Americans are far too stressed out about politics, according to a brand spanking new survey showing that the upcoming presidential election is on everyone’s minds. There are certainly ways we can help to mitigate this stress, but the question is: Should we even be stressed out about politics in the first place?
The next question is: Why are we so concerned about who is in Washington, D.C.?
A new survey conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) broke down the numbers:
If the upcoming presidential election is stressing you out, you’re not alone. More than 69% of American adults feel the same, according to a new survey from the American Psychological Association.
The survey, conducted online in August by The Harris Poll on behalf of the APA, included more than 3,300 adults aged 18 or older who reside in the U.S.
Other top stressors included the future of the nation, which is weighing on 77% of adults surveyed.
The survey also revealed that concerns about political violence after the election are also on people’s minds. About 70 percent expressed fears about election-related violence.
What is striking about these results is that they are bipartisan. APA CEO Arthur C. Evans noted that “both Democrats and Republicans are not that different” when it comes to fears about violence after the election. Over half of Americans are worried that the upcoming election could result in the “end of democracy.”
Also noteworthy is that, despite people’s fear, most respondents (60 percent) indicated they are optimistic about the changes this election could bring. Dr. Sue Varma, a psychiatrist, recommended setting time limits on social media use and managing your phone notifications to avoid overexposure to political news to manage election-related stress.
“It’s really important to carve out sacred spaces throughout your day where you don’t have constant notifications,” she told CBS News.
Psychologist Dr. Susan Albers advised focusing on what individuals can control in their daily lives rather than political concerns that they cannot influence. “We need to focus on what we can control versus what we can’t,” she said.
This is all great advice.
Indeed, as someone who lives and breathes politics on a daily basis, sometimes I have to take a step back, limit my social media activity, and touch some grass. Otherwise, I might lose more of my mind than I already have. Self-care is important, especially when your job is to monitor politics.
But what we should be considering is why all of this stress is even present in the first place. I have written before about how the size of government has contributed to the polarization we see in American society today. The same can be said of our mental health.
Frankly, big government is horrible for our mental health.
I would suggest that the primary reason why so many of us are stressed out about politics is because the federal government has become so bloated, so intrusive into our lives, that it matters quite a bit which politicians are in charge at a given time. The people we elect can determine whether we can carry a firearm, consume a substance, be sent to war, or be victimized by violent criminals.
Indeed, if a disaster like the COVID-19 pandemic hits, we have to worry about whether our elected officials will push for onerous lockdown orders or impose mandates requiring us to choose between a vaccine or being able to make a living.
This is all because the federal government has expanded much further than the framers of the Constitution would have desired. We have an overabundance of laws that cannot even be reliably counted because they are so plentiful.
What if we could wave a magic wand and cut the government down to about half its size? Yes, that would still be too much government for my tastes, but it would be far better than what we have right now. If the government were smaller and weaker, then decisions over who should be running it would matter far less than they do now because the state would not have as much power to affect our lives.
Less government would amount to less stress because we are freer to live as we see fit without Big Brother looking over our shoulders. The fact that almost two-thirds of the populace is stressed about the upcoming election highlights the real issue we should be facing: The federal government is far too powerful, and until this changes, we will continue to be stressed about who occupies the White House and Capitol building.
