Overwhelming worry about the outcome of the upcoming presidential election adversely affects many of us.
I see it in family and friends, and read about it in the press. Democrats widely believe that the election of Donald Trump would end our democracy. Republicans fear the opposite, that if Harris wins our society will falter under unchecked immigration, inflation, and the destruction of the traditional family.
Political Emails, Texts and Posts Are Escalating
For both sides, the anxiety level is increasing as the election looms closer, now not much more than two weeks away. We are all besieged by fundraising texts and emails from one party or the other, and the frequency has increased in the past two weeks. I have gotten as many as 30-40 texts and a similar number of emails per day from differently named political organizations. It is overwhelming and unsettling.
Moreover, many opinion pieces in newspapers, or on cable news channels, are explorations of hypothetical outcomes of the presidential races, often focusing on extreme results that one side or the other will find upsetting. The straight world news that we need to read in recent days is upsetting enough, but the hypotheticals are not essential.
People feel out of sorts, irritable, have poor sleep, and suffer conflict with family members and friends. And the worry is worse because you really can’t do anything about the outcome. If you live in Massachusetts, your vote still matters, but realistically Harris will win overwhelmingly. You perhaps have donated to one party or the other. But the loci where you might make an active difference are not here. You just have to wait for Election Day and the vote counts.
Advance Catastrophication Is Harmful
Excessive worry about a future event that you cannot affect is what I have called “advance catastrophication.” I wrote about this in the medical context over a decade ago. The pervasive worry is harmful emotionally and physically. It can be mitigated by pulling back and abstaining from processing the concern until it becomes relevant, in the future.
Think of this. If your worst feared election outcome does not occur on November 5, then you will have subjected yourself to unnecessary serious angst for many weeks. And if the bad outcome does arise, you’ll have plenty of time afterward, in this case four years, to deal with it. Optimism always wins.
How to Pull Back
I suggest you should put “STOP” in reply to all political texts, and find the hidden “unsubscribe” link in all political emails. Unfollow various political social media accounts that are flooding your feed. It will take several days to extinguish them all, but you can do this. And avoid reading the hypothetical opinion pieces riffing on one unthinkable outcome or another. You can stop. Yes you can. And then your texts and emails and news will revert to a more modest flow of normal communications without the doomsday multicolored messaging that has been drowning you. You’ll feel less stressed. You’ll sleep better. The sense of foreboding will lessen. You can still donate money if you want, but you won’t have to delete 30 political texts and emails every day.
Disconnecting Works
I disconnected several days ago. It works. I feel more in control of my life and less pressured. Disconnect politically till the election. Obviously you will vote, and then you can reconnect at an election party to cheer or commiserate. Disconnecting now is good. Really good. That’s a medical recommendation.