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The Voter’s (Survival) Guide

Election stress is leading in polls. Here’s how you can defeat it.

Robert Roy Britt
Wise & Well
Published in
9 min readOct 31, 2024

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One thing a majority of Americans agree on — 69% to be exact — is that the election is stressing them out. That’s according to a poll by the American Psychological Association (APA). The poll, released last week, was conducted back in August, so we can assume the collective stress level has only risen since.

Presidential elections always induce stress. But this time is different. I feel it. You feel it. The APA poll reveals it:

  • 72% worry the election results could lead to violence.
  • 56% believe the election could be the end of US democracy.
  • 32% said the political climate has caused strain with family members.

“There’s something distinctive about the way politics is stressing us out,” says Jayme Renfro, PhD, an associate professor of political science at the University of Northern Iowa. “Political anxiety is a thing that is separate from, or at least a distinct part of, stress and anxiety in general.”

It’s the kind of stress that not only keeps us up at night — which becomes a source of stress all by itself — but keeps us away from our neighbors and even makes people think about moving to another country.

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Wise & Well
Wise & Well

Published in Wise & Well

Science-backed insights into health, wellness and wisdom, to help you make tomorrow a little better than today.

Robert Roy Britt
Robert Roy Britt

Written by Robert Roy Britt

Editor of Wise & Well on Medium + the Writer's Guide at writersguide.substack.com. Author of Make Sleep Your Superpower: amazon.com/dp/B0BJBYFQCB