Election & Sociopolitical Stress
We're in an election season! There is so much going on in the world. This resource is a starter toolkit for navigating sociopolitical stress as we move through it together.
What is sociopolitical stress?
Intense feelings & experiences people have that stem from awareness of, exposure to, and/or involvement in, political events and phenomena (Ballard et al 2022)
Why take care?
Research shows that sociopolitical stress can have a significant impact on college students’ mental health.
- 52% of students polled say engaging in political dialogue on campus affects their mental health (TimelyCare report, July 2024)
- Sociopolitical stress is linked to increased anxiety, hopelessness, depression, and social withdrawal. (Soto, et al, still under review)
- Folks holding systemically oppressed identities across gender, sexual orientation, and gender report higher levels of sociopolitical stress—with female-identifying students of color experiencing this to a higher degree. (Ballard, et al., October 28, 2020).
There’s a lot we can do to take care in the face of uncertainty—make sure you incorporate some active care practice to maximize a sense of agency, community, and care.
Here's a few practices to start:
Acknowledge your feelings
- Stress impacts us all differently. Whether you’re feeling frustrated, grief, etc. remember it’s ok to feel how you feel, and not judge others for how they are processing
- Journal about your feelings
- Somatic practices to work with difficult feelings:
- Anger:
- Anger:
- Trauma and stress release:
- Anxiety:
- Emotion freedom technique:
Take care of your body
- Practice good sleep hygiene (7-8 hours a night, limit phone time before bed)
- Eat regular, nourishing meals
- Move your body! Stress is often held in the body. Intentional movement can help create an outlet
- Take breaks from the go-go-go
Connect with others
- Spend time with folks that care about you
- Identify people, places, and resources that you can reach out to for support when needed
- Communicate how you’re feeling and what support can look like in community
Connect with nature
Use your sense of purpose
- Use values and purpose to guide action (check out list of values)
- Know where you’re coming from and what you’re aiming to accomplish
- Guide with your values and ground in your capacity
(Re)connect with your source of power
- Reflect on various aspects of your power and lack there of (e.g., physical, psychological, emotional, relational, environmental, sociopolitical, spiritual)
- Acknowledge areas of limitation and restriction
- Re-affirm aspects/sources of your power
Engage in effective change
- Political action & involvement
- Problem solving – incremental, short term, locally based
Participate in self-care and collective care
- Make sure you’re taking care of basics—eating regular meals, getting enough sleep/rest, and make sure you’re moving your body
- Make space to spend time with friends & loved ones
- Get connected to community off campus
- Tap into campus resources that are here to support you! Check out the Wellness at 台湾裸聊直播 page for resources of support across various areas of wellbeing (e.g. physical, social, vocational, environmental, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and financial)
Make a self-care plan for Election Day
- Expect the need for more self-care on Election Day
- Proactively plan for how you will consume news, who you will spend time with, and what boundary-setting may be needed
- Take breaks from screen time and social media
- To help cope with the uncertainty and associated stress of Election Day,
- Identify simple actions that are within your control and schedule them throughout your day (e.g., take a walk with a friend, read for leisure, engage in a favorite hobby like knitting, listen to a non-political podcast, prepare a snack or meal you enjoy)
- Check out the JED Foundations ""