FLASH
Shkruar nga Catherine Kim
A growing number of Americans are seeking psychological help due to anxiety and stress caused by politics, polarization and constant news. Therapists warn that this condition is affecting not only individual well-being, but also civic participation and the long-term functioning of democracy.
Three hours have passed, scrolling endlessly through X, and each post seems more disturbing than the next: graphs predicting economic collapse, headlines about a failed assassination attempt, thumbnails of YouTube videos with the title "nuclear apocalypse."
Your chest tightens and your head aches, from too much screen time, too much anxiety, or maybe both. Is this a panic attack? You quickly search for “political anxiety” and are confronted with an ad for a therapist that seems too good to be true.
"Our cognitive therapists can help you manage stress and mental health concerns related to current events. Learn how we can help you regain control and improve the quality of your life ," the ad says.
There are countless ads like this online, and they seem to be reaching their intended audience. American politics has been considered flawed for years, but now something new is happening: Not only are more people feeling depressed or anxious about the state of the world, they are also seeking professional help. And therapists are more than willing to provide it.
With political anxiety reaching new levels and crises appearing relentlessly on our screens, mental health professionals say they are seeing an influx of patients worried by news coming out of Washington and beyond.
"This is the first time we're seeing people enter therapy because of political anxiety," says Veronica Calkins, clinical director at California-based Pacific Mind Health.
Calkins says the surge began after President Donald Trump's second inauguration, with liberal patients fearful of what was to come. But other therapists say conservatives are also seeking help more often because of political despair. Political anxiety seems to affect both camps.
"The vast majority of people are affected in one way or another by politics. And that's more true today than ever before," says New York City therapist Melissa Tihinen of her clients at Downtown Psychological Services.
Public opinion polls back this up: 65 percent of Americans said last year that politics was a significant source of stress in their lives, according to a survey by the American Psychological Association. In fact, the top cause of stress was worry about the future of the country, at 76 percent, more than the economy, work, or money. Therapists say those numbers have often been high, but it’s only recently that this worry is actually driving clients to their offices, a shift fueled by both the decreasing stigma of mental health care and the sense that some people are reaching their breaking point.
As a result, therapists are adapting, and some have begun to specialize in the field. Within her practice, Calkins is tasked with treating clients seeking help for political anxiety, including how it impacts other life stressors. Others in the profession see political anxiety as such a widespread issue that they believe every therapist should learn how to address it in their sessions. Tihinen says her practice has held staff meetings dedicated to the best ways to deal with political anxiety.
A number of state psychological associations in the U.S. have also organized seminars to address how politics is reshaping Americans’ mental health, amid growing demand from therapists. The seminars, hosted by political scientist Kevin Smith of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and psychologist Brett Ford of the University of Toronto, feature research on political anxiety to help therapists navigate the issue within their practices.
"For people for whom politics is more stressful, I talk about the strategies they use to cope with this stress. Identifying ways to cope with political stress without completely detaching and walking away," says Ford.
The rise of political anxiety represents a remarkable development in American life. The climate is so polarized, and the news and politics have become such a constant and personal presence in our lives, that large swaths of the country feel emotionally drained and fearful. So much so that they need the help of mental health professionals to cope. This is a troubling shift, not just for millions of individuals, but for the country as a whole. If civic life is defined by such chronic stress, can American democracy function healthily in the long run?
It was the war in Iran that sent Joe into an anxiety spiral this time.
Headlines about American bombings, images of Tehran shrouded in smoke, social media posts predicting another long war in the Middle East all exacerbated his anxiety. He felt the need to discuss it with his therapist.
“Fytyra ime ishte bërë krejt e kuqe. Po dridhesha”, kujton Joe, mbiemri i të cilit nuk bëhet publik sepse kishte frikë nga ngacmimet për pikëpamjet e tij politike. Ai thotë se nuk ka qenë gjithmonë kështu. Dy vite më parë, ngjarjet aktuale dhe politika nuk dominonin kohën e tij me terapistin. Tani kjo ka ndryshuar plotësisht.
Terapistët thonë se po shohin gjithnjë e më shumë klientë si Joe, të cilët diskutojnë çështje politike gjatë pjesës më të madhe të seancave, ose klientë që kërkojnë terapi për herë të parë vetëm për shkak të ankthit politik.
Shkaktari më i shpeshtë? Ngjarjet e mëdha politike.
“E gjitha lidhet me mungesën e kontrollit ose një lloj pafuqie, që kjo po ndodh dhe unë nuk mund të ndikoj në rezultat. Pavarësisht çfarë bëj, asgjë nuk do të ndihmojë”, thotë Calkins.
