How to get in the fight without the fight getting in you.
Are you feeling nervous, anxious, or outright scared as election day approaches? If so, you’re not alone. People of all political persuasions are feeling the intensity, the urgency, and the weight of this upcoming election.
I was recently invited to be a guest on the What Can I Do podcast with Kelly & Lila to discuss mental health during election season. (Check it out: their podcast is a wealth of information and ideas to encourage you with practical ways you can make a difference, with a fabulous line-up of expert guests.) It was a great conversation, but for those of you who prefer the written to the auditory word, here’s some key ideas I shared:
1. Get involved.
When a problem seems hopeless and you feel helpless, you begin to experience feelings of despair, which leads to the protective numbing of depression. Conversely, when you find ways to take action, you counteract that helpless feeling and build a layer of protection against depression. Consider phone banking, post-card campaigns, strategic conversations with uncommitted friends and acquaintances, donating to finance your candidate’s campaign, or at least confirming that you are registered to vote where you reside and making a plan for how and where you’ll vote. (In some states, voters who have not voted in recent elections may be removed. If you are thinking of voting for the first time in a while, this is a good action step!)
2. Focus on your locus of control.
Where do you have influence? Keeping your focus on these areas will decrease the anxiety that arises when you become overwhelmed by the enormity of a problem. You cannot convince 100 million citizens to share your point of view, but perhaps you can speak with ten. That number might be small, but if everyone decides that a small impact isn’t worth the effort, nothing changes. If everyone takes targeted action, that impact is multiplied. Every drop of water added together creates a powerful wave of influential energy.
3. Avoid pointless controversy; stay focused.
On a related note, be smart with where you expend your energy. You may never change the mind of your angry uncle or activist cousin of the opposite political persuasion, but conversations with your seldom-voting or unregistered colleague might be fruitful. Save your energy and spare yourself maddening frustration to maintain your mental health.
4. Know your WHY and your WHO.
Having a clear vision for why this matters and whose rights you are fighting for is critical to maintaining energy and enthusiasm when despair threatens to take over or tell you it’s not worth it. Perhaps you are a privileged person who will be fine no matter what, but you know that elections have impacts that are not equal. Picture the face of someone who will be acutely harmed if the policies of the other party are enacted, and continue to advocate for them. Let love compel and lead you.
5. Focus on today.
To protect against anxiety and overwhelm, keep your focus on today. Even though the fight is about tomorrow, today is where we can exert influence. When you notice your thoughts and emotions running away into fear of the future, channel that back into increased resolve to do all that you can in the present. Secondly, as you mindfully come back to today, remind yourself of the good things that are presently in place. Rather than letting fear run away with you about what we stand to lose, take a moment of gratitude for the present realities. Find the beauty and the joy in today, even as we fight for a better tomorrow.
6. Maintain self-care.
Now, as ever, you need a solid practice of self-care. Yes, time is limited. Yes, a lot is at stake and the urgency is real. But burning yourself out will not serve you or your mission, either. Give yourself permission to take a day off without reading polls, writing letters, phone banking, or whatever else it is that you do. Take care of your physical and mental health through sufficient and regular sleep, nutritious meals, social engagement and mutual support, exercise or physical outlets, therapy, meditation or other forms of spiritual practice, and time in nature. Caring for yourself gives you resilience both during the fight and for whatever may come in the weeks ahead.
Elections matter. Your efforts matter. And your mental well-being matters too. It’s not one or the other, so take loving care in this election season throughout the weeks ahead.