How to protect yourself from sadness, anger and fear after election

Heated debates, heated moods, opposing opinions… The presidential election can be a major source of stress — which, in turn, is one of the risk factors behind more serious disorders such as anxiety and depression.

According to psychiatrists, the probability of developing such a picture is even greater when the dispute becomes too polarized and political opponents are seen as enemies, who must be defeated at any cost.

In addition to harming democracy, this type of thinking poses a threat to the mental health of people who harbor such intense feelings, the doctors explain.

The good news is that there are strategies that help prevent a worsening of the situation and prevent damage to well-being, such as self-assessment of behavior, disconnecting from social networks and seeking an assessment with health professionals.

Origin of concerns

The American Psychological Association (APA) carried out a survey in 2020 to understand the impact of the presidential elections on people’s daily lives.

The study found that 68% of respondents viewed the political dispute between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump as a significant source of stress.

“The year 2020 was unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. Not only did we deal with a pandemic that killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, we saw an increase in division and hostility,” said psychologist Arthur Evans Junior, president of the APA, at the time. .

An investigation led by the University of California at San Francisco, in the USA, found that being on the losing side of the election impacts mental health.

When analyzing data from half a million Americans, the academics noticed that residents of states where the majority voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton, who lost the race, reported more upset a month after the 2016 election.

By calculations, this translated into 54.6 million more days of stress and depression for the 109.2 million adults living in states that preferred Clinton.

“Health professionals should consider that elections can have an effect, at least transitory, in the worsening of mental health”, said doctor Renee Hsia, one of those responsible for the work.

The subject gained such a great repercussion in American lands that some health professionals even developed a term to describe it: electoral stress disorder.

Although it is not an officially accepted disorder in psychiatric textbooks, some academics describe it as “a generalized anxiety that focuses on the election, but is not caused by it alone.”

One of the creators of the concept is therapist Steven Stosny. He points out that the main symptoms are difficulty sleeping, headache, stomach problems and increased irritability or anxiety.

The ingredient behind it all

In the end, what this list of American experiments reveals is the prominent role of stress in behavior and emotions.

Doctor Daniel Martins de Barros, from the Institute of Psychiatry, Hospital das Clínicas de São Paulo, explains that stress is a set of reactions of our organism when we are faced with new situations, which require some kind of adaptation and coping.

“These changes generate a series of reactions in our body to make our attention sharp, our reasoning quick, our muscles tense and our heart racing”, he says.

In principle, this set of changes is welcome. It was this mechanism that allowed our species to identify dangers and respond quickly—usually by fleeing or fighting.

“The question is when this stress turns into something chronic”, differentiates the psychiatrist.

“A constant demand for changes and adaptations leads to wear and tear on the body and increases the risk of developing conditions such as anxiety and depression”, he adds.

The situation in Brazil

It is no secret that the elections in the country are polarized and generate very intense disputes. But is it possible to measure the stress of the population at this moment?

While there isn’t much published research on the topic in Brazil, Barros notes that the 2022 presidential race looks different than it did four years ago.

“It seems to me that most people learned their lesson in 2018 and created mechanisms to not get into conflicts or fights. Among friends and family members with opposing views, there seems to be a kind of pact of silence on the subject”, he evaluates.

“But of course we cannot ignore the episodes of violence between political opponents recorded in recent weeks”, he adds.

Psychiatrist Lucas Spanemberg, from the Brain Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, understands that political participation can have two sides.

“It’s something paradoxical, but engaging in a campaign is good because it brings a sense of belonging, of civic participation, of protagonism, of a positive influence on the country’s future”, he lists.

“The problem is when this goes too far and generates an authoritarian temptation, in which the discussion focuses only on attacking the opponent through anger, hatred and rejection”, he compares.

“From a mental health point of view, this is negative and can bring about anxieties”, he points out.

The role of social networks

Doctors interviewed by BBC News Brasil believe that the rise in tempers is partly due to social media.

Barros points out that we have a natural tendency to favor people we recognize as similar — and we are more critical and harsh with those outside our social group.

“We fight this tendency with civilizing mechanisms, such as social justice and transparency.”

“The idea of ​​defending a point of view and creating disagreements is part of human nature. But the algorithms of social networks favor what we call confirmation bias”, teaches Spanemberg, who also works at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre.

In practical terms, these platforms are configured to show only content that fits what we believe.

In the long run, this creates a false sense that everyone thinks alike — dissenting opinions are so rare on these networks that they end up ignored, or attacked with full force.

“We are, at the same time, with the feeling that we are validated all the time, and with a difficulty in dealing with the different and the contradictory”, summarizes the psychiatrist.

What happens to who wins and who loses

Psychoanalyst Christian Dunker, a professor at the Institute of Psychology at the University of São Paulo, highlights that the attitude after a victory or defeat also influences not only the country’s political future, but also the intensification of tempers in personal relationships.

“In Brazilian history, the victorious side often uses sarcasm and humiliation as tools in the face of the defeated.”

And that, in turn, generates a reaction of revenge, anger and rancor among those who lost.

“It seems to me that we still need to learn to win or lose during the political dispute”, he says.

“Another flaw we have is the notion that leaders are infallible, cannot make mistakes or go back. This creates authority figures that are inflexible, which is reflected in the behavior of society”, he adds.

How to avoid these evils

But is there a way to deal with a problem of this size and escape feelings of anger, sadness or fear during and after the elections?

There are at least seven basic recommendations that help you think about emotions and behavior — and how they impact mental health.

It all starts with a self-assessment process. How do you react when a person says something that goes against what you believe? Does that cause you a lot of stress? Does a conversation about politics generate discomfort or a bad feeling in you or in the other participants?

“There’s something wrong when your political positions limit conversations within your own family, or WhatsApp groups are no longer a place of fraternization to become a terrain of political dispute”, exemplifies Spanemberg.

It is also worth checking if this behavior prevents you from doing any professional and leisure activities or damages relationships.

Second, doctors advise you to be aware if you think you are always right about everything.

“Nobody is right 100% of the time”, recalls Barros.

“Think if you’ve ever disagreed with the group you interact with the most. If that never happened, you could be being manipulated”, he adds.

The third point is to exercise consensus. When talking to people who have opposing views, try to find common ground that everyone can agree on.

This helps to create bonds and show that even those who have different views on various subjects can agree on some points, the researchers point out.

Tip number four is to try not to anticipate results or what government policies will be from 2023 onwards.

A survey by North Carolina State University, USA, revealed that people who anticipate social and economic scenarios and think they will be stressed by the policy of the next ruler are usually right.

In fact, they tend to suffer more from stress, even before things actually happen.

Psychiatrists also suggest that people take breaks from social media and the news. This helps to take the focus off the electoral dispute and makes room for other more relaxing activities, such as exercising or going for a walk in a park.

The sixth guideline is for people to seek professional help if they feel they are not getting better. Going through an analysis with a psychologist or psychiatrist helps to find the sources of stress, anxiety or depression — and allows you to choose the best ways to treat and resolve the disorder.

Finally, Barros believes that people have forgotten an important aspect of the elections. “The democratic process involves the continuity or change of governments, depending on the will of the majority of citizens,” he says.

The existence of these processes is something healthy and fundamental not only for the functioning of democracy, but also for the balance of our own mental health, he emphasizes.

He points out that we need to view opposition to the government of the day as part of the democratic process — not as an enemy that must be eliminated.

According to the psychiatrist, dealing with people we don’t like is part of living in society. And understanding this can even help alleviate the stress and emotional burden that come with debates and proposals to improve the country’s future.

This text was originally published here