Election Stress In America

Elections are always stressful no matter what, but 2016 has obviously been a different kind of election from the start. With how connected the internet has become through social media, all of the “news” can be pretty overwhelming. For the first time millions of Americans are torn between who they DON’T want to be the next president. Whichever candidate wins is going to cause a mass amount of conversation from the general public. The election talk has become part of daily life, and is no doubt causing some stress. November 8th keeps getting closer, and the decision is not getting any easier. Americans have become subject to Election Stress Disorder (ESD). 52% of adults 18+ are calling the election a very or somewhat significant source of stress in their life, both Democrats and Republicans (Bethune). Election Stress Disorder comes with irritability, anxiety, feeling powerless, hungrier, or having insomnia (Stone). Though these seem like symptoms that can be caused by other things, therapists have also brought up the concern. Therapists in New York reported spikes in election anxiety, stating that roughly ¼ of their patients were experiencing it (Sifferlin). The American Psychological Association breaks …show more content…
Many have said his campaign’s negativity has been a step backwards for women’s issues (Sifferlin). Having a woman president would of course be a huge achievement for the entire country. However, Donald Trump is still triggering lots of insecurity and fear among American women with his campaign (Sifferlin). The way he has referred to women all the way through is just sickening. When the video of him on the bus came out therapist across the country had to deal with abuse or sexual trauma that they had never heard about before (Sifferlin). The election reminded patients of these traumatic incidents and caused undue stress that comes with the bad memories. There is a way to deal with the stress