Election polls increase voter anxiety and stress

In 2018, reports of people suffering from stress, fear and anxiety due to one of the most polarized electoral periods since the redemocratization of Brazil began to appear on social media and in clinics. In the 2022 elections, the scenario is similar, and the release of election polls can make the symptoms even stronger.

Bruno (not his real name), 37, felt for the first time the effects of the predictions in the 2014 elections, when the second round was disputed by Dilma Rousseff (PT) and Aécio Neves (PSDB). Four years later, in the election that elected President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), he felt his mental health collapse with the release of the polls.

The situation didn’t change if the candidate of your choice came up with a few points ahead, and it even got worse with rejection data. Severe symptoms of anxiety and stress marked the election period for the civil servant.

“Now I’m avoiding it, because it’s really bad for me, I get much more anxious, much more apprehensive during this period. And this year I decided that I didn’t want to see it. These things come to us, there’s no way, the data. But I don’t seek information”, he says.

Bruno’s symptoms are already observed by specialists, who receive patients with complaints related to the electoral process. The surveys add to other triggers observed in the period.

“We have increasingly noticed a destructive effect of electoral issues on the well-being of the population, especially in this one, which is one of the most important since redemocratization. I am already receiving patients citing these issues as triggers for generating stress and anxiety”, reports psychiatrist Rogério Arena Panizzutti, associate professor at Ipub-UFRJ (Institute of Psychiatry at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro).

In the United States, where a polarized political environment was also formed in the last two presidential elections, the mental health of the population was also affected by election polls.

The report “Stress in America”, published annually since 2007 by the APA (American Psychological Association, in Portuguese), showed that the intensification observed by the electoral polls in the two editions – Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, in 2016, and Trump and Joe Biden , in 2020 – has taken the voters of the three presidential candidates to a high level of stress.

In 2016, 59% of Republicans responded that the election period was a source of burnout, compared to 55% of Democrats. In 2020, the number of stressed voters rose on both sides, but even more among Democrats: for them, the rate was 76%, while for Republicans, it was 67%.

In another work, scientists at the University of Michigan followed the reports of 80 young Americans, ages 14 to 24, from a week before to four months after the 2016 US election. The result showed that only the expectation of Donald Trump’s victory that year made feelings of nervousness, anxiety and fear predominant among the participants.

According to psychologist Renata Paparelli, a professor at PUC-SP (Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo), the effect on each person’s emotions may vary according to the performance of the candidate they prefer.

“There is a range of feelings, which involve anxiety, fear, anger, hope, hatred. This year’s electoral scenario promises to be very mobilizing in this sense and from there it goes a little in line with what the polls are pointing out. The polarization itself intensifies these affections. “, informs.

Psychiatrist Panizzutti agrees that poll performance influences how voters are impacted. “When a candidate presents himself contrary to the thoughts of the individual, with positions that frighten him, it causes an increase in stress and anxiety. We noticed this a lot in the last presidential election”, he adds.

In the Brazilian scenario, where Lula (PT) and Bolsonaro appear at the forefront, the lack of an alternative can especially affect those who seek a third way.

According to Panizzutti, this is associated with uncertainties regarding the future of the political and economic situation in Brazil, which influences all areas of life, including the feeling of well-being and the expectation of achieving planned goals.

“People who don’t want either of them are also worried about the scenario that lies ahead. The issue is the future perspective that damages mental health for being uncertain. This is fuel in the fire of anxiety”, adds the psychiatrist.

To reduce mental illness in the period, the main guidance of professionals not to freak out at this time is to inform yourself carefully and, if necessary, get away from the news.

“Eventually we have to ask patients to step away from the discussion and political news and create a filter to protect themselves from these potential threats,” says Panizzutti.

Paparelli, on the other hand, points out that the electoral process is not limited to polls, so it is important not to look at the published data as absolute truths. In addition, the psychologist also recommends being careful with fake news, keeping an eye on the source and quality of information and, if possible, forming a support network.

“How about taking this moment to think together with others what kind of project do you want for the country, what kind of issue do you want to fight and face? This is another protective measure of mental health because you share experiences with others and vice versa. back.”