Here are 3 science-backed strategies to rein in election anxiety
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Dear mods and sub editors: for some reason that image - https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-1488366966.jpg - is loading the hugest highest quality version for me... rather than whatever thumbnail has doubtless been generated somewhere
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How to be "cognitively flexible" when you're going to die from sepsis because your hospital refuses (is too afraid legally) to perform a D&C?
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It's not just Americans who are stressed about the US election - the policies of the president have international repercussions. But whatever happens, life will go on (for at least most of us), and it will go on better if there's more understanding and sympathy on all sides. Spiralling in an echo chamber about how bad things can be if your preferred candidate doesn't win, and creating divisions from your fellow humans where there were formally reasonable disagreements, will do more damage to society than the actual president can do. People are allowed to have different priorities and opinions, and dismissing others for whatever you think their stereotypical beliefs may be won't ever allow progress.
As someone from outside the US, I have an opinion on whom I'd prefer to be in office. But I'd really prefer everyone to calm down and get along - in America as in most of the world.
That said - so long as you have what you consider to be an informed opinion and a genuine preference - please do vote. (I don't think it's healthy to force people to vote when they don't know what they're voting for, so I do think a degree of obsession with the political climate has merit. Political changes that happen despite the opinions of a majority who feel too disenfranchised or apathetic to get involved can be dangerous, though. And the article is right: don't get scared into voting against your actual beliefs.)
As someone from outside the US, I have an opinion on whom I'd prefer to be in office. But I'd really prefer everyone to calm down and get along - in America as in most of the world.
That said - so long as you have what you consider to be an informed opinion and a genuine preference - please do vote. (I don't think it's healthy to force people to vote when they don't know what they're voting for, so I do think a degree of obsession with the political climate has merit. Political changes that happen despite the opinions of a majority who feel too disenfranchised or apathetic to get involved can be dangerous, though. And the article is right: don't get scared into voting against your actual beliefs.)
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"Don't worry, be happy". If Donjon gets in, I'll crawl into a bucket of chicken and close the lid. Bob Marley and Otis Redding in the background.
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Moving far away from the USA really helped with daily stress.
I'm pretty sure I'd have been on the news by now had I stayed there.
I'm pretty sure I'd have been on the news by now had I stayed there.
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The phenomenon of people completely disengaging from media, has been a thing for a while, now. And, on an individual level, it looks and feels more and more like a smart option to maintain sane levels of blood pressure. The collective result is likely sub-optimal, of course...
But people who CARE are ill-equipped to handle a constant shitshow bombardment. Even less so, when the actual kernels of shit are also constantly being amplified on purpose. Which becomes a runaway process in the battle for attention and engagement.
Unfortunately, this is also an excellent environment for evil forces... It's rather heartbreaking to watch the situation develop this way, with what looks like an unavoidable inevitability. A whole collection of chicken-egg problems blocking any possible solutions.
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Read some Epictetus, or at least who he was. Stoicism. It's good stuff.
Being rational is good. I define rationality as the ability to cognize parts and wholes -- proportions, ratios. "Don't cry over spilt milk" is textbook rationality in this sense.
My own personal favorite formulation of being rational these days, is as follows.
A rational person has the ability to adjust their expectations to what is likely.
One of my biggest lessons in life has been that humans are a bit dark-minded when it comes to the second bit. Verging on cynicism and high anxiety! That is probably wise in total, but I think it is literally "an excess of caution" sometimes.
My Mom always says, "Count your blessings." That helps in making sure I'm not being dark-minded about what is likely about us.
Good luck everyone.
Being rational is good. I define rationality as the ability to cognize parts and wholes -- proportions, ratios. "Don't cry over spilt milk" is textbook rationality in this sense.
My own personal favorite formulation of being rational these days, is as follows.
A rational person has the ability to adjust their expectations to what is likely.
