{"id":50638,"date":"2020-11-03T19:01:20","date_gmt":"2020-11-04T02:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/election-is-so-anxiety-inducing-that-coloradans-are-booking-therapy-sessions\/"},"modified":"2020-11-04T02:01:20","modified_gmt":"2020-11-04T02:01:20","slug":"election-is-so-anxiety-inducing-that-coloradans-are-booking-therapy-sessions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/election-is-so-anxiety-inducing-that-coloradans-are-booking-therapy-sessions\/","title":{"rendered":"Election is so anxiety-inducing that Coloradans are booking therapy sessions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Nonprofit
Nonprofit consultant Nia Wassink was painfully disappointed by the 2016 election, so much so that she could hardly get out of bed. This time around, she\u2019s scheduled a therapy appointment and was baking bread the day before Election Day to keep her mind off of politics. \u201cNothing is certain. Just be ready to take care of yourself.\u201d<\/span>Patrick Campbell\/Special to The Colorado Sun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Nia Wassink doesn\u2019t know what Wednesday will hold for the nation after a presidential election that people have awaited with equal parts anticipation and dread. But the nonprofit consultant knows what Wednesday will hold for her: A trip to the therapist\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

Wassink, who lives in Longmont, is one of many Coloradans with a self-care plan for election night and its aftermath<\/a>. People report taking time off work, scheduling haircuts and hikes, or otherwise prioritizing their mental health in a way once atypical for even the most intense political seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I was shell shocked for days after last time,\u201d Wassink said, referring to the 2016 election when polls consistently showed Hillary Clinton with a comfortable lead over Donald Trump. \u201cI could barely get out of bed. That morning, I had my white pantsuit on (thinking) we\u2019re going to elect the first woman president. Then the worst possible thing happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

What she learned is that \u201cnothing is certain. Just be ready to take care of yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2016 election was a significant source of tension for many Americans, and 2020 is proving to be even more trying. Some 68% of U.S. adults are seriously stressed by this election, according to an American Psychiatric Association survey, up from 52% four years ago.<\/a> Numbers are higher among certain groups, such as Black citizens and people with chronic health conditions. The electorate\u2019s rising anxiety caused the APA to coin a new diagnosis: Election Stress Disorder.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s plenty to stress about in Colorado, where the ballot had more than 20 candidates for president\/vice president, multiple tax measures, initiatives ranging from the reintroduction of wolves to a ban on abortions at 22 weeks, and a challenge to Cory Gardner\u2019s U.S. Senate seat by former governor John Hickenlooper.<\/p>\n

Uncertainty is driving much of the agita. \u201cHumans in general don\u2019t do well with the unknown,\u201d said Kendra Miguez, psychotherapist and founder\/owner of Colorado Women\u2019s Center. \u201cAny lack of certainty, it doesn\u2019t feel safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miguez said there has been a notable increase in new and returning patients seeking mental health care at the Center\u2019s locations in Boulder, Broomfield and Longmont as Nov. 3 drew near. Her staff is preparing for a post-election bump in business as well.<\/p>\n

Combine political woes with a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic and many people find themselves in something of a mental health maelstrom. \u201cIt\u2019s really hard right now for people,\u201d Miguez said.<\/p>\n

COVID-19 and the resulting economic devastation \u2014 not the election \u2014 are driving clients to Andrew Rose\u2019s practice. He co-owns Boulder-based Step Into Counseling with his wife, also a therapist. Patient intakes have been trending upward since April, with big jumps in August and October, he said.<\/p>\n

Even though the economy and health crisis might be bringing clients in, the election is on their minds, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cReading case notes, I see basically everyone is worried or anxious about the electoral results,\u201d Rose wrote in response to emailed questions.<\/p>\n

\"Nia
Nia Wassink slashes the top of a loaf of bread before putting it in the oven.<\/span>Patrick Campbell\/Special to The Colorado Sun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Mental health professionals recommend doing things that bring joy to distract from feelings of doom or gloom. Exercise, listen to music, bake, color \u2014 \u201cwhatever you can do to ground yourself,\u201d Miguez said.<\/p>\n

Social connection is crucial: reach out to a friend or loved one \u2014 or even a therapist \u2014 to talk over how you feel, Miguez suggested. If you feel like crap, don\u2019t fight it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s OK to not be OK right now. It\u2019s OK for us to feel this state of chaos. Sometimes we can\u2019t fix it,\u201d Miguez said. \u201cWe can just acknowledge it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A certain amount of detachment from the current reality is necessary. \u201cAvoid dwelling on things you can\u2019t control,\u201d the APA wrote in its release of survey results.<\/p>\n

Miguez recommends against doomscrolling on social media or obsessively watching the results Tuesday night or thereafter, if the presidential race is too close to call as some are predicting. Although she acknowledges that \u201cmany people aren\u2019t going to be able to help it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katie Macarelli, a marketing professional who lives in Golden, is heeding that advice. Her Tuesday night plans include copious amounts of candy corn and playing her ukulele. Wednesday, she\u2019s treating herself to a professional haircut, which she uses as a time for quiet reflection.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt epitomizes peace, for me, and escape,\u201d Macarelli said. \u201cThe stylist knows I don\u2019t like to talk to anybody. I really like that idea of going in to sit and having somebody snip it all away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wassink\u2019s election night activities will also involve comfort food: a rib roast and fresh-baked bread for her and her firefighter husband \u201cso we can eat our feelings all night.\u201d They\u2019ll be tuned into election coverage \u2014 local, state and national \u2014 for \u201cas long as we can stand it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bryan DeBusk, also of Longmont, will be glued to various screens. He wouldn\u2019t commit to a days-long vigil, but said he would stay tuned in if results appear imminent overnight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll watch until 5 a.m. if it takes that long.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeBusk, a grant writer, took three days of post-election vacation. (He worked Monday; his company gives workers Election Day off.)<\/p>\n

\u201cLast time around, I was not able to concentrate on work,\u201d DeBusk said. \u201cI was concerned about all those questions of what comes next.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, journalist-owned news outlet exploring issues of statewide interest. Sign up for a newsletter and read more at coloradosun.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s called Election Stress Disorder, and therapists urge people to stay off Twitter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[233,266,28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-50638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-coloradosun-com","tag-election","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50638"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=50638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}