The votes are in. The commentary isn’t.
Whether you spent election night glued to a screen, actively avoiding it, or somewhere in between — if your nervous system feels like it’s been through a wringer this week, you are far from alone.
According to the American Psychological Association’s Stress in America 2024 report, nearly 7 in 10 U.S. adults (69%) said the presidential election was a significant source of stress in their lives — a number that was only slightly lower than during the 2020 election and significantly higher than in 2016 (American Psychological Association [APA], 2024). More than 7 in 10 adults (72%) said they were worried the election results could lead to violence, and more than half (56%) believed the election could mark the end of democracy. Politics, for many Americans, has become a form of chronic stress.
And now that the 2026 midterms are behind us, the real work of recovering begins.
What election stress actually does to the body
Election stress is not just emotional. It is physiological. Prolonged exposure to anger-inducing news, doom-scrolling, and emotionally charged political content activates the body’s stress response system, elevating cortisol, disrupting sleep, and raising baseline anxiety. The APA (2024) notes that many Americans describe lost sleep, short tempers, and obsessive thoughts during election cycles — all classic signs of chronic stress activation.
Add to that the modern reality that political conflict follows us everywhere — into our phones, our dinner tables, our group chats, and our workplaces — and it becomes clear why so many people feel depleted.
Signs the election took more from you than you realized
- Trouble sleeping or waking up with racing thoughts
- Doom-scrolling even when you know it’s making you feel worse
- Feeling hopeless, helpless, or like nothing you do matters
- Snapping at family or colleagues over small things
- Avoiding people whose politics differ from yours — even people you love
- Physical symptoms — headaches, tight shoulders, stomach issues, exhaustion
- Feeling emotionally flat or numb after weeks of intensity
If any of these feel familiar, your nervous system is asking for care. Not avoidance. Care.
5 ways to recover your mental health after the election
1. Set a news boundary — and mean it. You do not need to be informed in real time. Try checking the news once in the morning and once in the afternoon — no scrolling during meals, before bed, or first thing when you wake up. Your anxiety will not protect democracy. Your rest will protect you.
2. Protect sleep first. Sleep is one of the most underused mental health interventions available (Firth et al., 2020). If the news has been stealing yours, this is where to start. Charge your phone in another room. Read something unrelated to politics. Non-negotiable bedtime.
3. Move your body. Stress is a biological event. It requires a biological exit. A walk, a stretch, a swim — even ten minutes meaningfully reduces cortisol and improves mood.
4. Reconnect with humans, not headlines. Spend time with people whose presence regulates you — not just whose opinions match yours. A shared meal. A phone call. A quiet hour with a friend. Human connection is a measurable protective factor against stress.
5. Do one thing you can control. Helplessness is one of the hardest parts of political stress. Counter it with small, concrete action — volunteering for a cause you believe in, helping a neighbor, donating what you can. Agency, even in small doses, is medicine.
A note on men’s mental health this month
November is also widely recognized as Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, including through the Movember movement that highlights men’s physical and mental health. For men who have carried election stress quietly — through work, family, and the expectation to “stay strong” — this is your month, too. Reaching out for support is not weakness. It is one of the most courageous things a person can do.
When to seek professional support
If news-related stress is interfering with your sleep, work, relationships, or sense of hope, please reach out. Chronic activation of the stress response is a treatable condition. You do not have to wait for a crisis to deserve care.
Reset your nervous system this November
If the past several months have left you feeling depleted, anxious, or burnt out — we’re here. Our team provides therapy, medication management, and compassionate psychiatric evaluation for stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, and more.
Call our office: 813-252-0171
References
American Psychological Association. (2024). Stress in America 2024: A nation in political turmoil. https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/stress-in-america/2024
Firth, J., Solmi, M., Wootton, R. E., et al. (2020). A meta-review of “lifestyle psychiatry”: The role of exercise, smoking, diet, and sleep in the prevention and treatment of mental disorders. World Psychiatry, 19(3), 360–380. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20773
