Here's How To Cope With Post-Election Anxiety
America has done it again, electing for their President the convicted felon Donald Trump over the immensely talented Kamala Harris. And if you’re anti-Trump, which one in two Britons are, there are plenty of reasons to be worried.
Firstly, Trump is going to be more powerful than ever: the Republicans look set to have control of the Senate and the House - the two chambers of the American federal government. This means it’s going to be far easier for Trump to pass any of his intended policies: from mass deportations of illegal migrants to tariffs on imports of products, including British goods.
Secondly, Trump’s ascendancy could see more women harmed. He’s already made Supreme Court picks who could overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that made abortion legal. Kamala Harris campaigned to make abortion legal across all the states, but the vote in favour of Trump is seen as a rejection of that. Plus, many people who voted Trump are evangelicals strictly opposed to the concept of abortion. He’s got to keep them on side. So women in Florida will continue to be unable to get an abortion because by the time they realise they’re pregnant, the six-week limit will have passed. And women in Oklahoma who can’t be attended to properly when miscarrying because a doctor could be sued if they’re seen to help terminate a pregnancy. Thirteen states currently ban abortion, and there’s no telling which states could be next.
Thirdly, Trump is more influential than ever. Culturally, he’s a force, and he keeps creepy bedfellows in the manosphere. Andrew Tate has used X to say that just like Trump looks set to have his own criminal charges dropped now he’s a President-elect, he too will get charges against him for alleged sex trafficking thrown out. Other Republican bros - represented by 56% of young white men voting for Trump - have used social media and podcasts to bleat the slogan 'Your body, my choice'.
And in response, some anti-Trump women have shaved their hair off in rebellion against the patriarchy. Others have begun to craft blue bracelets they can use to indicate their opposition to Trump. Some are even debating borrowing South Korea’s 4B approach - no sex with men (bisekseu), no giving birth (bichulsan), no dating men (biyeonae) and no marrying men (bihon).
A bit closer to home, the anxiety is brimming. Will Trump deploy trade tariffs making the UK a pariah state? Will he gift Russia an effective win when declaring so-called peace between the behemoth kleptocracy and beleaguered Ukraine, who he wants to strip aid from? Will he pave the way for greenhouse gases to boom? Will he continue to degrade women verbally and through his policies the world over? Will his horrendously misogynistic and anti-migrant culture will be echoed over here, with young men radicalised by the same TikToks and podcasts? Will he uphold Nigel Farage as the best of British, giving the Reform leader a disproportionate power, the same Farage who this summer suggested the police had deliberately covered up the truth of the Southport murders, at a time when misinformation surrounding the event led to anti-migrant riots across the country…
There’s so much to worry about, so much to feel very wound up about. And there’s ever more pressure to stay in tune with what’s happening, to engage with this historic moment and listen to it or watch it unfurl in real time, on TV, radio or social media. But all this election-related worry can’t be good for us, can it?
ELLE UK spoke to the experts how best to not just park anxieties about the US election but channel them somewhere good:
Notice your habits
Can you identify the borders of Arizona but can’t remember when you last text back an old friend? Are you doomscrolling before your morning wee and then finding yourself agitated all day? Psychotherapist Dr. Aaron Balick, author of The Psychodynamics of Social Networking, says it’s worth reflecting on how you’re interacting with the news. 'Be sensitive to your "internal antenna" to identify when scrolling or over-newsing is causing anxiety or distress and stop.'
Take a break
If gluing yourself to unfolding news feel like a full time job that no-one is even paying you for, take a moment, advises Dr Balick: 'It is okay to take a minute and recover. Have a news break, don’t amplify your fury on social media or subject yourself to the contagious aggro that is nurtured there.' Dr Balick also recommends that it’s easier to take a break if you get rid of unnecessary phone notifications: 'Turn off all your social media and news notifications so you only check when you choose to, and not when you’re prodded to by platforms that profit from your attention.'
Take a proper break
If you’re using X, which is owned by Trump campaigner Elon Musk (he’s rallied with Trump and likely donated $130 million/£101 million to the cause), then maybe the break needs to be longer, says Dr Balick: 'X has a lot to answer for in fuelling polarisation and spreading misinformation. Many people are choosing go elsewhere (e.g. BlueSky, Threads, or Mastodon).'
He adds: 'If you want to stay in the loop to keep aware of what the Twittersphere is doing, do so sparingly and in a limited way. Do not be fooled that X is the world’s town square - it is a propaganda machine and it’s likely to get worse.'
Change what you can, make peace with what you can’t
There’s an old saying, known as the serenity prayer, that divides everything into what can be changed, what can’t be changed and working out that difference. And Dr Patricia Frankish, chartered member of the British Psychological Society, recommends that those feeling asunder and chaotic return to this: 'It comes down to helplessness, which is the big issue. How do we deal with feeling helpless?' Her resolution is in her version of the serenity prayer: 'Change what you can, leave what you can't, but have the wisdom to know the difference.'
As for what you can do, Dr Balick has some practical steps, because, he explains: 'Feeling connected to people and enhancing a sense of solidarity is the best defence you can have in the face of fear and hopelessness.'
'Reach out to friends and family and stay connected in a supportive way. Create interest groups to share positive ways to engage. Join and create communities to face challenges. It is tempting to vent and complain and rage together - that’s okay to a degree - but don’t stay there. In the big picture we can feel powerless, but it helps to use your power where you are able to affect change.'
Remember that history happens forever, not just today
We might be living through a uniquely historic and hard time, but plenty of people have got through historic and hard times. Dr Frankish explains: 'When I qualified in the 1980s the thing then that people who were distressed brought to therapy was fear of the Cold War. That Russia and America would bomb each other. I think that's back, really.'
She adds: 'Ever since we went first went to America, there's been tension between the USA and the UK, and it's gone round and round in circles. Plus, we survived last time when Trump was there for four years, didn't we? So there's a bit of me that says we can survive it again.'
It’s a gloomy period that will go down in the history books, and although Dr Frankish believes that 'we're probably in one of the darkest times that I've ever come across', the solution is in getting through as best we can by focusing on our own 'small worlds', she says: 'The best we can do is surviving, all of us, surviving for as long as we can, doing what we can to protect the planet and each other.'
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