Election fatigue? Here’s how to recharge your mental health

We all have our personal struggles in life, from work stress to relationship drama, but something about the 2024 election season simply felt different when it came to anxiety—like a communal anxiety attack everyone was experiencing at once. 

And it wasn’t just a feeling—there was data to back it up. In May, the American Psychiatric Association’s annual mental health poll showed that anxiety was spiking in the United States, with 70% of respondents saying they were feeling anxious about current events. Of those folks, 73% specifically named the 2024 US election as the source of their anxiety. 

With that in mind, I reached out to James C. Rachal, MD, medical director of Behavioral Health Charlotte at Atrium Health, one of the largest nonprofit hospital systems in the country. Rachal is also chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Charlotte, NC. I called to ask him about what was going on in our collective nervous system, and what we could do about it in the days following the election. 

“If you think about how our brains are trained to think, they are constantly looking for threats, which was great back thousands of years ago when we were looking for saber-toothed tigers,” Rachal said. “Whereas now, a lot of those threats are more internal. As opposed to being a specific physical threat, it becomes more of a psychological threat.” 

Rachal said it’s clear that anxiety is affecting people at a higher rate this year than during previous election cycles. He credits much of that to the nonstop news and social media coverage of the election, pumping a mix of information and misinformation into people’s heads. 

“All of them will tell you how whatever candidate that they are pushing, the other candidate is this existential threat to democracy, to the economy, to immigration, you name it, but it’s going to be the same theme over and over and over again,” he said. “That is certainly raising the temperature and also the anxiety.” 

With multiple assassination attempts making headlines and the memory of Jan. 6, 2021, looming in many voters’ minds, this year’s election has brought to the forefront pressing concerns over potential violence occurring in the days surrounding the election. These concerns only add to the feelings of dread and anxiety that have for many arrived alongside the 2024 election season. 

What to do: Start by looking for the signs

The first step in combating anxiety is to recognize how it’s affecting your life. According to Rachal, signs that you may be struggling often start with increased irritability, maybe even snapping at family members or colleagues without much provocation. 

Other signs include difficulty sleeping, low energy or fatigue, a feeling of restlessness, eating less or more than usual, and self-isolation. 

Rachal offered up a few tips for how to ensure that the anxiety that arrived with the 2024 election doesn’t continue to affect your life after the big day is over. 

Tip 1: Unplug

Whether it’s your favorite 24-hour news channel, political podcast or simply your social media scroll, Rachal said literally turning it off can be hard to do—but it’s a quick, important de-stressor that you can use any time of the day. 

“Whether you’re seeing things on social media or actually engaging with folks that are on social media, a lot of times it’s easy to get into arguments that don’t go well, especially when people feel anonymous,” Rachal said. “So they’re going to say things, hurtful things, that they may not say to somebody if they were face to face.” 

In other words, it may be time for you to go outside and touch some grass. Take a walk, pick up a forgotten hobby, play a board game, bake some muffins, or do something else that doesn’t involve a screen. It’s not forever—it’s just right now, and it’ll help.

Tip 2: Maintain a schedule

This one may be a little less obvious. Rachal said that ensuring you’re going to bed and waking up around the same time every day can work wonders for your mental health. 

According to Northwestern Medicine, building and sticking to a daily routine can help you manage stress more effectively, which can lead to better mental health, more time to relax, and ultimately less anxiety. 

Routines can help improve your physical and mental health, too, as budgeting your time allows you to plan for grocery trips rather than ordering out, gym trips rather than saying you’ll take care of your body “some other time,” and visits to your therapist instead of scrolling for a dopamine hit.  

Tip 3: Limit your substance intake

If you find that you’re self-medicating by drinking more alcohol than you normally would, it’s time to slow down before it becomes your new normal. Rachal points out that alcohol also loosens your inhibitions, which may lead to more political arguments and actions that you might regret. 

It’s not just alcohol that could be causing issues, however. Watching your use of recreational drugs and as-needed prescription or over-the-counter drugs can tell you a lot about what your body and mind are processing. 

And if you’ve been hitting the coffee, tea, and Diet Coke more than usual, it’s time to pare that back.

“Really watching caffeine intake [is important],” said Rachal. “It’s very easy to chase not sleeping with drinking more caffeine, and then that keeps you not sleeping the next night, and you go down that cycle.”  

Tip 4: Reconnect with friends and family

Many people begin to withdraw from friends and family as their feelings of anxiety worsen, but now’s the time to make sure that’s not a new normal for you.  

“Going out to lunch with somebody, helping somebody out, a lot of times just volunteering can be something that can help make you feel better about yourself,” said Rachal. 

There is good news on the horizon. Rachal said that the end of the election should mean the end of this heightened anxiety for many who have struggled with it over recent months. But if you continue to feel the effects of an overly stressful election season as we move into 2025, it may be time to seek help. 

“If you still have difficulty with sleeping, difficulty with irritability, difficulty with isolation, or if you start feeling depressed, certainly if you start feeling suicidal, those would all be reasons to want to go ahead and reach out and get professional help,” said Rachal. 

If you’re having suicidal thoughts or want to harm yourself, or you know someone who is, you can call 9-8-8 from anywhere in the country to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.