7 Strategies to Minimize Election Anxiety and Overwhelm
Wherever you fall on the political spectrum and no matter how active you are, most likely you are feeling some level of apprehension or anxiety this week. This has been a difficult year for so many reasons and the election is coming at a time when your stress or anxiety levels may be at an all-time high. It’s important to remember that although it may not feel like it, you do have some sense of control over how, when, and for how long you engage. You also have the ability to buffer the stress you’re feeling with intentional self-care practices to keep you afloat.
Below are 7 strategies to minimize anxiety and overwhelm during election week. What would you add to the list?
Charge Your Battery First
Begin your day with self-care and prioritizing your needs over starting by checking the news or social media. It’s really important not to get overstimulated or emotionally activated before you’ve had a chance to fortify yourself with a good breakfast, mindfulness practice, a quiet cup of tea or coffee, or whatever other practices help you feel grounded and clear-headed for the day. Once you’re overstimulated or stressed, it can be hard to get back on track. Set yourself up for success for the day, the same as you start the day with a fully charged phone or a long drive with a full tank of gas.
Prioritize Basic Needs
It’s easy to get swept up in the news on election week and lose track of yourself. You may also be tending to work, childcare, or other responsibilities and not have a lot of extra time. At the very least, make sure you’re eating regular meals, hydrating, and getting enough sleep. Being tired, dehydrated, or “hangry” can have a significant impact on your mood and ability to regulate your emotions.
Contain + Limit Media Exposure
Whether it be watching the news or checking social media, it’s important to be mindful of how much information you’re absorbing and the impact it’s having on you. If you notice you’re getting really upset, irritable, or imagining the worst, it’s time to take a break. Just like a meal, small bites are more digestible and feeding yourself throughout the day is more sustainable than one large meal. Here are two suggestions:
Contain: It’s easy to get sucked in so set a timer to limit how much you consume at each sitting. Start with 5-10 minutes and increase if you continue to feel present and able to manage your emotions.
Limit: Those small check-ins can add up, so try to be mindful of how many times you’re engaging with the news. Start with every 1-2 hours and decrease if you start to feel overwhelmed by anxiety, anger, or other intense feelings.
Alternate Media Exposure with Self-Care
Once you’ve contained your news checks to a few small blocks throughout the day, you can infuse the space between with self-care practices as much as possible. Here are a few suggestions, but practice whatever works for you.
Self-Compassion: It can be important to start your media breaks by recognizing and validating whatever you’re feeling. This can be very soothing and regulating to your nervous system. Try something like, “I’m feeling anxious and uncertain, a lot of people are feeling this way too and it makes total sense to have this reaction.”
Mindfulness: If you’re feeling a lot of emotion coming up, try focusing your attention on the space around you - name and describe what you see, hear, feel, taste, smell. Note the textures, colors, and nuances around you to help pull yourself out of that spiral of thoughts and feelings. Add on some mindful breathing as a few deep breaths can go a long way.
Movement: Taking a walk, stretching, or moving the body in any way can help process and settle your emotions, especially if mindful breathing doesn’t feel effective. Move in whatever way your body is asking for and that is safe for you.
Tactile Activities: You might find it soothing to engage your hands to calm your nerves. Try cooking, crafting, knitting, gardening or just digging in the dirt, painting, puzzling, or anything that feels soothing.
Call a Friend: It can be helpful to talk things through and get support from someone you trust.
Rest: If you’re feeling overstimulated or tired, it’s okay to slow down and take a nap or go to bed early. Rest your body as much as you need to and your schedule allows for. Feeling and worrying this much takes a lot of energy!
Focus on the Familiar
When everything feels uncertain, it’s important to exercise your ability to have control where you can and seek out the familiar. Feeling a sense of control and being around what’s familiar are comforting, but more importantly invoke a sense of safety. Wherever you are, the familiar can come in the form of watching a favorite childhood movie, drinking a tea your Mom made for you, going to a favorite park, listening to music your friends would play, and on and on. Think about what’s familiar to all your senses (tastes, smells, textures, sounds, images) as well as activities and places.
Decompress Before Bed
It’s common to scroll through your phone or watch videos before bed, but that can make it difficult to wind down for sleep. It just gives our minds more to process and potentially worry about. If you notice that your mind is racing before bed or your body feels restless, try creating a buffer between media consumption and bedtime:
Cut off media consumption at least two hours before bed
Do something light or nourishing instead such as gentle stretching, meditation, reading, watching a light-hearted movie, or snuggling with your pet.
Pace Yourself
This will most likely not be a sprint of an election day, but more like an election marathon. Therefore you must set up your self-care routine to go the distance and practice a little every day rather than a lot all at once.
It’s easy to get swept up in the news on election week and lose track of the impact it’s having on your emotional well-being which can create heightened states of anxiety and stress. You can take back control by choosing to focus on your needs first as well as set limits and monitor how you’re feeling when you do engage.
