Stressed Out By U.S. Election? Tune Out & Assume Downward-Facing Dog Pose

[Riddick]

Stop reading the news and take up yoga. That's what some U.S. therapists are telling patients stressed out by a nasty presidential campaign in which two unpopular candidates are in a tight race for the most powerful office in the world.

While some patients are unhappy with the idea of a Hillary Clinton presidency, most are worried about Donald Trump, a blunt-spoken, insult-spewing New York businessman who has never held public office, according to interviews with seven therapists across six states and the District of Columbia.

The therapists said their patients have complained of difficulty sleeping, irritability and heart palpitations. They said they were advising clients to limit exposure to the news and take up breathing exercises and yoga to calm down.

Philip Muskin, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center and scientific program chair of the American Psychiatric Association, said the anxiety among his patients reminded him of the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 al Qaeda attacks, and the crashing to Earth of America's first space station, Skylab, in 1979, which had people around the world worried they could be hit by falling space debris.

"Things where, for everybody, the sense of control is gone," Muskin said.

Adding to the anxiety is the fact the two candidates in the fall election are the most unpopular in modern U.S. history. Some 57.5 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of Trump, and nearly 54 percent have an unfavorable view of Clinton, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling.

There is no data available to quantify the election-related anxiety, but the therapists' anecdotes give some insight into the state of the national psyche.

Elaine Ducharme, a clinical psychologist from Glastonbury, Connecticut, said the election was also on the minds of all of her patients. "I can't think of a person I've talked to (who) does not feel anxious about this," she said.

Therapists, themselves, aren't immune to these anxieties.

"I can't say to my patients, 'Oh my God, it's making me a wreck,' but I can sit and empathize," Ducharme said.

FULL STORY

[kbot]

Too bad Senator Kaine didn't heed this advise before the debate last night............

Snippet:

Tim Kaine To Mike Pence: “Imma Let You Finish, But Hillary Clinton Has The Best Record of All-Time”

Yikes. Tim Kaine did his best Kanye impression when he interrupted Mike Pence a total of 70 times during the debate.

https://gop.com/tim-kaine-hillary-clint ... -all-time/

I didn't know if I should have felt badly for the moderator or called for her to be fired for incompetence. She just lost control of the debate at the outset, and Kaine came across as someone who needed to have a blood level drawn as he was clearly off his meds........

[Riddick]

By Tom Purcell, Syndicated Columnist

“Four more weeks before the election. I’m not sure I can survive that long.”

“Ah, yes, you speak of an interesting phenomenon this election cycle, ‘election stress disorder,’ as some therapists refer to it. According to several news reports, our cantankerous election is causing increased irritability, heart palpitations and an inability to sleep in more than a quarter of American adults.”

“You got that right. Trump has been saying nasty things for months. He says Hillary is a corrupt politician and should be in the slammer. Meanwhile, Hillary has accused Trump of being a racist, a sexist and unfit for the presidency.”

“To be sure, this election has not been for the faint of heart. But its nastiness is being exacerbated by 24-hour news channels and social media. The vitriol among ‘friends’ on Facebook has reached a fever pitch. Strangers are arguing at restaurants and coffee shops. But Yahoo News offers some tips to deal with the problem.”

“Go to the liquor store and stock up on hooch?”

“Actually, the first obvious step is to do what you can to limit your exposure to the noise. One therapist suggests that you turn off cable news and stop checking what your friends are posting on Facebook and Twitter. Go out and do some volunteer work.”

“I’ve been doing volunteer work, all right. Me and the boys from the local pub have been removing unpleasant political signs from our neighbors’ front yards.”

“That’s a bad idea. The right idea, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, is to exercise. It will release endorphins, which are chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers and will help you sleep better. You need to get to the gym and do some cardio.”

“I tried doing cardio at the gym, but some jerk on the treadmill next to me changed the TV to a news channel that spewed a bunch of lies about my political party. We were exchanging a few choice words until another jerk called the cops.”

“You need to chill, my friend. The therapist said that adjusting one’s tone of voice is something we all could work on. If we must debate the election, we need to be more positive and less judgmental. We shouldn’t carry on like emotional adolescents but as reasonable, thoughtful adults.”

“I don’t argue like an immature teen, you dirty rotten moron!”

“The therapist suggests that we be more introspective. If we become angry and emotional about something a candidate says, is it his or her politics that are setting us off or is it something deeper down that is really bothering us? Maybe the source of our anger is that our job isn’t going as well as we’d like or that we’re experiencing some other unpleasant issue in our lives. By chilling out and thinking things through, maybe this political season isn’t bothering us as much as we think it is.”

“My job isn’t going well because my boss is voting for a moron for president!”

“Here’s another tip from the therapist. We’d be better off focusing on the areas in which we and others agree, rather than the areas where we disagree. And we ought to stop taking politics so personally when a friend or neighbor does disagree. The fact is we’re not likely to change anyone’s mind and he or she is not likely to change ours. So chill.”

“I’ll try. But I sure can’t wait until the next four weeks pass and this lousy election is finally over.”

http://www.dcourier.com/news/2016/oct/1 ... -disorder/

Related:
Election Stress Disorder: A Legitimate Psychological Epidemic?
Political anxiety and fear used to be a health problem only in the developing world — now it's rampant in the U.S.

[Cherry Kelly]

and what can be worse -- oh ya discovery of hundreds of dead people voting, hundreds if not thousands of illegals being handed citizenship - never going through naturalization process. People admitting they aren't registered. People admitting they have voted in more than one state and more than one time in the state they reside in.

SO stepping outside of the rally stuff - start looking at all the illegal voting already going on. Gee will we find out AFTER the election just how many illegal votes there were? You know places with X number of people by census, but XX or XXXX number of votes in their precincts and all for one candidate only.

Watchers are needed in every state, ever precinct and ever district. I'd throw out all electronic voting machines and votes and insist on numbered ballots with names on sign in listed by the ballot number given. That goes for balloting in nursing homes and similar places as well.