Still good advice

Lower Your Political Stress Level - excerpt

A constant barrage of political advertising and infighting can raise your anxiety level. Here's how to calm down.

Political ad overexposure
The anxiety that comes from excessive exposure to campaign coverage, negative political advertising, and the inflammatory chatter stirred up by cable TV news and commentary programs as they cover election campaigns and candidates.
Getting sucked in by the media manipulators.
Political spinmeisters and their advertising-industry colleagues have made a real science out of knowing what motivates us to make choices, and which words and images will push our buttons.
Mistaking opinion for information.
When you’re being bombarded by the manipulators, it’s easy to think that a strongly voiced opinion is real information, says Lipman, and then to convince yourself that you need more of what he terms “political junk food”: discord, conflict and gossip masquerading as real insight.
The lure of muckraking.
When you’re a big fan of one political candidate, it can be exhilarating to get a taste of any nasty news about his or her opponent, no matter how venal or irrelevant. Gloating and ill-wishing may seem like fun, but they often produce a set of companion feelings — like seething resentment and hostility — that aren’t good for you.
Too much screen time.
Obsession with political news can be a subset of media addiction — the inability to switch off the endless stream of noise and just sit with our own emotions. Too much time observing negative rants can also trigger the “mirror neurons” in our own brains, causing an unhealthy surge in associated stress chemicals.
Notice when you’re being played.
If you find yourself getting riled up, notice what emotions are being triggered, by
whom and with what likely purpose. “The most effective way to defuse the anxiety around political fearmongering is to properly contextualize it,” says Lipman. “Realize that these messages are coming from a motivated point of view. The people who are giving you this information are not giving it to you because they want to paint a balanced picture of the world.”
Do some digging.
In the face of fearmongering, Lipman advocates objective research rather than withdrawal. Dig into reliable data at nonpartisan Web sites like www.factcheck.org and www.reliable data at nonpartisan Web sites like www.factcheck.org and www.votesmart.org to get clarity about where the irrelevant hype stops and where reality begins.
Switch off the screen.
Don’t spend hours watching rehashed coverage or inflammatory commentary. Get the news you feel you need to do your civic duty (noting that reading political coverage is often less stressful than watching or listening to it) and then, in Lipman’s words, “go outside and play.”
Keep it in perspective.
While political fearmongers like to overplay the imminence of scary scenarios as good reasons to vote for their party, keep in mind: “The fact that you are seeing something talked about on television during campaign season doesn’t mean that the actual probability of it happening to you is all that great,” says Lipman.

Jon Spayde is a St. Paul, Minn.–based writer and editor.