Are Politics Impacting Our Mental Health?
In today’s charged political climate, therapists speak with individuals daily about various emotions. Mostly their fear, uncertainty, and anger regarding the state of our nation. Many people, from busy professionals to concerned parents, are struggling to maintain relationships with family and friends who hold differing opinions. This leaves them feeling disconnected, anxious, and overwhelmed. The constant barrage of political news and debates can be mentally exhausting. Eventually, it can all lead to feelings of hopelessness, depression, and isolation.
So why does the political landscape feel so dysregulating? How is it affecting our mental health? What can we do to manage the uncertainty of the next four years?
How Politics Triggers Our Nervous System and Trauma Responses
To understand why politics can feel so overwhelming and distressing, it’s essential to explore the science behind how our nervous system and trauma history play a role in our reactions.
The Nervous System: Wired for Survival
Our autonomic nervous system (ANS) is responsible for managing stress and safety responses. It has two main branches:
Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) – Activates the "fight or flight" response to perceived threats.
Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) – Promotes "rest and digest" to help us relax and recover.
When we hear distressing political news or engage in heated debates, the SNS often activates. This leads to symptoms like a racing heart, shallow breathing, and heightened anxiety. While this response is helpful in immediate danger, chronic activation—common in times of political unrest—can contribute to depression, anxiety, irritability, and chronic stress.
Polyvagal Theory and Social Safety
Polyvagal Theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, adds another layer of understanding. It identifies the ventral vagal system, which helps us feel safe, socially connected, and calm. In contrast, perceived threats activate other pathways that trigger:
Fight: Anger, confrontation, irritability
Flight: Anxiety, avoidance, hypervigilance
Freeze: Numbness, disconnection, depression
Fawn: People-pleasing to avoid conflict or threat
Political discussions, media exposure, and fears about the future (economy, immigration, marriage rights, abortion rights) can send our nervous system into overdrive. This can cause a cascade of stress responses that negatively affect our mental health and emotional well-being.
Trauma and Politics: Why It Feels So Personal
For individuals with a history of trauma, whether from childhood, systemic oppression, or personal experiences, the political climate can reactivate past wounds. Issues surrounding identity, safety, and personal rights may mirror earlier experiences of powerlessness or fear, intensifying emotional responses.
This reactivation can lead to:
Increased anxiety and panic attacks
Feelings of hopelessness and depression
Social withdrawal and isolation
Heightened sensitivity to disagreement or conflict
Trouble sleeping and chronic fatigue depression
Even for those without a trauma history, prolonged exposure to political stress can be traumatizing in itself. Especially when compounded by fears about the future or witnessing divisive rhetoric in personal relationships. This is when professional individual counseling can be beneficial.
How to Protect Your Mental Health in a Politically Charged Climate
1. Monitor and Minimize Information Consumption
Constant exposure to news and social media keeps the body in a state of threat. Set boundaries around how much time you spend consuming political content. Consider taking news breaks or limiting your exposure to certain platforms. Especially if you notice increased anxiety, anger, or sadness afterward. This can make it easier to manage your career and personal life.
2. Notice and Nurture Your Nervous System
Pay attention to how your body reacts to political stress. Signs of dysregulation include a racing heart, clenched jaw, shallow breathing, and overwhelming emotions.
Tools to Soothe Dysregulation:
Deep Breathing: Slow, intentional breaths can calm the SNS. Try inhaling for four counts, holding for four, and exhaling for six.
Grounding Techniques: Engage your senses. Name five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell, and one you can taste.
Gentle Movement: Walk, stretch, or practice yoga to help release stored tension.
Cold Water Splash: Brief exposure to cold water can stimulate the vagus nerve, calming your nervous system.
3. Lean Into Curiosity and Compassion
When faced with differing political opinions, try shifting from judgment to curiosity. Ask yourself:
What experiences might have shaped their beliefs?
How can I respond in a way that prioritizes my emotional safety?
Most people act from their own life experiences and intentions, even if you don’t agree with them. Cultivating empathy can decrease anger, reduce stress responses, and protect your mental health.
4. Prioritize Connection Without Politics
Humans are attachment-oriented beings—we need relationships to thrive. In times of political division, it’s easy to feel disconnected or isolated. Yet, meaningful relationships are crucial for mental and emotional well-being.
Ways to Connect Beyond Politics:
Engage in hobbies or activities that bring joy.
Spend time in nature or with pets.
Plan gatherings where politics are off-limits.
Reach out to supportive friends, family, or community groups.
Remember, you can set boundaries around topics that feel too activating while still nurturing relationships.
5. Seek Professional Support in Montana if Needed
If you’re experiencing persistent depression, anxiety, or feelings of isolation, you don’t have to navigate this alone. Therapists and mental health professionals can help you explore coping strategies, process trauma, and develop tools for emotional regulation.
Politics, at their core, touch on our values, identities, and sense of safety. This makes them deeply personal. Even if our fears differ, our nervous system responses are fundamentally similar. By recognizing this shared human experience, we can cultivate compassion for ourselves and others.
In uncertain times, focusing on what you can control—your boundaries, connections, and self-care practices—can provide grounding. Your mental health matters. Protecting it isn’t about ignoring the world but finding ways to stay engaged without sacrificing your emotional well-being.
You are not alone in this. We need each other, especially now.
Contact a Therapist for High Achievers in Montana for Insight
Learn how to navigate your career and personal life in any political climate with therapy for professionals in Bozeman, MT. We’ll discuss tools to help you find balance and peace among the chaos. That way, you can continue to thrive while staying informed on important, yet often distressing topics. Get in touch with our boutique therapy practice in Bozeman, MT, to start your journey toward improved well-being. Here’s how:
Request an appointment with ELVT Mental Health
Meet with one of our professional therapists
Learn a peaceful life among political turmoil
Other Services ELVT Mental Health Provides in Bozeman, MT
Our individual therapists in Montana offer various services, tailored to help clients at any stage of their lives and careers. Aside from therapy for professionals and entrepreneurs, our boutique therapy practice provides relationship therapy, trauma therapy, grief therapy, and counseling for depression and anxiety. Additionally, we specialize in mental health coaching for clients who may benefit from this alternative approach. For additional insights, we encourage you to read our blog and listen to our new podcast. When you’re ready to reach out, schedule an appointment with us at ELVT Mental Health. Let’s get through this time together.