How to Stay Calm with an Upcoming Election

It’s that time of year again – every four years. Presidential election season is upon us and in full swing.

No matter how you look at 2020, it’s clear no one could have predicted how this year would play out. The same is true for the upcoming election: while we can take guesses, no one really knows what the next month will bring.

As humans, our natural response to uncertainty is to fear what could happen. As a retiree or pre-retiree, you might feel anxious about how your retirement future could change.

How can you deal with your worry, stress, or anxiety? Here’s three things to try:

Breathe

It’s normal to feel panicked about what could happen if your preferred candidate doesn’t win. Whenever you start to feel extremely worried, the first step to calming down is to make yourself breathe. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Keep going until you feel less anxious. Many have found prompts from technology like an Apple Watch help them remember to take deep breaths regularly. A good walk outside can help, too!

Focus on What You Can Control

There are some things in life you can control, but there are many other things you can’t. A big key to thriving in life is figuring out the difference. Once you’ve realized something is completely outside your control, you no longer have a reason to worry about it.

The truth is you alone cannot control who wins this election. What you can control is who you vote for and how you respond to whoever wins. That’s it! That truth may not make you feel any better right away, but at least now you can remind yourself, “That is not something I can control. I no longer have to worry about it. It is out of my hands.”

Limit Social Media

One of the greatest sources of anxiety today is the abundance of information through social media. Facebook, Twitter, and all the other platforms are designed to keep your attention by scrolling to the next tantalizing bit of news. Too much information leads to stress and anxiety.

Social media has great benefits, too, like keeping up with friends and family. But one of the most important things you can do in this season is limit how much social media you consume. If you’re spending hours per day on Facebook, we recommend you cut down on that time considerably and fill it with something more relaxing!

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