Mental Health Resources for Election Years

When I joined Holistic Consultation in 2016, I was not aware of how often politics and election stress would come up in my therapy sessions. While it was frequent in 2016, it has become increasingly present over the years. My personal and professional values align with staying engaged, aware, and involved in what is happening. In addition to my clinical work at Holistic Consultation, I am involved in advocacy work with the OH chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

I want to encourage everyone to be involved in the election and also be aware that this involvement can impact your mental health.  It is important to take care of yourself and set boundaries with yourself and others around how you engage with the news and the political process. There are many topics that come up that can trigger stress and trauma responses. One of the things I have noticed over the years is how previous trauma can be triggered when discussing laws that impact our bodily autonomy. Identifying this trigger and response can be incredibly helpful in re-regulating our nervous systems.

We don’t always get to consent to what news we hear, but it is absolutely OK to leave a conversation or set a boundary that you do not want to engage in a conversation about a specific topic.

As a reminder, setting boundaries around who you talk to about things will help preserve relationships. 

It can be helpful to set rules or expectations about conversations in advance. For instance, if someone wants to talk about my advocacy work, I may be open to discussing the legislation and issues. However, if they want to argue or debate my view point I likely am not open to that type of discussion and choose to leave the conversation.

Social media creates different challenges with how we engage with the news. I recommend having time limits on how long you are on social media, think about who you are following and whether you want that information to show up in your feed randomly vs do you intentionally seek it out when prepared.

When I talk about boundaries with news, I often get questions about where to get news and how to engage with biased or misleading news sources. Recently, I saw an infographic from the News Literacy Project shared on social media frequently about vetting news sources. I recommend taking a look at some of their other resources around combating misinformation and bias in news.

Election Resources

While the emphasis is often on federal and presidential elections. All levels of elections are absolutely important as we elect all of our US Representatives (and this year in OH we are electing 1 of our 2 US Senators). At the state level we are electing ½ of our state senators (this year it is those in even districts) and all of our state representatives. It can feel overwhelming to stay informed and find accurate information about the elections.

While, VoteOhio.gov is a great place to stay informed about the election, it can still feel daunting to figure out what to do.

First, I recommend everyone check their voter registration and encourage others to do the same. If you aren’t registered to vote, get registered, If you want to vote on Nov 5, 2024 you must be registered in Ohio by Oct. 7, 2024.

If you encounter problems with voting or have questions, Election Protection has a lot of resources.

Secondly, become familiar with what is on the ballot. Below are some links that may be helpful. 

• This map has information on who represents you in Ohio. The 2024 map tells you who represents you now and the 2025 map tells you which district will represent you in 2025. 
• As we near the election, the county Board of Elections will have more information, including a sample ballot.
• Ohio’s branch of League of Women’s Voters (they are non-partisan meaning they don’t take a stance on a specific candidate but do on certain issues). 
• Ballotpedia (they have A LOT of information on elections and the electoral process)
• Additionally, the Citizens Not Politicians Amendment will make it onto the ballot.

Many advocacy groups put out “score cards” for the various candidates; these can be incredibly helpful if the mission of the advocacy group is important to you.This blog was written by Holistic Consultation clinician, Erica Kittleson.

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