Ngjarjet e fundit që kanë sjellë rritje të klientëve përfshijnë luftën në Iran, goditjet e ICE në Minesota dhe fjalimin e Trumpit për Gjendjen e Unionit, të gjitha duke shtuar ndjenjat e dëshpërimit tek ata në të majtë që nuk pajtohen me administratën aktuale.
Megjithatë, terapistët që kanë shumë klientë konservatorë thonë se edhe ata po shohin rritje të njerëzve të mbingarkuar nga lajmet dhe që përpiqen të kuptojnë botën përreth.
“Mendoj se ekziston kjo dinamikë interesante ku klientët e mi liberalë mendojnë se republikanët janë të lumtur tani. Por kjo nuk është domosdoshmërisht e vërtetë”, thotë Adam Luke, terapist nga Tenesi dhe pjesë e një rrjeti terapistësh konservatorë.
Luke thotë se klientët e tij konservatorë ndiejnë të njëjtën pafuqishmëri si homologët liberalë, qoftë për shkak të reagimit të dobët të Uashingtonit ndaj “dosjeve Epstein”, qoftë për shkak të dështimit të republikanëve për të miratuar reformën zgjedhore SAVE Act.
“Po marr gjithnjë e më shumë njerëz, republikanë që kanë votuar tri herë për Trumpin dhe tani janë jashtëzakonisht të zhgënjyer me partinë e tyre sepse, edhe pse partia e tyre është në pushtet, ata nuk ndihen të dëgjuar. Klientët e mi në të 60-at thonë: ‘Për 40 ose 50 vite kam besuar te sistemi. Tani nuk besoj më. Kjo është hera e fundit që do të votoj”, thotë Luke.
Një arsye kyçe pse njerëzit ndihen më të ankthshëm për politikën, deri në pikën e kërkimit të ndihmës profesionale, është se ajo është bërë shumë personale. Debatet politike bëhen më urgjente kur lidhen me identitetin personal.
Alan Jacobson, terapist familjar nga Bostoni, i cili thotë se tani pothuajse ekskluzivisht trajton klientë me vështirësi emocionale për shkak të politikës, vëren se shumë njerëz e shohin politikën si çështje morali. Me rrezikun që perceptohet kaq i lartë dhe me hiperpolarizimin në rritje, përplasjet personale mbi politikën bëhen të pashmangshme, gjë që çon në më shumë izolim dhe përfundimisht më shumë ankth.
“Frika është fjala kyçe këtu. Dhe kur kemi frikë, të gjitha emocionet tona intensifikohen ndjeshëm.”, thotë Jacobson.
Another major factor in the rise of political anxiety is the constant access to content: TV shows, newspapers, podcasts, and social media bombard people with news and commentary at unprecedented levels, leaving them emotionally exhausted. In fact, therapists say one trait was common to almost all clients with political anxiety: they consumed news intensely.
“They have CNN or Fox News on in the background 12 hours a day. So one of my first interventions is: turn off the TV and watch just one hour a week, just the main news. You don’t need to hear the same details over and over again. That increases anxiety ,” says Jason Odegaard, a therapist with clients in seven US states, from Florida to California.
Beyond recommending a media “detox,” therapists have other prescriptions. Some talk about radical acceptance: the art of coming to terms with situations that cannot be controlled, so that the inability to change them does not turn into suffering. Others suggest changing the way you activism, for example by writing letters to legislators instead of participating in protests.
But if civic engagement increasingly requires emotional coping strategies, what does long-term participation in democracy look like for a stressed and divided public?
The worst-case scenario for the country, if not for the individual psyche, is total withdrawal.
"One of the most common ways to manage anxiety is avoidance. When anxiety is combined with despair and a sense of helplessness, it creates the perfect storm for a mass disengagement from politics," says Ford, the University of Toronto psychologist who runs the workshops for therapists.
However, this is not necessarily America’s fate. Political anxiety is essentially a form of chronic stress, the kind that permeates everyday life, and people are surprisingly resilient to chronic stress. This is especially true, Ford says, if they pursue the right coping strategies, whether it’s finding small ways to remain civically engaged or practicing radical acceptance when necessary.
However, these therapists are unlikely to run out of patients anytime soon. Certainly not as long as every election is seen as a battle with huge consequences by both political parties.
"I think the impact of politics on well-being will be strong this year and it will probably be even worse in 2028 ," says Smith. / Adapted from "Pamphlet", from "Politico"
Lini një Përgjigje