An Anxious Nation on Edge

Many are feeling dread and angst in this age of political chaos. But there are steps we can take to dial down the anxiety.

It is no exaggeration to say that we enter 2025 as an anxious nation. A deep tension has permeated America’s political environment over the past several years. However, since Donald Trump’s election victory in November, a palpable spike in citizens’ anxiety about our nation’s future has arisen. With Trump’s inauguration just on the horizon, the anxiety appears to be coming to a head.

As a psychiatrist specializing in the management of anxiety disorders, I have had particular interest in exploring people’s emotional responses to the election and their efforts to cope with stress tied to our current political climate. Many have asked me about the best ways to manage their anxiety in this upcoming year, as their feelings of uncertainty and trepidation have felt hard to cope with. There are no easy fixes, unfortunately.

In conversations I have had with patients and friends, and in my observations of political discourse online, I have seen a variety of methods used to cope with political stress. Some people have employed strategies that are quite mature and insightful, whereas others have taken approaches that are unhealthy and counterproductive.

In future writings, I aim to provide more in-depth discussions of what causes stress and anxiety in our current sociopolitical environment, and how we can manage that stress effectively. For now, I would like to review some general concepts to set the stage.

Our knowledge on the causes and management of anxiety disorders provides guidance on how those experiencing political stress can better manage their sense of angst. Research shows that individuals who experience higher levels of anxiety often engage in inflexible, black-or-white thinking – in other words, a situation or person is seen as being all good or all bad, with no in-between. This type of distorted thinking can cause people to see the world through a negative lens, especially when the future feels uncertain and unpredictable.

When people think in this way, they tend to obsess about worst-case scenarios that are relatively unlikely, or see malicious intentions when none exist. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and other popular psychotherapies for anxiety teach patients how to identify unhealthy thought patterns and replace extreme worries with thoughts that are more reality-based.

Scholars working at the interface of psychology and political science have explored how negative societal effects can result when large segments of the population engage in these thought patterns. I recently finished reading the excellent book The Coddling of the American Mind, in which the authors Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt discuss how these maladaptive thought patterns have become widespread in younger generations. This has led to young Americans experiencing significant – arguably, excessive – levels of distress about sociopolitical issues, and an aversion to engaging in healthy discourse with those across the political divide.

Lukianoff and Haidt make excellent insights about how these young adults’ thought patterns resemble those of patients experiencing clinically significant depression and anxiety. They also touch on how treatment principles derived from CBT can help to neutralize these negative thought patterns – themes I aim to explore in future writings.

To be clear, none of this is to imply that all worries about the upcoming Trump presidency are distorted or unreasonable. Many people’s concerns are legitimate when considering how policies proposed by the incoming administration impact their individual circumstances. However, one can learn to distinguish between anxiety about specific negative outcomes that plausibly could occur, and unreasonable catastrophic worry that is driven more by feelings than facts.

Concepts borrowed from CBT and other evidence-based psychotherapies for anxiety can help to pull yourself out of distorted thought patterns that amplify fear. When you find yourself experiencing worry about upcoming political developments, pause and reflect on your thoughts. Ask yourself some questions: What evidence is there that this specific event I am worried about is likely to happen? Can I seek out evidence that might reveal that this event is not as likely to occur as I currently envision? Is there an alternate way of looking at this issue that is more nuanced and less black-and-white? Even though it is unrealistic to expect anxiety to completely vanish, you do have the ability to modify your thoughts and behaviors to dial down the worry and make it feel more manageable.

As you work on these skills, it also is extremely helpful to be judicious in your consumption of political media. While being a well-informed citizen is important, overconsumption of such media is likely fueling your stress. This is particularly true with social media and cable television, where political personalities know that stoking fear is an easy way to get clicks and viewers. A pundit whose brand consists of emotionally charged commentary predicting catastrophic events will garner far more attention than one who encourages the public to consider national concerns in a calm, measured fashion.

Be mindful of when and how you are consuming political media. Check in with yourself when you are “doomscrolling” and ask yourself how you feel (likely not very good). Remember that political strategists and influencers are actively shaping your thoughts and feelings. When you see someone in the media predicting catastrophic events that may happen in the future, pause and ask some questions: Is there evidence that what this person is saying is actually true? Who is gaining from making me believe this?

To be clear, these concepts I have just discussed do not apply exclusively to progressives and Democrats. Nowadays feelings of anxiety impact Americans of all ideological bents. Without question, there has been no shortage of those on the right expressing catastrophic worry about current events. People of all viewpoints can benefit from recalibrating how they approach political issues. Our nation faces much uncertainty, and emotionally charged political discourse on all sides amplifies everyone’s fears.

While stress about political events in the coming year is inevitable, we can take steps to turn the volume down on the worry and avoid triggers that amplify the anxiety. We have the ability to change our thinking and behavior such that we are driven less by fear and more by reason as we tackle our nation’s most pressing issues as one community.