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Is election stress real? 68%.
say it is a source of distress
By Jason Howland
Mayo Clinic News Network
Heading into a contentious national
election with an ongoing pandemic
and racial unrest, many people are ex-
periencing tension and stress.
More than two-thirds, approxi-
mately 68%, of American adults say
the 2020 US. presidential election is
a significant source of stress in their
lives, according to a recent survey by
the American Psychological Associa-
tion. In comparison, only 52% said the
same before the 2016 election. The pro-
portion of Black adults reporting the
election as a source of stress jumped
from 46% in 2016 to 71% in 2020..
It affects people on both sides of
the political aisle, with 76% of Demo—
crats, 67% of Republicans and 64% of
independents saying the election is a
source of significant stress.
Election stress disorder isn’t a sci-
entific diagnosis, but the concept is
real, according to Dr. Robert Bright,
a Mayo Clinic psychiatrist. It’s an ex-
perience of overwhelming anxiety that
can manifest in a number of ways.
“We notice it in our bodies, the ten-
sion in our shoulders. Sometimes peo-
ple get GI (gastrointestinal) upset or
headaches. People have trouble sleep-
ing. There’s a lot of sleep disturbance
going on right now — tossing, turning
and worrying, and not being able to get
to sleep —— or having bad dreams about
the election,” Bright said. “(There is)
a lot of fearfulness (and) a number of
mixed emotions — people with fear and
hypervigilance and constantly search-
ing the news and being on whatever
social media outlet you have, and get-
ting these messages. I was watching
' Wanderaey
commercial has this cataStrOphic mes-
sage, ‘If you vote for this guy or that
guy, horrific, catastrophic things are
going to happen.’ And that constant
message creates a sense of anxiety and.
fear. it affects our emotions after
a while. So we start getting irritable
and short, and snapping at people, not
trusting people, seeing people as the
other or as the same. And that starts
affecting our relationships at home. It
starts affecting our work.”
He says a majdr cause of election
stress is-‘the feeling of being out of con-
trol. .
“We’ve got to figure out how can we
control what is controllable. What is
Traflic: Be patient driving
continued from page A—6
acceptthat. I
I had a favorite saying while teach-
ing traffic safety, “Be patient while
driving so you will not become one.” I
still maintain that today. Don’t swear
with your horn.
Let’s take a moment to talk about
slow speeds. Do you speed on 25 mph
posted limits? Be honest. How would
you feel if you hit an animal, or worse,
a child waiting for a school bus? How,
would you handle a lawsuit against
you? How would you handle the guilt
for the rest of your life? '
_Years ago I met a professional race
car drisIer and had an opportunity to
ride in a Shelby Cobra. This automo-
bile is designed for high-speed, racing.
Your family car is not. Yes, it was a
- thrill going down the rack at 136 mph.
We"coi’ildhaVegone{animators-didn’t; -
have the room. At thatspeed when
I' lookedoutside my window, things
were a blur. ,
Remember the formula: You figure
Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020 Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page A—7
Re-Elect
MacEwen
State House
Republican
35th District Position 2
Representative Drew MacEwen
has broad bipartisan support from business and labor, public
and private unions, and thousands of individuals [IKE YOU!
Robert Bright,
Mayo Clinic psychiatrist
within our control? What can we do?
One thing we can do with this election
is we can vote,” Bright said. “We can
take personal control, and our voice
is just as loud as anybody else’s voice.
And that’s the wonderful thing about
living in a democracy. We each have
an equal stake.”
He says it’s normal to Worry, but
when the stress begins to impair or
negatively affect your life, it could be-
come anxiety or depression.
“If it’s causing meairmenttif ...i.,t7s ..
causing clinical depressiOn sad-
ness, and tearfulneSs, and certainly
feelings of hopelessness or helpless-
ness that evolve into actual feelings
of despair or even suicidal thoughts,
certainly, at that point, it’s time to
seek out professional help,” Bright
said. “And seeking out help could be
a professional therapist or a psychia—
trist to treat what’s become a clinical
depression at that point. It could be
just reaching out to friends and social
network, or forming a little connection
of people you’re texting back and forth
— or talking on the phone or connect-
ing. Just staying connected is so’imi
portant.”
VOTE T0 RE-ELECT DREW MACEWEN'
O
’ PAID FOR BY THE COMMITTEE TO ELECT DREW MACEWEN .
PO BOX 6510 UNION, WA 98592
wral Washingtonians n
it out. The raceldriver told me that
he always remembered when he was
driving the family car, that he wasn’t
on the race track. You are responsible
for others in your vehicle when you
are the driver.
How do you take evasive action?
Maybe this will help. Keep both hands
high on the steering wheel so if you
have to swerve you will have enough
elbow room. Sometimes you may have
to speed up to avoid a problem.
Braking is dangerous at high
speeds unless you pump the brake
pedal. You need to know what to do,
and not panic.
I’m not trying to preach a sermon
here to drivers, but to just use good
sense. I care, and I hope you do too.
Driving remains with you most of
your life, so please use it Wisely. Oh,
yes, and walk defensively too.
;.Thanks and safe' driving. r v- j: _.
I Tom Aaron is a retired traffic
safety education teacher. He lives in
Shelton.