How to Take Care of Yourself During Election Season

Every election season brings up anxieties and can put strain on different relationships in your life as people are pulled toward different policies and candidates. Our current election season has been especially fraught from all ends of the political spectrum. It’s impossible to know for certain what the future holds, and that can be frightening, especially for those of us who are gender non-conforming or live in a transgender body. As the landscape continues to shift, we have to manage our anxiety and fear while still taking care of ourselves.

Take care of yourself this election season by:

1. Verify and Fact-Checking Information - Right now there is information coming from all sides of the political spectrum. There are many folks who are creating content that is designed to intentionally trigger your worst fears and encourage readers to consume more of their content.
   
   While political anxiety can serve a function, this doom-and-gloom type of content is not healthy for readers, nor does it always paint the full picture. The internet and its various algorithms have created small echo chambers that pump out the same content to you day in and day out. 
   
   Step back and fact-check the information you are receiving. It may not always be true, or it may exaggerate what is really happening. Compile multiple reputable sources and cross-reference them to find the facts beneath the fear. 
   

2. Set and Maintain Strong Boundaries - Election seasons can bring out the most extreme of people's beliefs, and they may start shouting these beliefs all over social media. This often can create tension between you and your loved one’s or family members.
   
   If you’ve ever gotten into a social media argument before, you know that it can be unsuccessful in getting any party to change their minds and results in you being emotionally exhausted. Find the boundaries that will protect your emotional and mental health, and hold onto them.
   
   Take advantage of the block and mute buttons that are becoming universal on every social platform. If someone is choosing to be hateful or harmful, it’s not up to you to change their stance. They are probably seeking a charged reaction, and you can take that away while protecting yourself by simply removing them from your feed.
   

3. Find Your Balance Between Being Informed and Feeling Anxious - There is so much political content to engage with as soon as you get online. As I said earlier, some of it is meant to trigger fear, so you will continue to consume more media. As election day draws nearer, you want to be informed, but the amount of information and its polarizing nature can be exhausting and overwhelming. 
   
   Please remember to take a step back. Learn your limits for the amount of information you can engage with before the anxiety gets unmanageable you. When you feel yourself hitting that limit, log off. Turn away from social media and practice self-soothing techniques. Go for a walk, play with the dog, or have a light-hearted conversation with a friend or loved one. 
   
   When you feel anxious, it can be your first instinct to keep looking things up in an attempt to resolve that anxiety. It often doesn’t work. Remember that you still exist in this present moment, and no amount of anxiety will let you know the future. 
   

4. Support Your Community - It’s important to have a community that you can rely on and support. Especially if you are queer, having a group of people that know you and are there for you is vital during these uncertain times. Support the people in your community in the best way you are able. This may mean supporting someone who feels they need to go back into the closet to protect themselves.
   
   You may also find and give support by something simple like having fun conversations that have nothing to do with politics. Having a solid support system will help you manage whatever outcome happens in November, and keep you present everyday until then. 
   

5. Make Plans - Your anxiety, while it may be unpleasant to feel, serves a positive function. It says, “I see a danger coming. It’s not here yet. There’s time between then and now to potentially do something to protect myself or make myself safer or to make my loved ones safer.”
   
   Anxiety is there to help you recognize these moments and then motivate you to take action. The next thing you have to do is ask yourself if the anxiety is based in something real, and only you can decide that for yourself. Then you have to figure out if there is something you can do.
   
   This varies from person to person. Unfortunately we live in a world where often what we can do to protect ourselves requires access to resources. This might be making sure your passports are updated for you and your loved ones. Other people might find getting involved in protest organizations, or political organizations to keep the structures that protect us in place. No matter what you end up choosing, I don’t think anyone should judge others for the decisions they make in order to be safe.

Ultimately, we have no way of knowing what our political environment will look like in a few months. I sincerely hope we get good news and a positive outcome. Until then, we have to stay present, choose the best course of action for ourselves, and protect our mental, physical, and emotional health.