One of my biggest lessons in life has been that humans are a bit dark-minded when it comes to the second bit. Verging on cynicism and high anxiety! That is probably wise in total, but I think it is literally "an excess of caution" sometimes.
My Mom always says, "Count your blessings." That helps in making sure I'm not being dark-minded about what is likely about us.
Good luck everyone.
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It worked great for women and girls in Afghanistan, for example. /s
And there's a substantial.chance that a 'light' version of something like that is about to happen in the US. This is not hyperbole. I'm watching the campaign, the language used etc, from accross the ocean, and it's batshit crazy stuff. Maybe you've been slowly boiled in it, and no longer notice it?
Edit: just to clarify that when talking about Afghanistan, I'm referring to the general abandonment of reason, humanism, rationality, science for ideological dogma.
You'll get an avalanche of stuff like this, for starters:
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/ecohealth-alliance-fights-back/
And it will rapidly go downhill.
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Spiralling in an echo chamber about how bad things can be if your preferred candidate doesn't win, and creating divisions from your fellow humans where there were formally reasonable disagreements, will do more damage to society than the actual president can do. People are allowed to have different priorities and opinions, and dismissing others for whatever you think their stereotypical beliefs may be won't ever allow progress.
Jesus, I must be taking crazy pills. We've been hurtling by "reasonable disagreements" for decades and now one of the two possible candidates for president is talking about immigrants "poisoning the blood of our nation" and using the military on the "enemy within". That is neither hyperbole, nor exaggeration, nor straw man.
I consider myself fairly well-informed, and no amount of coping mechanisms can change material reality. When someone shows you who they are, believe them.
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This is Ars Technica. In a Beth Mole article, there would have been references to lots of evidence. This is just opinion as presented. I want to read studies that show strategy A has worked better than strategy B in controlled laboratory tests. This article just stresses me. 
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I want to caveat this with that for some people, life will go on just fine without a ton of change. Namely, white men (and the wealthier you are the better it will be for you). For other people (basically everyone else), there is a non-zero chance they become targets of government action or domestic terror in some form.
For example, Trump has promised mass deportations. Should he make that policy call as president, I would bet a large sum of money that you would see an increase in race-based violent attacks. Stochastic terror as a result of his words happened in his first term. So for a lot of people, their fear and anxiety are very real because they are rooted in things that have happened in Trump's first presidency, and the consequences of another trump victory could literally be deadly.
To the articles point, he's not president yet (and hopefully won't be when the proverbial dust settles).
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This article is weird. It's not like the issues the extreme right wing are no longer hypothetical - they're completely visible and have been for awhile. People have been dying because of the policies and actions from Republicans for awhile now, such as abortion laws as just one example.
It kinda feels like telling LGBTQ not to be anxious in the 1950s, or women not to be anxious when the Taliban were taking over the government in Afghanistan, or certain minorities to not be anxious in the Weimar Republic.
There's a difference between dealing with anxiety that's a result of something harmless, and anxiety from something that threatens your life or wellness. One is a way of healthy coping, the other is willful ignorance equivalent to this dog:
It kinda feels like telling LGBTQ not to be anxious in the 1950s, or women not to be anxious when the Taliban were taking over the government in Afghanistan, or certain minorities to not be anxious in the Weimar Republic.
There's a difference between dealing with anxiety that's a result of something harmless, and anxiety from something that threatens your life or wellness. One is a way of healthy coping, the other is willful ignorance equivalent to this dog:
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You’re bang on right on that one. Easy to stay anxiety-free once you’ve narrowed your mental horizon down to 0.000001º and quit giving a shit about anyone but yourself. All the main hallmarks of the MAGA crowd - “I’ve got mine, fuck you.”
On a more serious note…
- Get those you are directly responsible for a proper education. Education and critical thinking are poison to anti-democratic, reactionary movements.
- Take the time to really talk to the folks around you over the preceding four years. Outline the issues, and explain them without preaching.
- Vote, and vote early.
