--- title: Mental Health: 2016 Election Is Causing Stress, Anxiety description: Change your election media consumption to avoid burning out and getting depressed canonical: https://time.com/4299527/election-mental-health/ author: Elizabeth King article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-26T14:31:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:20.327Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Stressed? Blame the 2016 Election. og:description: Here's what you can do about it og:url: https://time.com/4299527/election-mental-health/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42eef35af8251b11/698890a08e060198c0465971/donald-trump-rally-elections.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Donald Trump Campaigns In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Stressed? Blame the 2016 Election. twitter:description: Here's what you can do about it twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42eef35af8251b11/698890a08e060198c0465971/donald-trump-rally-elections.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Stressed? Blame the 2016 Election. > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=eb5cb3e4-3462-4d36-9484-d8515a0dd148&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch the Eleventh Republican Debate In Less Than Three Minutes [Watch (HLS stream): Watch the Eleventh Republican Debate In Less Than Three Minutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/oLxJkDU8.m3u8) (2:49)  _Published 2016-03-04_ by [Elizabeth King](https://time.com/author/elizabeth-king/) ## Elizabeth King Apr 26, 2016 2:31 PM UTC  A Donald Trump supporter during a rally at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Harrisburg, Pa., on April 21, 2016. A Donald Trump supporter during a rally at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Harrisburg, Pa., on April 21, 2016. Mark Makela—Getty Images by [Elizabeth King](https://time.com/author/elizabeth-king/) ## Elizabeth King Apr 26, 2016 2:31 PM UTC If you’ve recently started to bite your nails, noticed your heart rate speeding up more frequently and are feeling increasingly nervous and helpless, it could just be the 2016 presidential election. Engaging with politics may be part of our civic duty, but presidential elections can be emotionally exhausting, and the more engaged a person is, the more likely they are to become fatigued, anxious or depressed, says Dr. Margaret Wehrenberg, an Illinois-based psychologist who specializes in treating stress and anxiety. The current state of presidential election coverage in the U.S. is one of constant saturation that lasts for about a year and a half, which is an awfully long time to be stressed out. Of course, we need and deserve access to information about political candidates. Staying apprised of presidential candidates’ campaigns is part of being an informed citizen, and the news media are supposed to enable this. But does the coverage need to last as long as it does? And are we being given the best information through the best methods? Far from it. News media often [sensationalize stories](http://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/assets/docs/095/237/d46945f-e5abced.pdf), especially political stories, and bait audiences with hyped-up language to keep them watching or reading. [Cable news](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/26/business/media/26carr.html?%5Fr=1&) stations often repeat the same election updates, video clips, audio clips and images over and over throughout the day. This can make election stories, particularly the more incendiary and sensational ones, seem inescapable. Feeling committed to a certain candidate but not knowing whether or not they will ultimately be successful in winning their party’s nomination or the general election is anxiety-inducing in and of itself. But engaging with media that constantly plays with this uncertainty by speculating over who may win or lose a given primary, who is up by how many points in a recent poll, and what the outcome of upcoming debates will be likely only fans the flames of anxiety, causing us to feel more unsure, and thus more desirous of information that will give us answers, Wehrenberg says. Some may continue to stay glued to election coverage, scanning for clues of what the future holds. Social media doesn’t help. Many people can likely relate to the sense of frustration, anger, exasperation and outright stress that results from arguing about politics via Twitter or Facebook. Conversations that happen quickly over written text are much more likely to become hostile and angry than face-to-face interactions, Wehrenberg says. The compulsion to discuss these issues over social media makes sense, given that this is a medium through which we are [accustomed to expressing ourselves](http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/08/social-networking-usage-2005-2015/), but it often seems that social media conversations about politics are counter-productive. It’s also impossible to ignore the added stress experienced by people of color this election season. With offensive rhetoric plastered all across national and local coverage of the election (particularly of Republican candidates, and especially from Donald Trump, who has repeatedly made racist statements about [Mexicans](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q%5Fq61B-DyPk), [black people](https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/592910662424223744) and [Muslims](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHiQXoe%5FiIE)), the constant exposure to coverage of these politicians and the offensive rhetoric they espouse can be particularly exhausting for people of