Fox News (which I’m afraid I view as a major source of stress) reports that therapists are seeing a lot of people stressed about the presidential election. Not surprising, since there’s a widespread sense that things have gone out of control – a sure indicator of high stress.
“I’ve never seen this level of stress and anxiety over an impending election in my 26 years (of practicing),” said Nancy Molitor, a clinical psychologist from just outside Chicago.
What do counselors suggest? Yoga. And turn off the news.
The benefits of practices like yoga are clear, but I see it as a partial solution. When things feel out of control, we also need to reconnect with people and values. We need to build and nurture relationships in three dimensions – people, practices and values. Research suggests that social support actually has the strongest correlation to resistance and resilience under pressure.
This is a bad time to try to carry it all by yourself. My advice is to set politics aside much of the time and seek to find common ground with friends. The election is important, but there are more important matters, after all.
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