Tips to manage election anxiety and burnouot

We're just two days away from election day and if you spend your weekend glued to your phone refreshing poll trackers you might be feeling the strain. For insight on the concept of election anxiety, burnout and the stress it can cause we want to welcome Ifa O'Donovan. She's a psychiatry professor at UCSF. Good morning. Good morning. Thank you for having me. Of course how much of a problem can this be for some people days away from the election? Is this something you're seeing with your own patients. Yeah, well, so I'm a research psychologist at UCSF and I don't see patients, but I can tell you from our research that election anxiety can be a really significant issue. So the most recent American Psychological Association poll is telling us that about eight in 10. Americans are worried about finances and about three quarters of us are worried about the future of this country. So if you're concerned about the outcome of this election, the first thing I would say to you is you are truly not alone. Is it specifically because of the election? Because some of the other stressors that you were mentioning in that poll also have to do with your people's economic situations, their finances. And that and politics are very closely aligned. Is it a label we're putting on election stress, but it's really being driven by other things? I think that's a really good point. I think all of these factors sort of come together and the stresses that people are feeling in their daily lives can sort of concentrate energy around election time because it feels like the stakes can be so high. How much has social media and the constant news cycle it brings exacerbates this problem? I think we're living in unprecedented times. In the fairly recent past, our exposure to news was limited. We might have bought one newspaper, listened to one news channel, watched the news a few times a day. Nowadays, we have basically infinite exposure to the news if we want it. And social media and the media, they want our attention. And when you're on your phone, You are up against a formidable opponent in trying to disengage because those algorithms are designed to keep you engaged to activate your emotions. And we use our phone for so many other things for work for school related items for our social lives that if you put your phone away, you're getting everything and you're Yeah, and for some people, cutting yourself off from all of that. it probably just isn't possible. You know, you have to be contactable. You can't just lock your phone into a room. So it's a major challenge and it's unprecedented. So it's a new challenge for humans to deal with this kind of exposure. So what advice would you have for someone who may be feeling like they are experiencing some stress or worry and thinking too much about the election and political outcomes? What should they Yeah, well, the first thing I would say is that this is your brain working as intended. So evolution has designed us to search for threats. In your social media, the news is full of threats. We just heard that wonderful Valkyrie's news. But in general, a lot of what we're getting on the news and in social media is negative. And so the tendency to engage in doom scrolling, which is this sort of Cycle of looking at more and more and more news stories is really common. And likely the purpose of that is. To help us to deal with the uncertainty that we feel. And so we seek out certainty by looking for more and more news. But unfortunately, it doesn't work. Getting more and more exposure does not reduce our uncertainty. And it seems like it probably increases our anxiety and also depression. So if someone finds themselves doom scrolling, so to speak, what should they do? What are some quick and easy tips to make sure people recognize what's happening? And put it away. Yeah. So I wish that was easier. That's not easy for me either. I would say is to take a step back. Maybe today, Sunday, when people have a little bit of time, think about your plans for the next few days. Or honestly, it could be a week or weeks before this all plays out and have a plan of action. Think about how much time you want to spend on the news, where you're going to get your Your news and when you're going to disengage and plan. Other activities. So plan to engage with other people. Maybe plan nice social events for the next week and exercise. Plan a healthy diet, normal routines. Do not fall for the temptation of staying up late on your phone, especially on election night, because it won't help. Should people set a timer? Do you recommend something like that? I think a timer is fabulous, the timer is right there on our phone and the time to set that timer is before you start looking at it. So you're aware of how much time has passed. Exactly, because all of us, I mean, all of us fall for that temptation of just getting caught up and time passes in a way that we. Don't expect. Yeah, it's so easy with the constant feed of videos. The next one pops up right as the first one ends. And that is the point by the people who made them. Aoife O'Donovan, psychiatry researcher at UCSF. Thank you so much for your insight on this. We appreciate your time. Have a good Sunday. Thank you.