen to news while exercising, so you can invite feelings to move through your body. (It’s amazing what a good sweat can do!) Use your knowledge about yourself to help set limits for yourself where you can focus at necessary times and still practice some degree of self-care.

Perhaps, too, you may want to read news or listen to podcasts rather than watch news on television. Depending on how you process information, you may wish to avoid exposing yourself to images. There’s something to be said for the visceral response an image has and the impact an image has emotionally on us. (There’s that saying that a picture’s worth a thousand words.) And, you can learn what’s happening without needing to see every photo or video that accompanies the story because those pictures impact our nervous system in a way words often don’t. 

Talk about your feelings

It helps to talk about your feelings and reactions. Many of us know that bottling stuff up isn’t a sustainable solution in other realms of our lives. In relationships, bottling up feelings can lead to resentment; with respect to anxiety or depression, bottling emotions can lead to physical symptoms as the body becomes more stressed. Sometimes, it feels safer not to admit what you’re thinking and feeling by giving voice to it; however, that means these thoughts and feelings are living inside of you. The potential consequences of bottling up emotions is for another potential blog post–but most folks will experience some type of consequence. I encourage you to talk about what you’re feeling, so you can identify and accept whatever those feelings are.

Process what you’re feeling with someone who listens and is supportive and shares some general knowledge about what’s happening and won’t try to change the subject immediately. Often, we can feel like real downers when we talk about what we’re learning and observing in the world at large; we’ve probably all been involved in conversations where we’re sharing information about a difficult circumstance, situation, or feeling, and our conversation partner expresses empathy in some way but then steers the conversation to an alternative topic. This moving of the conversation to another topic may be because the conversation partner doesn’t know what to say or ask; maybe they can’t emotionally handle what was shared with them; maybe they don’t feel knowledgeable enough to add anything to the conversation substantively. When trying to identify with whom to have the conversation, be intentional. Think about who is in your network or community and potentially schedule a time (or several times) to have a tough conversation, so you’re both prepared for what could be unloaded and the accompanying despair or grief or rage. You may then want to schedule time for some follow-up self care based on what you know is best for you. Talking to someone can also be in the context of therapy, where the therapist is prepared for conversations that aren’t light and uplifting. That said, not all therapists are equally engaged in topics concerning the external world. If you’re not working with a therapist already, you can consider asking about how they handle or would engage if talking about the world at large, including politics, is something you anticipate doing.

Take action; get involved

Lots of times, folks’ advice for responding to politics or issues within the external world, is “get involved”; “take action”; “do something.” While this is a potential way to cope (which is why I’m including it here), it isn’t for everyone at all times. (I’ll get to that later.) Taking action can be really helpful because it provides a sense of control or empowers someone to feel like they’re shaping an outcome. In taking action, you may feel less alone; for example, if you feel like your friends or others in your network don’t care or are just sitting on the sidelines, taking action is often a group effort. You may meet others who are like-minded, and you may realize that other people also care enough to give up an evening or a weekend day to try to make a difference. What you do may depend on how much time you have and what you’re most able to contribute (often a question of time vs. money). Taking action may be empowering in moving forward; taking action may also have a retrospective benefit of knowing you contributed and gave of yourself. 

Doing something isn’t for everyone. I say that because sometimes we’re too impacted emotionally (i.e. too much in despair or feeling devastated), it may be even more overwhelming to get involved. You may find yourself unprepared for wrestling with some emotions requiring attention while adding even more to your plate. And some political can result in confrontation. While I’ve done my share or door knocking and phone banking (both important actions for connecting to others and potentially helping them realize their vote can make a difference), my cold calls haven’t always been welcome by their recipients. This isn’t a reason not to take action, but it is a reason to be prepared for what you could encounter. It’s a reason to be at a place emotionally where you can further cope by what may come your way.

Mix coping strategies

Some of us prefer to intellectualize; others to feel; still others to act. Because of our preferences, folks may tend to gravitate toward one coping strategy. Someone might want to get involved without really sitting with their own emotions or vulnerabilities. Others may want to feel all the feelings without taking action, but that could lead to further isolation or despair after a long period of time. Some mixture of all the strategies (along with self-care, like knowing when to rest and to experience joy) is likely best because this stress isn’t going away. Even if this political election does have the result you want, political problems and problems that need to be addressed via politics and policy change aren’t going away anytime soon. As resignation now may later turn into regret, reflect on where you are at this moment to decide where (or if) to start coping.

And, as always, if you want to work together, please reach out.