With nearly four months still to go until Election Day, Tiffany Kreck is feeling increasingly anxious.
“I’m really trying to get it under control,” said Kleck, 35, a professional gardener and married mother of two.
The Republican from Ellsworth, Maine, doesn’t plan to vote for either major party’s candidate, but she says the campaign is so “acrimonious” and the stakes are so high on issues like the economy, reproductive rights and immigration that she feels her blood pressure rise whenever she thinks about the election.
More than 40% of Americans reported symptoms of anxiety or depression this spring, and just as many said news and social media coverage of the election made them feel more anxious than usual, according to a Genesite Health Monitor poll conducted by Myriad Genetics from May 8 to 15.
These findings are consistent with another poll conducted by the American Psychiatric Association in the spring, which found that most Americans are “particularly anxious” about the contentious election. And in a Yahoo News/YouGov poll of 1,800 Americans conducted May 10-13, about 60% said they were “very” or “somewhat” anxious about the presidential election.
Experts say many other Americans are likely feeling anxious and even depressed about the election without even realizing it.
“The negative impact is far too large, about twice what we would like,” said Thomas Valente, a psychiatrist in Leesburg, Fla., who analyzed the Genesite polls before the results were released. “And these polls were conducted before the first presidential debate. One can only imagine what the numbers are looking like now.”
“You can’t control the outcome”
Republican front-runner Donald Trump is holding a slight lead over Democratic opponent President-elect Joe Biden, 41% to 38%, following the candidates’ heated debate on June 27, according to an exclusive USA Today/Suffolk University poll. Two months ago, the two candidates were neck and neck.
Colleen Marshall, San Francisco-based chief clinical officer for Two Chairs, a mental health organization that offers virtual and in-person psychiatric sessions, said the fallout and issues surrounding Trump’s felony charges, growing concerns about Biden’s competency and what appears to be a fight to protect democracy are some of the many stressors for voters.
Citing a mental health poll conducted this spring by the American Psychiatric Association and Morning Consult, Marshall said it found that 73% of more than 2,200 Americans were feeling particularly anxious about the election. Only the economy was rated higher, at 77%, and elections are heightening a range of emotions and generating more conversation, Marshall added.
“Elections can be inspiring because even if we vote for the candidate we support, we have no control over the outcome,” Marshall said, “and when we don’t have that control, our minds can just fly all over the place.”
Overall, the survey found that 43% of Americans said they were anxious about the election, compared with 37% in 2023 and 32% in 2022. This anxiety, which Marshall dubbed “election anxiety,” ranked higher than personal safety, health concerns and paying bills, according to the poll.
“I think election cycles tend to be provocative, but this incredible and unprecedented division is taking a toll on a lot of people,” Marshall said. “And while some of us are better able to distinguish between them than others, others are unable to contain that fear and anxiety.”
First-time voters feel intimidated by the election
All is well for 18-year-old Kara Coulter. But with just weeks until her first semester at her first-choice college, UCLA, the Los Angeles native and first-time voter is already worrying about the outcome of this fall’s election.
“Oh my god, I’m so scared. What’s going to happen when I grow up? What if Trump wins? What if Biden wins?,” Coulter said. “There’s so much going on in my mind. Everything is so unpredictable right now. I don’t even know what the country is going to look like in a year.”
She worries that if Trump wins, the country could undergo harsh changes spurred by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025., The bill has been described as “authoritarian” and calls for deporting illegal immigrants, abolishing the Department of Education, making medication abortions impossible and reversing health care reform.
But Coulter, who plans to study sociology and entrepreneurship, said she won’t let “voter fear” stop her from showing up to the polls — and she plans to tell everyone who will listen, especially those of her Generation Z, how important this election is.
“Rather than withdrawing from the campaign because you’re scared, it’s better to be educated before you venture into something new,” Coulter said. “You exercise your right to vote because you know what it took to get there. I hope and pray that we will all turn out to vote.”
Some Americans are ‘panic-ing’
Dale Stenbroten, 62, of Saukville, Wisconsin, did not take the poll but said he agreed with the findings and believes there is widespread discontent across the country. He said his anxiety comes from the “uncertain direction” the country is heading.
“I think most people in the country are panicking,” said Stenbroten, who runs a farm resort that caters to large events like weddings. “You want to think this is a joke, but it’s a sad, sick joke, because people in this country are hurting, they’re angry, they’re grieving.”
Stenbroten said he is fortunate to own his own business and not be in such a terrible situation, but “other people are not as fortunate and their situations affect all of us.”
Stenbroten, who describes himself as a reformed news junkie and “moderate with conservative leanings,” said he supported Trump in 2020 but now plans to vote for independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In the latest USA Today/Suffolk University poll, conducted June 28-30, Kennedy had the support of 8% of likely voters.
Stenbroten believes that while Trump has done a good job with economic policy as president, he now has very “serious problems” ranging from legal issues to his divisive personality.
Stenbroten also doesn’t like Biden. He says the president “doesn’t have the mental capacity” to stay in office and dislikes the administration’s involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Gaza conflict.
“We need someone in the White House with the brains and intelligence to repair this divide,” Stenbroten said. “This country doesn’t need more wars.”
Kreck, a Kennedy supporter, expressed a similar view.
“There’s a lot of people in the middle class who are working, who are paying taxes, who have families, who are trying to make ends meet and buy groceries,” Kleck said, “and it feels like we’re watching this horrible show unfold on this political stage.”
Dealing with “election anxiety”
Marshall said that in addition to seeking professional help, Americans with election anxiety should try to set some boundaries, such as not watching or consuming politics all the time and not talking much about politics with family and friends.
Those who want to get more involved in politics can do so by supporting candidates of their choice, volunteering or participating in get-out-the-vote campaigns, Marshall said.
Kleck said he sympathized with Americans who were “dropped out of the election” due to fears about the election, adding, “If for whatever reason you don’t have faith in the Democratic electoral process, that in itself is a dangerous situation for America.”
Kreck said he is doing his best to avoid the “digital onslaught” of the election and the anxiety that comes with it.
She’s making an effort to put down her cell phone, turn off the TV and spend more time outdoors with her children and her husband, a lobster fisherman.
She further Take a deep breath.
“It sounds simpler than it is,” Kurek said, because politics is “everywhere.”