color. So how can we make our experiences with the election less stressful and more productive? The best solution would be to shorten the election process. For example, in [Canada](http://www.lop.parl.gc.ca/ParlInfo/compilations/electionsandridings/lengthcampaigns.aspx?Language=E), the federal election process has never lasted more than 78 days, a cool two and a half months. Mexico’s legislature passed a law in [2007](http://articles.latimes.com/2007/sep/15/world/fg-mexreform15) that limits the duration presidential election campaigns. In Argentina, candidates can only run advertisements for their campaigns for [60 days](http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/10/21/450238156/canadas-11-week-campaign-reminds-us-that-american-elections-are-much-longer) leading up to election day. Coverage this short may seem unfathomable to those of us in the U.S. who are accustomed to a bombardment of political ads, debates and general coverage lasting close to half as long as an actual presidential term. Unfortunately, the U.S. is unlikely enact legislation that limits the duration of presidential election seasons. Fortunately, there are things we can do to reduce the impact of stress and anxiety on our bodies and minds, while still keeping up with the latest news. Wehrenberg suggests that certain methods of engagement are inherently less stressful. Reading print coverage such as newspapers and magazines means that we can be more selective about which articles we read and can see a finite end to the story. Print also has the benefit of being free of Internet comment sections. The information we get in debates is often delivered in the form of sound-bites, and there isn’t fact-checking in real time. By checking out a candidate’s website directly and comparing it with public voting records, we’re not only more in control of how long we’re engaging, but we’re also empowering ourselves to find out if what they’re claiming is true. Media consumption during the drawn-out presidential election ordeal is a necessary evil: we need to be informed, but there’s little recourse for obtaining information that doesn’t have the potential to send our nervous system into overdrive and trigger anxiety. Since there’s hardly any full escape, we must check the facts ourselves, avoid debates and remember that no matter what, Nov. 8 will come. ## Transcript [ APPLAUSE ] Mr. Trump, hi. Hello. How you doing? Nice to be with you Megan. Great to have you here. [ LAUGH ] You're looking well. You're looking well. How are you? [ LAUGH ] This campaign, for the last year, Donald Trump has basically mocked everybody with personal attacks. He's done so to people that are sitting on the stage today. [ APPLAUSE ] He's done so about people that are disabled. He's done it about every other candidate in this race. So if there's anyone who ever deserved to be attacked that way, it's been Donald Trump. He referred to my hands. If they're small, something else must be small. I guarantee you, there's no problem. I guarantee you. And I don't think the people of America are interested in a bunch of bickering school children. They're interested in solutions, not slogans. [ CROSSTALK ] I think I'm talking. This little guy has lied. So much- Here we go! About my record. Here we go! The personal- You asked him about the economy, and the first thing he does is launch an attack about some little guy thing. You haven't employed one person. You ever heard of Trump Steaks? You ever heard of Trump Vodka? Yeah, you know what? All these companies that he's ruined! Take a look at Trump Steaks- People say everywhere I go You seem to be the adult on the stage. You're not going to stop the corruption and the cronyism by someone who has used government power for private gain. we are talking about waterboarding. I said it's fine. And if we want to go stronger, I'd go stronger too. Because frankly that's the way I feel. Yeah. [ APPLAUSE ] Time and time again in this campaign You've actually told the voters one thing only to reverse yourself within weeks of even sometimes days. I was always against going into Iraq. In fact, believe me I was always against. The most important election in the generation And he's trying to con people into giving them their vote, just like he conned these people into giving them their money. It's a minor civil case. Donald, learn not to interrupt. It's not complicated. Count to ten, Donald. Count to ten. Give me a break. Count to ten. You have yet to answer a single serious question about any of this. Will you give us a detailed answer about foreign policy any time you're asked on it? [ INAUDIBLE ] Putin said very nice things about me, and I say very nicely, wouldn't it be nice if actually we could get along with Russia. The question is do you think that Donald Trump is naive About the threat that Vladimir Putin represents. I'm not biting. In Russia, we need to tell them we're gonna arm the Ukrainians with defensive lethal weapons. Not what you said in the op ed. That is not what you said in the op ed. Donald, please, I know it's hard not to interrupt, but try. Breathe, breathe, breathe. [ LAUGH ] You can do it. Breathe. I know it's hard. I know it's hard but just- When they're done with the yoga can I answer a question? You cannot. I really hope that we don't see yoga on this stage. Well he's very flexible so you never know. Let me just ask the voters at home, is this debate you want playing out in the general election? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4299527/election-mental-health/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4299527/election-mental-health/"},"headline":"Stressed? 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