Navigating Political Anxiety
Katherine |Katu| Medina-Pineda, MHC-LP
People have been adversely impacted by their governments in the United States and all over the world for as long as history has been recorded. However, in recent years and months, the impact of our newest government has become undeniably palpable. According to the American Psychological Association’s 2024 Stress in America survey, 77% of the population reported “the future of our nation was a source of significant stress”. This is a marked increase from the findings in the 2016 survey, which recorded 52% of the population experiencing stress as a result of the political climate. As matters become more uncertain, they also become more stressful. However, it is important to remind ourselves and each other that our experiences are the result of a very deliberate agenda enacted by those in power to disenfranchise us into submission. By oversaturating the public with news that vary from legitimate to downright bombastic and impossible, the current government is creating a sense of urgency, helplessness, isolation, and burnout.
What is Political Anxiety?
Simply put: it is the experience of becoming emotionally and physically activated by political news, events, discourse, and public presence of political figures. This can look like: -difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
increased irritability/loss of patience and mental flexibility
heightened awareness and concern of ongoing news cycle
constant worry about our political future
difficulty concentrating on anything other than political updates
physical ailments like headaches, jaw pain, back pain, tension, digestive shifts, and restlessness
How To Cope
First and foremost, it is important to validate your experience and emotions as you become aware of them. What is happening right now is unfair, scary, infuriating, and dehumanizing. Bittersweetly, this is not the first time in our history that people are struggling under the whims of their government, so we turn to the wisdom of activists, educators, and revolutionaries who created and fostered communities to survive and thrive despite the government’s own agenda. Practice radical self-care. Not the consumerist kind that has been co-opted by brands to turn a profit, but the practices established by Ericka Huggins and Angela Davis during the Civil Rights Movement. It is important to maintain a connection to your body, mind, and spirit during times of uncertainty and stress. Establish a mindfulness practice by using guided meditations or listening to binaural sounds. Develop curiosity around your body and find opportunities for small moments of engagement with it through movements like gentle stretches, dancing, and vocal stimming (deep vocal exhales). Reconnect with nature by gardening, going on a hike, or visiting a local park. Engage your mind in open, curious exploration to learn more about your ever-changing capacity to care for yourself and others. Self-care is also about boundaries with self and others: reflect on your relationship with accountability and how it is present or lacking in your relationships.
Establish digital boundaries. Create “containers” in your daily life that help you find more ease around your consumption of news and time spent on social media. Pick two to three reliable sources of news and decide the time of day and duration of time you will engage with this content. Facilitate containers by using timers and affirming to yourself the value of the container. Allow your system to process what you learned by journaling, moving your body, or engaging in a meditation to close out your digital practice.
Invest in Community. Back in 2000, Octavia Butler wrote an essay for Essence Magazine titled “A Few Rules for Predicting the Future”, in which she reflects on an often brought question of how to solve the problems in the world we have created. She said to a student during an interview: “I mean there’s no single answer that will solve all of our future problems. There’s no magic bullet. Instead there are thousands of answers–at least. You can be one of them if you choose to be”. Community is as much about quality time, joy, levity, and love as it is about taking responsibility to support others and knowing when to ask for help. Get to know your neighbors and join your community’s mutual aid group or community garden. Host clothing swaps, community pantry drives, and hobby nights. Take inventory of all your varying skills and offer skill-sharing whenever possible. Learn how to engage in conflict and confrontation from a place of love and resolution instead of fear and avoidance. Challenge perfectionism and rigidity. Showing up authentically is far more valuable than showing up “correctly”: that is how we learn to rely on each other.
Rest as resistance. Tricia Hersey wrote a beautiful manifesto titled Rest is Resistance, which dives into the importance of reconnecting with imagination and creativity. She draws the connection that these essential parts of our humanity are accessible through an intentional relationship with rest. Particularly for BIPOC, TLGB+, and other minoritized communities, the concept of rest has been severed through systemic exploitation. Develop curiosity around your relationship with rest: what are the terms and conditions under which you give yourself permission to slow down, commune with your spirit and imagination? What are the thoughts, feelings, and sensations that emerge when you notice your exhaustion, but cannot give into rest? Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Burnout makes us powerless.
Conclusion
Political anxiety is the experience of becoming emotionally and physically activated by political news, events, discourse, and public presence of political figures. Some of the signs of political anxiety include constant worry about the state of the world, difficulty concentrating, challenges with sleep hygiene, and irritability. A few different ways to cope with political anxiety include practicing radical self-care, developing an intentional relationship with the use of social media and news outlets, and connecting or engaging with your communities, and establishing a nuanced relationship with rest.
Further Reading:
Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
The Body is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
References:
Abrams, Z. (2024, October 22). The impact of election stress: Is political anxiety harming your health?. Monitor on Psychology. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2024/10/managing-political-stress Butler, Octavia. 2000.“A Few Rules for Predicting the Future”. Common Good Collective (2020)
Sherrell, Z. (n.d.). Managing political anxiety. Medical News Today.
Takyi-Micah, Natasha. “Origins of self-care and why activists and advocates need to practice it”. The Center for Community Solutions. Date Printed: April 10, 2023. Date Accessed: February 13, 2025