July has been a geyser of unprecedented political news: an attempted assassination, the sitting U.S. president dropping out of the race with little more than 100 campaign days, legal battles, an historic address to the nation.
The stakes of this election, we're reminded, couldn't be higher.
All that comes after a February poll from Pew Research Center found that nearly two-thirds of participants said they were mostly or always exhausted with politics, and 55% said they were often or mostly angry.
The mounting pressure and exhaustion, and all the uncertainty that comes with that, may be feeding into levels of anxiety not previously seen in at least three decades across the United States. According to a new survey from the American Psychiatric Association , U.S. adults say they're 43% more anxious this year than last year, largely due, at 73%, to election anxiety. That's 10 percentage points higher than the APA surveyed U.S. adults for the 2022 Midterm elections.
On the topic of current events, U.S. adults also report heightened anxiety surrounding gun violence (69%), the economy (77%) and how to keep themselves or their families safe (68%).
In Wisconsin, one of the country's battleground states, there's been a surge of calls to 988 regarding the state of current events and the upcoming elections, said Erin Neilan Miller, clinical program manager at Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin, the state program behind Wisconsin 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Counselors at Family Services, Miller said, are increasingly talking to Wisconsinites about election anxiety and the general stress of living amid high inflation . More Wisconsinites are also calling with heightened fears about geo-political events, another flashpoint in past and, likely, future political debates.
"Often the anxiety that impacts callers the most is that of the unknown," Miller said. "Uncertainty can be disruptive for many people."
But when it comes to socioeconomic concerns, nothing about the problem is abstract. Callers are telling counselors their stress stems from the rising costs of food and housing, as well as the scarcity of available housing.
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Although food costs and prices in the United States have stabilized following the pandemic's volatile years, total food costs rose 2.6% between January 2023 and 2024 . And Wisconsin's median housing price increased by nearly 7% between May 2023 and May 2024, according to Wisconsin REALTORS Association. That comes at a time when, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the state isn't building houses fast enough to match the pace of need.
Suffice it to safe, uncertainty and fear are driving more people to dialing 988 for support, resources and proactive coping mechanisms to manage their anxiety, Miller said.
Political engagement can help feelings of uncertainty
It might seem counterintuitive, like putting your hand on a hot stovetop after getting burned, but one of the coping strategies experts suggest for people with election anxiety is to become more politically engaged.
According to the American Psychological Association , it's all about reframing negative emotions around election outcomes, trading in gloom, cynicism and catastrophizing with more positive emotions that can accompany political engagement — compassion, admiration, gratitude and inspiration.
The alternative — political disengagement — effectively works to regulate emotions away from negative feelings associated with politics. Researchers studied people who voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election and found that those who ceased volunteering and protesting in the aftermath of the election felt better on the short term.
But people stopped participating with politics and community engagement completely, which shouldn't be the trade-off, researchers said.
Is becoming less politically active the best way to manage anxiety? It certainly doesn't bode well for a functioning democracy. And, in the long run, plunging our head in the sand when we're stressed is hardly the best strategy for coping.
Engaging in politics isn't just relevant for people who can vote either, said Linda Hall, executive director for the Office of Children's Mental Health. A great example is how young adults not yet of voting age have engaged in the topic of climate change.
"We've noted that when students, especially high school students, when they feel like they have agency to impact the world around them, that it contributes to their well-being," Hall said. "And in the action of being heard, they're developing skills that can carry them into adulthood and are predictors that they will do better as adults."
Importantly, political engagement is not the same thing as doom-scrolling on social media, sites that are designed to keep you in an infinite state of information consumption. The same is true for tuning in to 24-hour news cycles. As it promises, it's designed to feed you constant information, information that can be colored by partisanship, conflicting opinions and ideologically divisive rhetoric.
What else can be done to alleviate election stress?
When Wisconsinites contact 988 to cope with election anxiety, Miller said the counselors suggest a variety of resources.
"Our counselors are trained to validate callers’ experiences and work collaboratively with them on developing resources and empowerment for managing their anxiety," Miller said.
Some easy and more immediate responses to stress management lie in breathing exercises, creating playlists of your favorite songs, re-watching funny TV series, and connecting with friends and family.
The American Psychological Association offers these additional recommendations:
- Find common ground with others : Once controversial topics like abortion and gun violence come up, it's hard to put the toothpaste back in the tube, so to speak. But, as the American Psychological Association notes, different viewpoints may sprout from the same underlying principles. For example, you might be pro-life and your friend, pro-choice, but both ideologies may stem from the desire to have a healthy family with access to basic needs and resources.
- Find meaningful ways to get involved in the community : Seek out the issues that are important to you and learn how you can get involved in local organizations that speak to those interests. Getting involved might also mean engaging in local politics — attending council meetings and town hall events, share your thoughts with elected officials and make your voice heard.
- Find emotional and spiritual relief : Whether you're religious and/or community-driven, finding emotional and spiritual support in times of stress can provide solace. Engaging in contemplative practices like meditation and mindfulness exercises can also help us find peace in times of stress.
- Know when to unplug : It's important to stay informed. Reading the news and gaining insights into current events help us to understand the world, but our brains need a break. Set timers for yourself for how long you think you should be engaging with current events, perhaps once in the morning and once in the evening, but in that long meanwhile, do things for yourself, like connecting with family and friends, exercising, taking on a hobby and doing things you enjoy.
- Take care of yourself : According to Gallup, a majority of U.S. adults, at nearly 60%, say they're not sleeping enough . That presents a frustrating feedback loop: If we don't sleep enough, we're more prone to stress; if we're stressed, we're unable to sleep. Prioritizing sleep can do wonders, but to get good and productive snooze time, it's important to eat healthy food, exercise, spend quality time with friends and family, and avoid the temptation of "taking the edge off" with alcohol and substance use.
Natalie Eilbert covers mental health issues for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She welcomes story tips and feedback. You can reach her at neilbert@gannett.com or view her Twitter profile at @natalie_eilbert .
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Uncertainty, fear, exhaustion: Election anxiety is real and impacting Wisconsinites
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