Taking care of yourself and others during election season (original) (raw)

Temple experts offer guidance and resources for faculty and staff to handle fears and stress about the election.

Designed by Andrew Collette

Elections stir up many emotions, including fear, anger, hope and disappointment, among other strong feelings. In a 2024 mental health poll from the American Psychiatric Association, nearly three-quarters (73%) of U.S. adults said they’re anxious about the 2024 presidential election.

We seek to anticipate possible challenging situations faculty may grapple with in their classrooms so that they have access to strategies for managing them productively and effectively."

-- Stephanie Fiore, associate vice provost and senior director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching

And given that Pennsylvania is a key battleground state that could help determine the country’s next president, residents may be feeling even more stressed.

Professor of Political Science Robin Kolodny encourages putting things into perspective. “Often it’s your local and state governments that affect your daily life,” she said. “Be honest about what these particular policies and laws mean for you in Philadelphia, for example.”

She also urges to avoid isolation. “In stressful situations we tend to withdraw. Think about the issues that matter to you the most and join a group that supports those causes. There are places all over campus to learn how to become part of various organizations, even if it’s just to make a new friend and ponder ‘what do we do now?’”

As the election approaches, it’s becoming increasingly important to practice self-care and support those who are struggling during this time.

Associate Vice Provost of Temple’s Health and Well-being Division Mark Denys advises first to take a moment to identify your biggest sources of political stress, including tough family conversations, concerns about new potential legislation or fear over future world events. Then notice when this stress occurs. Is it present when having difficult conversations, scrolling through social media or watching the news?

“Much of what we hear from social media and news reports focuses on the extremes,” said Denys. “Most of us have far more in common than we would think from listening to the news and checking social media.”

It’s also important to identify these triggers and develop a self-care plan, explained Denys. “Acknowledge the negative feelings, process them and set them aside. It takes practice,” he said.

Denys offers the following ideas for a self-care plan.

• Establish boundaries.
• Limit social media. Social media accounts can also be set up to reduce and/or restrict political content.
• Schedule a midday walk, and keep your phone in your pocket.
• Set up a scheduled time to block apps and notifications.

He also suggests various ways to alleviate stress such as FaceTiming a friend, reading a book, practicing mindfulness, taking a walk, writing down how you’re feeling and watching funny videos. According to Denys, these activities can help shift attention and reduce the body’s stress response.

Avoiding difficult conversations when you’re tired, on edge or already stressed can be helpful as well. “Rather than defending yourself or trying to persuade someone to agree with you, start conversations with curiosity and respect and try to avoid judging,” said Denys. “Use prompts such as, ‘Can you help me understand the way you think about this?’ or, ‘How would you describe your perspective?’”

Focusing on controlling what you can is another way to take care of yourself: Become civically engaged, vote, volunteer with an organization you care about or work the polls.

Denys recommends these resources as well.

• Welltrack Boost is a self-guided, clinically supported set of digital tools and resources used to assess and understand behavioral health. The service allows people to track their mood, deal with stress and anxiety, connect with resources, and much more. Temple faculty and staff can access the app using their temple.edu email address.
• The TELUS Health Employee Assistance Program offers free, confidential counseling; consultations; referrals; and online access to various articles, toolkits, podcasts, webinars and more.
• Temple Votes is a nonpartisan initiative led by students, faculty, administrators and voter education organizations providing comprehensive information on voter registration, education and mobilization.
• Mindful.org includes sections on how to be mindful at work, at home and in your life. It has wonderful how-to guides on mindfulness practice and articles from thought leaders in the field.
• This NPR article features tips to bridge the political divide.

Additionally, Temple’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching (CAT) provides an election resource guide—created by Linda Hasunuma, associate director of inclusion initiatives at the CAT—that comprises resources for faculty in preparation for difficult discussions and hot moments as well as teaching about the election both before and after. It also shares how to help students evaluate mis/disinformation that can sometimes contribute to these more intense exchanges or tensions in class during election season. Leading up to the election, the center offers workshops to provide community and a safe space for faculty to share their teaching concerns related to the election.

Hasunuma also recommends the following to keep in mind.

• Faculty can be proactive and plan ahead to minimize or manage tension in the classroom over discussions or heated moments about the election and prepare themselves and their students by creating ground rules for respectful discussion.
• Faculty can also be intentional about building community for themselves in their departments and/or at the CAT so that if stressful teaching challenges develop related to the election, they know who to turn to and what resources are available to them. It sometimes helps to work through these challenges together so that you’re not alone or acting alone. Getting insights, advice and perspective from colleagues and having community during this time can be helpful for teaching through a stressful election cycle.

“At the CAT, we seek to anticipate possible challenging situations faculty may grapple with in their classrooms so that they have access to strategies for managing them productively and effectively,” said Stephanie Fiore, associate vice provost and senior director of the CAT. “These situations are often ones that involve divergent strong opinions, emotions stemming from a tragic or traumatic event or any topic of discussion that has the potential to create a hostile environment in the classroom. Faculty tell us that thinking about these strategies supported them in these moments in meaningful ways.”

Faculty can reach out to the CAT for additional opportunities to meet and talk before and after the election.