{"id":14538,"date":"2016-11-08T10:40:32","date_gmt":"2016-11-08T10:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=14538"},"modified":"2016-11-08T10:40:32","modified_gmt":"2016-11-08T10:40:32","slug":"your-all-day-election-day-sanity-prescription","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/elections\/your-all-day-election-day-sanity-prescription.html","title":{"rendered":"Your All-Day, Election-Day Sanity Prescription"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your All-Day, Election-Day Sanity Prescription<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Your All-Day, Election-Day Sanity Prescription:-<\/strong> Election Day is finally here, and it\u2019s sure to be one of the most anxiety-stoking days of the year. We asked stress expert Jeff Temple, associate professor and psychologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch, to share some activities we should do to make election day as manageable as possible. Some of his advice, and some of ours, below:<\/span><\/p>\n

8 a.m.: Vote. It\u2019s the biggest thing you can do to relieve Election Day <\/strong>anxiety, because it gives you a sense of agency.<\/strong> \u201cGoing out and voting is stress relief,\u201d Temple says. \u201cTo manage any type of stress, do something about it.\u201d It\u2019s the same idea behind exposure therapy: if you\u2019re stressed out about flying, get on an airplane. If you\u2019re stressed about who your next president will be, get out and vote.<\/span><\/p>\n

12 p.m.: Resist the social media trap.<\/strong> It\u2019s not your imagination: social media really is stressing you out. A recent poll from the American Psychological Association found that people who used social media were more likely to call the election a \u201cvery or somewhat significant source of stress\u201d than people who didn\u2019t use it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is really our first election where social media is rampant, where we\u2019re trafficking in dogmatic points of view,\u201d Temple says. In past elections, you could control your contact with those friends or family members that love debating the politics du jour by screening your calls.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not so anymore, when people\u2019s thoughts and opinions are ever-present on our phones. Limiting your use of social media, then, can help you avoid a screen-induced stress response. For a minority of people, gobbling up reams of information is actually stress relieving\u2014but that\u2019s probably not most of us. Interact with the Internet in a way that\u2019s right for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

3 p.m.: Put on your headphones.<\/strong> By now, you likely know where your colleagues fall on the political spectrum. If your views differ, stay out of the conversational fray. \u201cNo matter how wrong they are in your mind, they are still your colleagues,\u201d Temple says, \u201cand you\u2019re going to have to work with them tomorrow and the next day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

6 p.m.: Do your all-time favorite activity.<\/strong> What do you love more than anything else? Do it after work\u2014maybe even more of it than you usually would. \u201cIf it\u2019s playing video games, play more video games,\u201d Temple says. \u201cIf it\u2019s going out to eat, go out to eat.\u201d Ditto for any activity that helps you blow off steam, like yoga, meditation or having beers with a friend.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we do things we\u2019re interested in, it makes us feel better,\u201d Temple says. And if you\u2019ve made it this far in election season, you\u2019ve earned it.<\/span><\/p>\n

7 p.m.: Watch the returns with <\/strong>likeminded people.<\/strong> With tensions so high, it\u2019s best to limit yourself to a supportive environment. \u201cI think that watching it with divergent folks, especially with this election where the viewpoints are so divergent, is really a recipe for conflict,\u201d Temple says. Flock with birds of your feather, in other words\u2014at least tonight.<\/span><\/p>\n

9 p.m.: Take a TV break.<\/strong> It\u2019s news to no one that binge watching TV is bad for your health, and that\u2019s doubly true if you\u2019re sitting there seriously stressed out. Every hour or two, take a walk around the block, steep yourself some tea or pour a drink, do a quick household chore. The goal is to take your mind off the incremental election results and focus it, however briefly, on something else.<\/span><\/p>\n

11 p.m.: Go to bed.<\/strong> Regardless of who the next president is, getting a night of good sleep will at least make you feel better\u2014physically if not psychologically\u2014the next day. If you can\u2019t bear to wake up without knowing the result, keep your phone by your bed\u2014usually a healthy sleep no-no\u2014so that you hear the news alert when the networks call it. You don\u2019t need to be awake all night in front of the TV to get the news when it breaks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-http:\/\/time.com\/4556503\/election-day-anxiety-stress-relief\/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Ftopstories+%28TIME%3A+Top+Stories%29<\/span><\/p>\n

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