Voters avoid social media and political discussions to preserve mental health on election day

Despite working to guide voters who will vote at the school where she teaches on Sunday (2), high school teacher Kimberlym Dias, 27, says she intends to step away from politics in the coming days to preserve her mental health.

She, who has already distanced herself from part of her friends and the church she attended due to partisan positions, believes it is better to reduce contact with social networks and prepare emotionally to deal with the intensity of emotions that she must feel in the first round.

Like Dias, other voters are betting on a more restrained conduct during Sunday’s election, many of them already worn out by the electoral dispute. Health professionals believe that the strategy is a good solution for those who want to preserve themselves emotionally, but they say that the ideal is to find a balance between apathy and reactivity when dealing with the issue.

Bruno (not his real name, on request), 37, chose to stay away from the news, social media and political discussions, as well as family members who have other party preferences on election day. He keeps conversations on the topic only with friends who are similarly inclined to avoid emotional burnout.

“Regarding family members, I also don’t see pages [nas redes sociais]and I’m very happy – or not – that I’m going to meet with uncles, grandparents and cousins ​​the other Sunday, when luckily the election for president is already defined”, he says.

Telemarketing attendant Isabelle Neves, 22, also preferred to distance herself from the political debate after having anxiety attacks and presenting symptoms such as retching and tachycardia during the last presidential race. Guided by her psychologist, she decided to be less engaged this time around.

“It’s good for us to know about the world around us. The idea is not to completely distance myself, but to know how to deal with anxiety”, he says.

Concern over cases of violence on Sunday motivated Neves not to explicitly support his presidential candidate at the time of voting. She will also avoid using colors that might be associated with a party.

For journalist Greicielle dos Santos, 32, withdrawing from political discussions was also the solution found to avoid emotional exhaustion. According to her, some friends did the same. Despite participating in a collective focused on the debate of the Brazilian sociopolitical context in the city of Bom Sucesso, in Minas Gerais, they were less mobilized in these elections.

Santos says he silenced and stopped following people on social media to avoid conflicts. He also does not follow candidates on the networks and has been consuming less information on the subject. On Sunday, the journalist will work as a secretary. “I won’t be able to escape the stress of that day,” she says. “When the elections are over, I intend to meet friends to exchange ideas, cry or celebrate,” she says.

Public servant Aline (fictitious name, on request) intends not to follow the poll on election day. According to her, the wear on the theme was significant at work and in the condominium where she lives. “I have a neighbor who, every weekend, plays the national anthem at a disproportionate amount of time for political reasons,” she says.

To avoid the stress of the day, she will dedicate herself to cultural activities. “The election is a very serious situation, because it is the future of the country. I will choose a lighter schedule to try to deal with anxiety”, she says.

Jairo Werner, psychiatrist and professor at UFF (Universidade Federal Fluminense), says that a climate of permanent election has persisted in the country since the last presidential election, which causes emotional wear and tear on people.

This situation, says Werner, can generate a permanent state of alert and confrontation in some individuals, which harms mental health. According to him, the ideal is to seek a balance between apathy and excess reactivity to deal with emotions on election day.

Psychoanalyst Maria Silvia Borghese says that strategies to disconnect from politics are valid to avoid psychic wear and tear. According to her, many patients report feelings of anxiety and anguish when thinking about the future of the country.

Borghese works at Escuta Sedes, an initiative of Instituto Sedes Sapientiae, located in São Paulo, which promotes conversation circles to talk about psychic suffering resulting from social conditions. According to the psychoanalyst, the elections were a theme present at the meeting held on Friday (23), just over a week before the first round.

She says that many of the cases of violence that characterized the electoral period, such as that of the young Estefane Laudano, attacked by a bolsonarista with a club to the head in a bar in Angra dos Reis (RJ), are present in the speeches of patients who show concern on the political scene.

“These are situations of great psychic wear and tear, in which people live moments of great vulnerability and emotional lability”, says Borghese. “We live in a potentially traumatic reality. People have the feeling that they are hurt. Depending on the news [que leem]it hurts the body, generates anxiety and tachycardia”, he says.