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    • Election 2024 anxiety is everywhere. Here’s how you can help yourself
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    Election 2024 anxiety is everywhere. Here’s how you can help yourself

    Harry Posted on

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    Rachel Lomen hears the weariness over the election in her therapy sessions. It hovers as yet another anxiety-inducing concern, like the wars abroad or natural disasters, as clients wrestle with the struggles of everyday life.

    “People are certainly fearful, but they also just want it to be over with,” said Lomen, who practices psychotherapy at her office on Ingersoll Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa. “I see clients as just being weighed down, they’re waiting for the finish line. It’s the fatigue, and then the fear of what will happen.”

    Ricc Terranova, a mental health counselor at Broadlawns Medical Center, also senses unease and trepidation over the election among those who work with poor, minority and LBGTQ communities that could be affected by what happens Nov. 5.

    Those are people, he said, who already face so many barriers to having a full life and who are used to being “othered.”

    “My gut feeling is once this is all over, well, assuming its over on Tuesday, there will probably be more worry about what’s next for them,” he said.

    Anxiety over the election this year is widely felt: 69% of US adults have reported that the 2024 presidential election is a significant source of stress in their lives, an increase from 52% in 2016, according to an American Psychological study released this month.

    More than 7 in 10 adults are worried that the election results could lead to violence, and nearly 1 in 3 have experienced tension and distance from their family members.

    The national suicide and crisis lifeline 988 had a historic spike in callers on Election Day in 2016, with caller volumes rising about 65% above expected. Crisis Text Line received a notable increase in texters during both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, according to Dr. Shairi Turner, chief health officer at Crisis Text Line.

    “We can’t predict what 2024 will bring,” Turner said.

    But already, they’ve experienced an influx of conversations about election anxietyand they expect that to rise as we inch closer to the vote.

    With the election just on the horizon, crisis centers are gearing up to support texters and callers through distress − regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum.

    But as those in crisis experience election anxiety, volunteers and staff are living through the same tumultuous times.

    “That presents a challenge to us as counselors, because we need to remain politically neutral,” says Ryan Dickson, director of Crisis Community Services at CommUnity Crisis Services and Food Bank in Iowa City. “We don’t weigh in with our values, we focus on the emotions of the person.”

    Dickson says political stress calls do not typically lead to suicidal ideation, but one notable exception was when Roe v. Wade was overturned. Then, they had an increase in callers with unplanned pregnancies who were contemplating suicide.

    “In general, on a presidential election night, (callers) are just very scared and unsure of what to do,” Dickson said.

    Before and after the election: What you can do

    Lomen said to better manage anxiety before and after the election, “stop listening to the chatter” and practice more self-care.

    She advises limiting what you’re reading or listening to, focusing on what you can and cannot control, and staying in the moment.

    “When you focus on the future, it leans to anxiety,” she said.

    She encourages people to find healthy distractions, doing things versus thinking, and stearing clear of conversations that can add to anxiety.

    “Sometimes you have to take a pause from family and friends who amp up the anxiety,” she said.

    People also need to remember they aren’t alone. Practicing gratitude, volunteering or helping someone out can also offer relief.

    “Do something outside yourself,” she said. “Call a friend you haven’t talked to in a while.”

    Terranova said people need to remember they have only a small amount of control, and the one thing they can do in this instance is vote. He also said it’s important not to “catastrophize” things that haven’t happened.

    He helps lead group therapy sessions at Broadlawns, and he believes it can be helpful to be among people and sharing what they’re struggling with, and change what they can, so they don’t feel isolated.

    Turner said some people are “getting pulled deeply into all the turmoil around the election.” They may become deeply enmeshed in the news, pull away from their relationships and experience sleeplessness, changes in appetite and anxiety.

    That’s when it can be helpful to contact a mental health counselor or a crisis line.

    At the nonprofit Crisis Text Line, the team has developed an election anxiety toolkit with suggested prompts, grounding exercises, tips and external resource referrals.

    Supervisors prepare their counselors through role playing scenarios − private conversations where counselors practice defusing politically charged situations, reframe emotions and offer coping skills.

    On the night of the 2020 electionCaitlin Ruzycky, a social worker and crisis clinician, was managing 30 conversations at a time on the Crisis Text Line.

    Some were fearful for their future as part of the LGBTQ communityothers were concerned about conspiracy theories or media bias, and some worried that the election outcome would tear their family apart. Texters came from various political and socioeconomic backgrounds, ages, genders, ethnicities and political affiliations.

    Ruzycky was a crisis counselor supervisor at the time, and her job was to support volunteer crisis counselors through these conversations and intervention when needed. A significant chunk of each role involved deescalating high-risk situations; suicide was frequent throughout this divisive time.

    “It was a very politically charged time in 2020, as it is now,” Ruzycky said.

    Help is available across the political spectrum

    Crisis lines encourage anyone in need of additional support to reach out on election night and beyond — Turner says they’re ready for you.

    If you are struggling with election anxiety, help is available. Call or text 988 or contact Crisis Text Line by texting “ELECTIONS” or “ELECCIONES” to 741-741.

    Harry
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