Do you feel your stress level rising when you see a political ad or hear a candidate speak? Are you sad or frustrated that a loved one doesn’t share your concerns about a political issue? Does the news leave you feeling anxious and worried about the future?
You’re not alone—surveys have found that stress related to presidential elections affects a majority of adults in the United States, and that can have a very real effect on our overall health.
We spoke to UNC Health cardiac psychologist Lindsey Rosman, PhD, and UNC psychiatrist Megan Pruette, MD, about why it’s important to manage these emotions and how to keep your cool as campaigning continues.
Election Stress and Heart Health
Chronic stress has been linked to a wide range of health problems, from headaches and digestive issues to sleep problems and depression. It also puts you at increased risk for high blood pressure and can trigger acute heart events such as a heart attack or stroke. If you have been diagnosed with a heart condition, mental stress from a political election may increase your risk of a heart event, according to research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association in 2021.
“We know that stressful life events, like natural disasters or the attacks on the World Trade Center, cause intense emotions and can trigger potentially life-threatening cardiovascular events such as an irregular heart rhythm or cardiac arrhythmia,” says Dr. Rosman, who was the lead author on the paper. “In 2016, the election was very intense and stressful, particularly in North Carolina, which is a swing state.”
Knowing that North Carolinians were exposed to a high volume of political ads and events, Rosman and her colleagues were able to link data provided by implanted cardiac devices, such as defibrillators or pacemakers, to voter registration data and electronic health records. They found that people with underlying cardiovascular disease had a 77 percent increase in the risk of arrhythmia—an irregular heart rate—in the months surrounding the 2016 presidential election, compared with control periods of earlier in the summer and the year before.
Approximately a third of people experienced atrial fibrillation, a type of arrhythmia linked to stroke and heart failure. The risk for a cardiac event increased for all people, regardless of their registered political affiliation.
“These people had devices that kept them safe from a potentially life-threatening cardiovascular event, but others may not,” Dr. Rosman says, as implanted cardiac devices monitor and treat irregular heart rhythms.
“As a society, we need to be thoughtful about how the political discourse affects people. We’re starting to think about it as a health risk rather than a normal part of the political process,” she says.
Here are some ways to manage stress during election season.
Tips for Managing Election Stress
- Limit your news intake.
News about the election is constantly available to us via our phones, computers and TVs, but that doesn’t mean we should consume it all day.
Approach your news intake with a plan, rather than endless scrolling, Dr. Pruette says. Maybe you’ll decide to watch the morning news and read certain websites at lunch, and then you’re done.
“You certainly want to be informed, but you have to strike a balance,” Dr. Rosman adds. “If social media, the internet or the television is causing you intense distress, reduce your consumption.”
Dr. Pruette recommends turning off news notifications on your phone.
“There’s a reactionary component to notifications, because they make you feel like you should be worried right now,” she says. “Getting notifications throughout the day can make you feel like there’s a crisis, but they don’t need to be acted on.”
- Find common ground with friends and family.
During stressful elections, it can be especially frustrating to see a friend’s vitriolic social media post or hear a family member dismiss an issue that’s important to you. To keep your stress levels down, you may have to avoid talking politics with certain people or temporarily mute their social media activity.
“Focus on what you have in common with family and friends,” Dr. Pruette says. “You share interests, you share a history. Remember why you have that relationship and why it’s important.”
If you know you’ll become upset with someone if there’s a discussion of politics, avoid bringing it up, or ask to change the subject if it does.
“Just tell people, I don’t want to talk about this,” Dr. Pruette says. “It’s not worth destroying a lifelong relationship.”
- Focus on what you can control and what’s in front of you.
The future is always uncertain, and that can feel scary when we’re living through such tumultuous times. But you have a choice on where you put your energy and attention.
“When people bring up stress about the election, I tell them to focus on what’s in their control versus what’s outside of their control,” Dr. Rosman says. “You can control turning off the television and limiting social media. You have no control over what other people do or say.”
It can be empowering to turn from worry to action. In an election, volunteering for your preferred candidate or working with others who support the same causes you do can be an effective way to take control. Those actions also have the benefit of getting you out into the world and away from your screens.
“When people consume a lot of news and become anxious, they tend to withdraw more and more from real life,” Dr. Pruette says. “Stay focused on what’s physically in front of you and what’s going on, here and now, in your current life.”
- Take care of your physical and mental health.
It’s impossible to avoid all stress during an election, so take time to engage in tried-and-true self-care and stress relievers: exercise, sleep, time with loved ones and favorite activities.
“Make sure you’re getting physical activity and good sleep at night,” Dr. Pruette says. “Do activities you enjoy, whether that’s reading books or going to church.”
If you know that you tend to scroll news sites in the hours before bed, put your phone in another room or put time limits on the apps that cause you stress.
And even if you’re spending time with a friend or family member who has the same political beliefs as you, limit your discussion of current events and talk about other subjects.
“Human connection is so healing,” Dr. Pruette says. “I encourage people to foster those connections when they’re feeling stressed or anxious.”
If stress is affecting your health or daily function, talk to your doctor. If you need a doctor, find one near you.