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This high level of emotional stress is affecting all of us

Francisco Miraval

The presidential elections in the United States, one of the key moments for democracy in the world, have reached this year such a high level of antagonism and negativity that its negative rhetoric is impacting the mental health of many voters, who experience a level of fear and anxiety seldom seem in this country in times of peace.

That is the conclusion of a survey recently published by the American Psychological Association (APA). The survey indicated that the emotional tensions among American adults are at the highest levels of the past ten years and that the elections now generate the same level of anxiety previously reserved mostly for jobs, money, or the economy.

According to the APA survey, because the coverage of the elections began more than a year ago, because the nonstop coverage is seen on all media and all platforms, and because the speeches are so negative, this election cycle has created such a high level of “disharmony” that people feel emotional distress, anxiety, and concern.

The APA survey found that the use of social media correlates with the stress level: the more somebody uses social media, the higher the stress that person will experience.

In addition, the emotional impact is experienced by all voters regardless of political affiliation. For that reason, many people avoid talking about politics, remove “friends” from their social networks, turn their phone off to avoid receiving or reading messages, and limit the time they spend reading or watching news.

And it is not only voters. According to a new report published by LifeWay Research, this current election cycle is also negatively impacting religious people. In fact, the research reveals that the elections are causing racial and cultural divisions among evangelicals and that those divisions will last for a long time beyond the elections, regardless of the winner. 

LifeWay conducted an online survey of 1000 evangelicals all over the country. They survey indicated that White, Latino, and African American evangelicals share the same beliefs. However, the elections created “a racial and political division among the evangelicals”.

In other words, even among those who represent of the most influential religious groups in the country, politics became more important than faith. For that reason, as the survey says, religious issues “remain hidden” behind politics.

Because those divisions and tensions among races and cultures will continue in 2017 and for the foreseeable future, every time an important topic is up for debate (selection of judges for the Supreme Court, national security, immigration reform), the tensions will reappear and perhaps they will even grow.

It seems that the last time a presidential election caused a similar level of emotional distress was in 1964 when, after the assassination of John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson defeated Barry Goldwater and was elected as president.

With mass media and social networks saturated with constant negativity, people are not watching the news, are tenses, and are unfriending anybody who supports a different candidate. If that is “democracy” and “civilization,” then something is deeply wrong.

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