Managing election anxiety and its impact on mental health

Luis Fong is a board-certified Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner at Denova Collaborative Health. Fong joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the effects of election anxiety.

“Election anxiety is going to be just like your regular anxiety,” Fong said. “But it’s going to be exacerbated or made worse by the election time in particular. So during the election season, that’s going to be the stimulus that is going to make us more worried, more anxious and more prevalent during election season.”

Election season triggers a wide range of emotions, including irritability, lack of concentration, relationship struggles, and lack of productivity. Election anxiety is regular anxiety but is triggered because of politics.

“It’s still going to be the basic fear of the unknown,” Fong said. “But at the same time, it’s going to be worrying about the future of the country, worrying about who’s going to get elected, worrying about how the policies are going to affect our day-to-day life.”

Some physicians report seeing an uptick in patients seeking election-related care. According to the American Psychological Association, constant exposure to political news and social media can trigger anxiety, depression and insomnia.

“Having more and more exposure is great because it lets us stay informed,” Fong said. “But at the same time, a constant barrage of constant stimulus of information and decisions, different things we have to think about and worry about.”

Election anxiety and the distress we feel around politics can harm our physical and mental health. However, strategies like limiting political content, practicing self-care and engaging in community activities can help manage the stress.