Afraid of the elections? Psychologists explain how to deal with this

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Obsessively scrolling through the latest polling averages? Overwhelmed by campaign ads about threats to democracy? Paralyzed by nerves about Election Day and what comes next?

You are far from alone. More than seven in 10 adults say the future of the U.S. is a major source of stress in their lives. new report of the American Psychological Association. Roughly as many said they were concerned that the outcome of this election could lead to violence; more than half say the election could mean the end of democracy in the US

UC Berkeley News asked psychology professors and mental health experts to explain where our political anxiety comes from, why elections are so nerve-wracking and what they personally do to cope. Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton and Iris Mauss are professors of psychology at UC Berkeley; Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas is the Scientific Director of the Greater Good Science Center.

What is fear, where does it come from and why can it be so paralyzing?

Simon Thomas: People become anxious when circumstances are uncertain and potentially threatening. There are two main ways the body launches a stress response to threats. One is more active and implies a willingness to escape or self-defense. The other is more passive and involves freezing, perhaps as a rudimentary attempt to camouflage a predator or go unnoticed.

Anxiety is the experience of “stressing over a stressor” or having a prolonged stress response. These may be more symbolic or existential threats. Concerns about more remote, conceptual or symbolic matters, such as democracy or the unknown future – especially when there is less sense of control or agency over how things play out – can privilege the freeze response over the ‘fight or flight’ response.

Mauss: Psychologists understand fear as an emotion that is accompanied by an unpleasant, strongly activating feeling (thoughts that involve worry) and physiological reactions such as a faster heart rate and sweaty palms. We think people experience fear when there is uncertainty about an outcome, especially when the stakes are high.

So the upcoming election is a good example of a scare factor for many of us.

Tell us more about that feeling of being frozen or helpless

Mauss: Fear involves the urge to act in a way that will alleviate discomfort. We’ve probably all had the thought, “Do something quick; get me out of here!” Ironically, however, fear is often accompanied by paralysis, where we do nothing.

There are two possible explanations. One reason is that fear first arose in environments where direct action was possible. Imagine a lion sprinting towards you in the savannah. You run away as fast as you can and you’re done – one way or another. However, in elections, there is no clear action that would result in the source of fear being immediately and completely resolved, creating a prolonged state of misery, worry and paralysis.

A second reason is that we often spend too much time and energy on ‘removing fear’. We worry about worrying, so to speak, and tie ourselves in knots. So we focus too much on our feelings and how to quickly ‘make the fear go away’ instead of acting (thoughtfully). We don’t realize that we can act thoughtfully and effectively even though we feel anxious.

What does research say about election anxiety in the US?

Mendoza-Denton: One thing we know from psychology is that people hate uncertainty and also a lack of control. Elections have both. You only have one vote. So there is a lot of concern. And there are so many different ways to express it and deal with it.

Simon-Thomas: We know that people feel more anxious when the unknown outcomes of an uncertain situation are more volatile.

Here in the US for the 2024 elections, because the two candidates are so different and promise such different realities, and the headlines and polls in the media sources and platforms are so varied and changing, people feel more worried and experience unpleasant emotions more often than they would. if they could reasonably predict the outcome.

Are you experiencing election anxiety? How do you deal with it (or try to)?

Simon-Thomas: Sometimes. I’m afraid people won’t vote. I fear that voting may not matter because the electoral system is somehow flawed and may be biased by people in positions of power. I fear that people dissatisfied with the outcome will lash out angrily after the election in an attempt to advance their rights.

I take a deep breath and try to see the humanity in everyone, regardless of their political views. I try to imagine the life circumstances and experiences someone has had or is having that would make them feel hostile. I read articles about the benefits of social harmony and justice, such as the chapter on state effectiveness in the World Happiness Report. I remember that much of everyday life is cooperative, supportive, and humanistic, even though we may take it for granted.

I talk to my children about society, historical challenges and the wide range of privileges and opportunities they have. And I invite them to think about ways they can make a difference and make the world a better place.

Maus: Yes! And it gets worse as the elections get closer. And it’s not just fear.

People deal with negative emotions such as fear in different ways, which is called emotional regulation. We investigated what happens when people use reappraisal, which involves cognitively reframing an emotional situation to feel fewer negative emotions. For example, you can tell yourself that even if the outcome is not the one you want, it can be a wake-up call and energize people on your side.

It turns out that reappraisal is one of the most effective ways people can feel better. We found the same thing in our survey of Clinton voters after the 2016 election. However, there’s a catch: the better people felt, the less they acted, meaning fewer conversations with people on both sides of the aisle. partisan divide, fewer donations and fewer protests.

So there is a dilemma. People’s own well-being came at a cost, in that action had to be taken to change the source of the negative emotions.

Mendoza-Denton: I think in order to address election anxiety, it’s critical to let go of some of that drive to control the outcome. We cannot do this as individuals. It’s what democracy is about. It is also important at this time to reach out to loved ones, to our communities, to our friends and to our families.

It is so important to be able to lean on each other for support and hope.

Is there a way out of this dilemma?

Mauss: Recently, researchers have explored emotional acceptance, which involves allowing yourself to experience the emotions you have without judging them, reacting to them, or trying to make them go away. We found that acceptance makes people feel better, perhaps because it makes people worry less. It frees their minds and at the same time makes the emotions less threatening.

Researchers also found that feeling better did not come at the expense of taking action. Acceptance was associated with a greater tendency to take action in accordance with one’s values. It is possible that this is because acceptance makes people feel less afraid, while at the same time they are aware of their feelings and can let their feelings guide and motivate their actions.

I would recommend emotional acceptance as a way to have our cake and eat it too. It allows us to feel better while taking action to create change.

Brought to you by the University of California – Berkeley


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