Election Notebook Week 7: Feeling stressed? Here's some help

This week: A look at how to manage the stress you might be feeling in the next two weeks before the election.

But first, let's take a look at how many people in northern Michigan have already voted.

Ballots coming back

The state is keeping track of the ballots coming in through an online dashboard, and as of Tuesday, 14 percent of all registered voters in the whole state have cast their ballots.

Over half of all absentee ballots have returned in most counties in our region of Northwest Michigan.

We won't have the results of those ballots until Election Day, but it goes to show there are plenty of ways to vote before then.

Speaking of which, in most counties, early in person starts Saturday.

You can find information on times and polling places with a quick address search on Michigan's Department of State website.

Now, let's get real for a minute. Election season is stressful.

It's hard not to feel overwhelmed by the ads, the deadlines and the news cycle.

Kevin Smith is a professor of political science at the University of Nebraska, and has written about election-related post-traumatic stress from the 2020 presidential election. He gave us some advice on how to take care of yourself during the next few weeks.

Here's a transcript of Prof. Kevin Smith's conversation with IPR's Michael Livingston. The interview has been edited for clarity and for length. You can also listen to it in the audio player above.

MICHAEL LIVINGSTON: To start us off, is it true that mental health can deteriorate around election time?

KEVIN SMITH: Yeah, and not only do I think that and feel that, I think there's quite a good deal of evidence out there that's been compiled over the past five to 10 years that suggests elections do increase stress, anxiety, perhaps even depression, amongst sections of the electorate.

LIVINGSTON: Why is that?

SMITH: Well, paying attention to and engaging in politics essentially acts as a chronic form of stress. It's a negative emotional stimulus that is virtually impossible to escape from during election season. I mean, if you turn on your TV, you're bombarded with political ads, most of them negative.

We all have these super computers in our pockets these days with social media feeds that are constantly pinging and telling us that, oh, you know, if so and so is elected, it's going to be an existential crisis, or something along those lines.

LIVINGSTON: We live in this 24-hour information overload right now, and that doesn't necessarily mean we're always getting good information. How do we stay plugged into what's going on without getting overwhelmed?

SMITH: That's a terrific question, and in some ways it's the $64,000 question, because we actually know how to prevent the negative toll on well being that comes from politics. It's just: Don't pay attention to politics or get engaged civically.

... That might be good for your individual mental health, but it's terrible for civic health.

And I think the best piece of advice that I can say there is, stay informed, but don't make a day-long habit of it. I think part of the problem that's going on here is people are plugging into information constantly.

LIVINGSTON: This is also a time when barriers go up between some of our closest family and friends and neighbors. How do we maintain our relationships when things can seem so tense all the time?

SMITH: If you engage with people on politics who disagree with you, my advice is to come at it from a perspective of curiosity. You know, why do you think that way? Is there anything that would make you change your mind? And certainly don't go into it from the perspective of, "I'm going to convince you to change your mind, and if you don't change your mind, you're a terrible person." I mean, that's guaranteed to set up some pretty tense social exchanges.

LIVINGSTON: Yeah, it sounds like having those interactions that come from curiosity are the best way to get in front of all these negative feelings.

SMITH: Yeah, and I mean, somewhere along the line, for whatever reason, we seem to have lost that ability. We all seem to be increasingly willing to stay in our own bubbles, rather than purposefully trying to connect with people that we're different from on whatever political issue or whatever political candidate. And I just think that's sad.

The example that I give is that I'm a fanatical Dallas Cowboys fan. And, you know what, I think the world's a better place with New York fans and Philly fans and Washington fans in it. And I wish people, more people, could certainly take that attitude towards their politics.

LIVINGSTON: Even Lions fans, after last week's game?

SMITH: I might have to make an exception for the Lions.

Kevin Smith, is a professor who studies differences in political attitudes and behavior at the University of Nebraska.

That's all for this week — just under two weeks until Election Day.

If you do want to talk local politics, candidates, or ballot measures, send us suggestions for this segment to ipr@interlochen.org.

Need info on where and how you can cast a ballot? Check out our Oct. 9 episode.