Why Am I Anxious? Oh Right, There’s an Election

Managing election anxiety and finding sanity at this crazy time

I don’t write about politics, and that’s not changing in this post. However, there’s an incredibly important election coming up here in the United States that has many Americans’ anxiety at an all time high. Why is that?

There are many reasons. I could go on about the threat to our democracy and to bodily autonomy for women and anyone in the LGBTQIA+ community. There are also general problems with racism, misogyny, and white nationalism, but that’s not the point of this post.

I’m a lover, not a fighter. Please don’t share your political leanings in the comments. This discussion is about anxiety.

What is anxiety?

At its core, anxiety happens when you focus on things over which you have no control: the past, the future, other people, this election, the weather, traffic, etc. When you focus on things you can’t control, you feel anxious. Your mind spins, you sweat, your breath gets shallow, and you can’t make rational decisions. You might lash out at someone or withdraw completely.

Anxiety puts your brain into fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. This is Survival Mode. Rational thought is offline because you are sitting in your “lizard” brain. Your only goal, when in this mindset, is survival, regardless of whether your actual survival is actually at risk.

This is why the energy of elections get so heightened. Fear is an effective tactic to spur action, but not necessarily rational action. Fear of “other” or fear of loss of some kind, are tools that spur people to vote. Some of these fears are warranted, some are not. Being able to suss out what is true and what isn’t requires you be in your rational brain, not your survival brain.

Getting out of anxiety

There are many ways to shift out of anxiety and back into calm, but the key principle is this: focus on what you CAN control. Most of life is out of your control. The only things you can control are your actions. Period, end of sentence.

You can’t control your thoughts, but you can control your response to your thoughts. You can’t control what other people do or say, only what you do in return. When you control what you can and let the rest go, anxiety lessens.

You CAN control your breath and your movement, which is why practicing yoga, and exercise in general, is helpful when managing anxiety. You can control how you inhale and exhale. If you make your breaths deep and full, controlling your exhale by slowing it down, you will notice your heart rate slowing. You mind gets clearer and you feel more connected to the present moment. When you move your body, your brain releases endorphins induce happy feelings.

Focus on what you can control.

Election anxiety is special because there is only one thing you can do: vote. Yes, you can also canvas, send postcards, talk to people, join rallys, etc. But the one thing that you have the most control over is your vote. So if you haven’t already, please vote!

In practice

If you’ve already voted and you still feel anxious, here are four things you can do to manage your anxiety:

1. Let go. You’ve done your part (or are going to do your part soon), so you need to let go of your attachment to worry. No amount of worry will change the outcome of this election, it just keeps you spinning. When you notice yourself amping up your anxiety, pause, breathe, and let go. Redirect your energy to something else.
2. Get on your mat. Even 10 or 15 minutes of yoga, pilates, or any type of exercise will get you out of your head and back into your body. Do something vigorous, something moderate, or something gentle. What matters is that you reconnect to your body to get out of your spinning thoughts.
3. Journal. Let all of your worries and worst case scenarios spill out onto the page so they stop swirling in your mind. Write them all down, being as detailed as possible. Once they are out, look at them. Feel the worry and anxiety and allow it to exist. Where do you feel it in your body? Can you hold the feeling without feeding it? Breathe.
4. Yell. Sometimes you need to let it all out and yelling or screaming from deep in your gut can help. If neighbors are a problem, scream into a pillow. If you have the opportunity, go into nature and scream there. The trees, the grass, or the ocean can absorb the sound and it feels like an incredible release. Afterward, be still and breathe, noticing the vibrations echoing through your body.

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