Created Equal: How to manage election-related stress

With just a few days left before the 2024 presidential election, many people are feeling at least a little bit stressed – by the deluge of ads and information about the election, by the deep division that is represented in the campaign and on the ballot, or by a sense of fatigue. 

Arash Javanbakht, psychiatrist and director of the Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety Research Clinic (STARC) at Wayne State University, and Rheeda Walker, licensed clinical psychologist and co-author of “Calm in Chaos: A Quick-Relief Guide for Managing Anxiety and Overwhelm in Loud and Uncertain Times,” joined Created Equal to talk about election-related stress, how much worse it has gotten in recent years and how we can manage it a bit better. 

Subscribe to Created Equal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Javanbakht explained that political perspective has been exaggerated in importance from an aspect of opinion to an aspect of identity. This means that many voters are feeling the stress of the presidential election as if they were personally working on a campaign.

He also explained that this hinders our ability to have political disagreements civilly and that many people’s election stress comes from the fear of losing community because of political differences. 

Walker discussed the cumulative nature of stress and that many people are simultaneously worrying about the election alongside family, health, and economic stressors. She also mentioned Michigan’s positioning as a swing state, and the unique stress this may cause residents.  

 Walker also encouraged voters to seek balance and avoid inundating themselves with stressful information, even as they advocate for important political causes. 

“Be informed so that we can be intentional about saving our families, saving our communities, saving our countrymen, but we can’t do that if we are overwhelmed with the negative information,” Walker said. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation with Javanbakht and Walker.

Guests: 

• Arash Javanbakht is a psychiatrist who serves as the director of the Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety Research Clinic (STARC) at Wayne State University. He’s also the author of Afraid: Understanding the Purpose of Fear and Harnessing the Power of Anxiety. 
• Dr. Rheeda Walker is a licensed clinical psychologist who studies suicide science and African American adult mental health. She is a co-author of the book, “Calm in Chaos: A Quick-Relief Guide for Managing Anxiety and Overwhelm in Loud and Uncertain Times.”

Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.