Madison College Counseling Office Shares Tips for Coping with Election Stress – The Clarion

Visit your YouTube account and you’ll immediately see a political ad interrupting your feed. Turn on Spotify and you’ll be interrupted by similar angry and accusatory campaign ads. The news, social media and television are full of endless cycles of negative campaigning, and there doesn’t seem to be an end to it. If you’re like many other students, you’re worried about how the election result will affect your life.

Dial the news.

• It is important to be informed about the news. However, sometimes news organizations and social media exaggerate content to engage us, which can cause us more stress.
• Stick with news organizations that are more likely to be fair about the news and less sensational.
• Get your news of the day from a brief overview once or twice a day and avoid eavesdropping on the news throughout the day.
• Consider ways to balance your news with opposing viewpoints, and cultivate curiosity about how those viewpoints have evolved.
• Discuss the news with family and friends to keep it in perspective.

Increase your self-service.

• Cchronic stressors like election news can wear us down, so it can help to be intentional about improving your health habits this election season.
• Take small steps to strengthen the ‘big four’ of sleep, nutrition, exercise and social connections.
• Choose a few small goals to consciously improve resilience this election season.
• Use it Madison College Resources to cope with school and life.

Get involved in something.

• Big elections are mostly out of your control, although they can affect us in very real ways. This uncertainty can increase your stress.
• Choosing to get involved in helping others or voting can help us feel better in the face of this uncertainty.
• Office of Student Life at Madison College has a great volunteer center as well as election activity.

Resist extreme partisanship.

• It is normal and healthy to have strong views on social issues. It is not helpful, however, to have extreme contempt for certain opinions or parties.
• bfostering curiosity about opposing viewpoints can help us avoid counterproductive bias.

These tips can also be found in Ideas for Managing Election Stress.

Brought to you by Madison College Counseling Services. For consulting support, please call 608.246.6076 or visit Mental health counseling services.