Election anxiety: A neuroscience perspective

In America, tensions rise in the final year of a mandate, but here, it feels like we’re in a constant electoral campaign, with nonstop political chatter both in public and on social media, reflecting our heightened anxiety

By Dr R Neerunjun Gopee

I haven’t come across anybody mentioning let alone speaking about ‘election anxiety’ in our country, where talk about politics seems to be the national pastime. Which reminds me of what a friend from then Rhodesia who like me was studying in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in the mid-1960s once told us: ‘The national game in England is football. In Africa instead we play politics!’

“Political actions generate anxiety about not only survival for some categories of the citizenry but also about the mode and quality of life for others. As Michael Merzenich, a neuroscientist, explains, ‘worry stems from the brain’s rather remarkable ability to foresee and reflexively respond to threat.’ This results in what is known as the ‘flight or fight’ reaction or stress response that triggers specific regions in our brain to stimulate the production of the stress hormones cortisol, adrenaline and adrenaline in the body…” Pic – Smithsonian Magazine-Getty Images

So, I was a little surprised when I came across the expression election anxiety for the first time in one of the medical websites that I consult regularly. This was in an article by a neuroscientist, Michael Merzenich, last month, ‘Navigating Election Anxiety: How Worry Affects the Brain.’ The opening lines read as follows:

 ‘Once again, America is deeply divided before a national election, with people on each side convinced of the horrors that will be visited upon us if the other side wins.

”Tis the season — and regrettably, not to be jolly but to be worried.

‘As a neuroscientist, I am especially aware of the deleterious mental and physical impact of chronic worry on our citizenry. That’s because worry is not “all in your head.” Chronic mild stress drives a panoply of negative changes in your body and brain that add to your risk for physical and neurologic troubles. We modern humans live in a world of worry which appears to be progressively growing.’

It takes a neuroscientist to detail the chain of brain events associated with anxiety that has a deleterious impact on other parts of the body. But first, given that anxiety is primarily a mental problem, let us see what a psychologist and a psychiatrist have said about election anxiety earlier.

The psychologist wrote: ‘The presidential election is taking a toll on the mental health of Americans. And that’s according to recent surveys conducted before the attempt on one candidate’s life and widespread calls for another to drop out of the race.

‘In a poll by the American Psychiatric Association, nearly three-quarters (73%) of respondents said they’re feeling anxious about the election. Another poll by Myriad Genetics found that nearly 40% said they are feeling anxious and/or depressed about the election season, and a similar share said they are “checked out” by the amount of news and social media attention on politics and the upcoming election.’

As for the psychiatrist, he begins with: ‘Instead of excitement about the upcoming election, many of my patients and friends – regardless of political affiliation – report they’re terrified at the thought of the “other side” winning. Democrats tell me they fear Donald Trump will end our democracy; Republicans are afraid Kamala Harris will turn the United States into a socialist society without family values.

‘Watching the news leaves people from both parties exhausted, sad and scared about the future. Each half of the country is made to believe the other half is stupid, deeply misguided, immoral, dishonest or maliciously plotting to ruin the country they themselves love.’

It is noteworthy that these opinions come from and are about America, where they have both the resources and the interest to conduct such studies and surveys but given that human nature is the same everywhere we can safely assume that their findings may well have a wider resonance in politics elsewhere too.

Maybe in future such surveys may be carried out in Mauritius also. At least in America things get heated up in the last year of the mandate, but here we seem to be in permanent electoral campaign. There is constant chatter about politics, politicians and elections among the public, but also an overload of bla-bla-bla on social media that is a reflection of our anxiety level.

Part of the anxiety in the US may probably be ascribed to the persistent rumours that there may be foreign interference in their election process, and which way this can tilt the results is uncertain. This uncertainty is leading to fear and further anxiety.

Another problem that has been flagged is voting by illegals that have crossed the southern border of the US by the millions apparently. In Mauritius too there was much worry about fraudulent voting by foreign workers in the last election, as well as tampering with the counting process. However, attempts to settle the matter legally have not resulted in any more clarity, and this gives rise to even more anxiety regarding future elections.

For the past several months there has been speculation about whether a partial election will be held, if so when, and if not, when will the Parliament be dissolved, and general elections held. So widely has this been talked about that one wonders if there was any anticipatory election anxiety component at all affecting the population over this period.

Or, for that matter, about the outcome of the next general elections. Past experience has shown that we end up with changes of regime that eventually repeat what they criticized in their predecessors. Under the circumstances, election anxiety may persist subliminally as people resign themselves to seeing more of the same thing, which they had expected would happen.Read More… Become a Subscriber

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 29 September 2024