- Get off of fucking social media. It too is poison for your sanity.
- Leave the TV off until after the election.
Job’s a good’un.
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As far as our votes go, I am standing on this day shoulder-to-shoulder with Dick Cheney.
To those being obdurate: interpret that as you will.
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I recommend the book “The Happiness Trap” and the tools offered in it.
ACT - Acceptance Commitment Training
Good stuff. Keeps me from making the news.
ACT - Acceptance Commitment Training
Good stuff. Keeps me from making the news.
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If you ever go hunting with Cheney, that seems like the safest possible choice.
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You’re right, there’s a “time for science”. It’s when reading an article on a website that describes itself as a “unique combination of technical savvy and wide-ranging interest in the technological arts and sciences, Ars is the trusted source in a sea of information.”
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The election ads are annoying for me, but the "whether you voted is public record" ones feel like implied threats and get my contrarian dander up the most. I already did mail-in, but I still feel resentful(?) about it.
I can't turn off the perpetual mental buzz of all the risks around me, car accidents and economic collapse are still my main ones. The election feels like being mad at the captain of the sinking Titanic when seeing the passengers are torn between arguing about the band's playlist or punching more holes in hull because they want balconies for their cabins. Pragmatism and cynicism leads to a certain amount of resignation despite exercising caution to attempt to mitigate the damage.
Edit: I don't usually preemptively clarify, but politics is a pointed topic and tensions are probably high. I wasn't trying to "both sides," just express frustration on the direction of public signaling and reaction.
I can't turn off the perpetual mental buzz of all the risks around me, car accidents and economic collapse are still my main ones. The election feels like being mad at the captain of the sinking Titanic when seeing the passengers are torn between arguing about the band's playlist or punching more holes in hull because they want balconies for their cabins. Pragmatism and cynicism leads to a certain amount of resignation despite exercising caution to attempt to mitigate the damage.
Edit: I don't usually preemptively clarify, but politics is a pointed topic and tensions are probably high. I wasn't trying to "both sides," just express frustration on the direction of public signaling and reaction.
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Does the good doctor not realize that the one side wishes to deport, disenfranchise or kill people on the other side if they win? I consider that sufficient grounds to be anxious, even if I'm not specifically on their enemies list because of the people I know who are.
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There is a reason to have anxiety, but the article is about when it gets to be too much. Problem is, the anxiety is a motivation to do something, but there's not much to actually be done.
I recommend going for a hike. Most simply, exercise makes you feel better. If you like cutesy explanations, anxiety motivated our ancestors to go do physical stuff like hunt. Hiking will satisfy your brain's itch to do something.
I recommend going for a hike. Most simply, exercise makes you feel better. If you like cutesy explanations, anxiety motivated our ancestors to go do physical stuff like hunt. Hiking will satisfy your brain's itch to do something.
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Every news site should have a button among their other topical filters: "Everything EXCEPT [year's election]"
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Sorry, but when one of the candidates is talking about using the military against the "enemy within", every single person in this country should be worried. Given that roughly half of voters think using the military this way is a good thing, if their candidate wins, he'll use that as indicating he has permission to do so. And remember, this is also the guy that will be immune to repercussions since he'll have immunity for presidential actions.
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I upvoted you for a well written, on topic post. It's worth keeping in mind that each side mostly sees a caricature of the other -- highlights of the most absurd things, magnified.
Still don't agree that things will be okay though. Trump is deliberately tapping into and channeling the same sort of racism and vilification that led to the Holocaust.
Things won't get as bad as that, but if America has our own 1/10th scale version of it by first putting a bunch of illegal immigrants into camps (because you can't really deport masses of people)...
When people tell you who they are (and what they're going to do), listen to them.
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I'm French and I'm terrified. 2020 looks like a walk in the park now.
I can't imagine what would happen to the world if Putin's Official Toady, Unbearable Sucker, was elected again.
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