Sara Harrison-Mills featured in Dispatch Article

Political unrest taking a toll on your mental health? Here's how experts say to stay well

by Samantha Hendrickson

Columbus Dispatch

Between an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden dropping his reelection bid in the 2024 presidential race, political turbulence has hit a crescendo, which can have a damaging effect on mental health.

The drama, shock and scandal of politics, alongside the policies, budgets and bills enacted by politicians at every level of government, impact our daily lives and pop up on our screens daily, even if people consider themselves uninformed on such subjects.

"It's important to recognize that we are part of a global community, and especially with our media consumption, that we can be very directly impacted to events that we don't directly experience but that we're exposed to through the media," said Sara Harrison-Mills, chief clinical officer of Syntero, a nonprofit behavioral health agency in central Ohio.

Federal, state and local officials also all have a part in determining access to education for public schools or universities, health care such as reproductive health and civil liberties like freedom of speech and religion, among other rights and needs we engage in daily.

So, experts say it's no wonder that when political uncertainty is high, so is the negative bearing on our mental health.

How to combat stress, anxiety during tumultuous times

"It's important for people to recognize that there is a natural response to this prolonged uncertainty and disruption that we've been experiencing over the past several years in our lives," Harrison-Mills said, adding that it can be "very common" for people to have increased anxiety that can lead to things like rumination, depression, irritability and other mental health effects that could turn physical, like loss of appetite or sleep or headaches.

People who already experience such mental health symptoms are even more susceptible to this kind of impact, according to Bernadette Melnyk, chief wellness officer for The Ohio State University's College of Nursing.

The first step to combating these political-uncertainty-induced effects, Melnyk said, is acknowledging that such symptoms are occurring at all.

Both Melnyk and Harrison-Mills both advise limiting the amount of time you're consuming news or social media and being mindful about what particular content triggers negative mental health outcomes. Harrison-Mill also advises setting boundaries with loved ones and others on what political conversations you engage in.

Mindfulness, generally, is also a good way to improve mental health, such as recognizing thoughts you may be having in stressful moments and reflecting on them by asking yourself questions about why those thoughts or feelings are so prominent.

"How we feel and how we behave is affected by our thinking," Melnyk said. "People have an average of 6,200 thoughts a day that are automatic, and they don't even realize they're having that affect their emotions and behaviors."

When major events appear out of your control, Harrison-Mills said that focusing on what you can control is vital to mental health. This could be maintaining a routine, getting consistent exercise, eating healthy and finding moments throughout the day to relax or stay connected to loved ones.

Harrison-Mills also said that individuals should be especially thoughtful about the use of drugs, alcohol or other unhealthy coping strategies that people may seek in times of stress to make sure such things aren't becoming a primary coping strategy. 

Samantha Hendrickson is The Columbus Dispatch's medical business and health care reporter. She can be reached at shendrickson@dispatch.com