Election-related stress and anxiety affect most Americans.

WHACHAW, N.C. — Signs supporting Trump outnumber those supporting Harris outside the Wesley Chapel Volunteer Fire Department, an early voting site in Union County, North Carolina.

The uneven ratio is similar throughout the county. a predominantly rural community south of Charlotte, near the South Carolina border.

It’s also a sign of the dark side of the election season: fear and anxiety, at least for liberals in this historically conservative region.

“A lot of people don’t want to say anything in support of Harris because they’re afraid of retaliation,” said Lisa, a Union County resident who has been campaigning for Democratic candidates this week. Although she was wearing a T-shirt with a comma and the syllable “la,” a nod to the correct pronunciation of the name of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, she declined to give her last name because she said she was afraid of being targeted.

“My neighbor put up a couple signs” with the Harris-Waltz ticket, Lisa said. “The next morning they were crushed, crumpled.”

Another voter, who wished to remain anonymous, was so afraid to publicly announce her choice for Harris that she simply whispered it before heading to the polling station.

Brian Robinson, another Union County resident, expressed concern about the possibility of violence and retaliation.

“I’m more concerned about how divisive and bad things could get” if Democrats remain in the White House, he said.

Mental fatigue is especially acute for people living in swing states that could ultimately be responsible for the outcome of elections: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

One nation in complete stress

Election fears are felt on both sides of the campaign trail, as well as among independent voters.

“We’re seeing the highest levels of election-related stress” compared to the last three elections, said Vail Wright, senior director of health care innovation at the American Psychological Association.

Latest APA news Stress in America Study found that a majority of adults, 77%, said the future of the nation was “a significant source of stress in their lives.”

This concern concerns all parties almost equally: 80% of Republicans, 79% of Democrats and 73% of Independents.

Sixty-nine percent of all 3,305 American adults surveyed in August specifically cited the presidential election as a stressor.

There is a scientific reason for Americans’ elevated stress levels, says Brian Sexton, a psychologist and director of the Duke Center for Advancing the Science of Well-Being in Durham, North Carolina.

“Our brain is essentially a threat detector,” Sexton said. “If you feel stressed, it just means you’re paying attention.”

That is, the brain is so focused on identifying threats, such as divisive candidate rhetoric and intense political advertising, that it misses everything else.

“If you spend all your attention noticing threats, you’re not noticing the good things that energize you,” Sexton said. “That’s why it’s so tiring now.”

The media in battleground states is filled with emotional, visceral political advertising that can punch any voter on the left or right in the gut.

One ad supporting abortion rights describes in painful detail the story of a woman who became pregnant at age 12 after being sexually abused by her stepfather. Ads from conservative candidates seek to demonize transgender Americans.

These ads run during almost every commercial break, during national sporting events, on morning television, and everywhere in between.

‘It’s a real flood,’ ad tracking company Medium Buying wrote on X. This week, the firm counted 37 political ads that aired during a local morning news show in Georgia.

People living in swing states are “under a lot of stress right now,” Sexton said. “They are tired because these threat warning systems have been running at full capacity for months.”

Loss of sleep, poor appetite.

The mental anguish that Lee Boenisch experienced due to the upcoming presidential election sometimes reached the point of physical illness.

“I lost sleep over this,” said Benish, 38. “There were times when I didn’t eat because the stress was so bad.”

Boenisch lives in Butler, Pennsylvania, a city that has been at the center of chaos since the first assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in July. On top of that, Pennsylvania is one of seven swing states where residents are bombarded day and night with phone calls, text messages and political ads that often play on voters’ fears.

“I don’t like conflict, so it just makes me tense,” she said.

The onslaught is so overwhelming that Benisch, a pastor at a church in Butler, began focusing on election stress in meetings with her counselor.

Even when she tries to relieve her anxiety, her feelings are exacerbated when she helps other people deal with the same problems.

“This is very personal for a lot of people, especially those who were at the Trump rally,” Boenisch said. “They witnessed it and the trauma came out.”

Reducing pre-election stress

There is a lot of advice on the Internet for dealing with anxiety.

• Exercise.
• Explore nature.
• Feel the sun on your skin.
• Meditate.
• Have lunch with a friend.
• Have a good rest.

These are serious proposals. But here we are in 2024, and these tried and true ideas aren’t helping the millions of Americans trying to get over the hump of election anxiety.

Most people “don’t have time to go on a yoga retreat. They don’t have time to lose 20 pounds. They don’t have time to try meditation for the first time,” Sexton said. “They want something simple.”

Focus on one of the 5 senses.

Does the aroma of homemade scones transport you to more innocent times? Turn on the oven and grab some flour to help your sense of smell.

Wright theorized that this single action could refocus an overworked brain.

“It can serve as a grounding method because it’s exciting,” Wright said.

Another key, Sexton says, is connecting with friends or other loved ones. “Hearing their voice can lower your heart rate and immediately make you feel better,” he said.

Lisa Quebedeau, 40, also of Butler, said she was able to relieve election-related stress by campaigning for Democratic candidates and advocating for LGBTQ rights.

“I was always afraid to talk to other people about politics or other issues, and was a person who just wanted to be left alone,” Quebedo said. But going door-to-door and talking to other community members was a comfort leading up to Election Day.

“I was really scared to do it, but once I did it, I felt like I had so much more control over my destiny, that I wasn’t just letting things happen,” she said.