Get Election Stress Relief

7/27/2012
If the 2012 election campaigns are causing you angst, anger or apathy. You may be normal. It is normal to feel these things whenever divisiveness is offered as the catalyst for participation. As it goes for the upcoming 2012 elections. And between now and November, the volume is certainly going to be turned up.

It will be turned up via television and radio commercials and conversations in the office and in the neighborhood. The news (mainstream, cable and print) will cover each word (in and out of context). Your phones will ring with campaign support and survey requests; they are immune from the Do Not Call Registry. Even your mail box will be filled with “Urgent” requests for support.

Tis the season of political angst, anger and apathy. You’re normal, even if you don’t feel like your normal self. Understanding this latter, we’ve put together a few nuggets to relieve the stress, and hopefully, turn angst, anger and apathy into action.

Here are a few strategies to turn Stress into Relief.

Stress: “The stakes could never be higher.”
Relief: Every election at every level is always important. Yet, to the folks heavily invested in a particular election such as the candidates themselves and any special interest groups supporting the candidate / promised perk to special interest groups, the stakes are indeed high. We, as voters, can understand the heightened sense of urgency these folks may feel, but we don’t have to take on their desperation.

Stress: I am tired, so very tired, of the partisan politics.
Relief: Vote for the candidate/party most likely to act on behalf of all Americans. And tell them so. Tell them you have or are going to vote for the most bi-partisan candidate. Further more, tell them you’ll support bi-partisan solutions following the vote. After all, once the votes are cast and election is over, elected officials want your support, desperately.

Stress: Candidates appear untruthful. I don’t know who I can believe.
Relief: There is an old adage that goes something like…Who you are and what you have done speaks so loud I cannot hear a word you say. Take a look at what a candidate has actually done…for better or for worse.

Stress: I loathe discussing politics.
Relief: Don’t. Talk issues not candidates. Issues last longer than candidates, or unfortunately politicians. And it is the issues that affect us most. The more we can talk about and become informed about issues, the quicker they can be resolved for the benefit of all in our nation.
Consider this: A society that cannot talk about the issues facing it, it not a free society.

Stress: The media is a turnoff. Each seems so one sided. Some are just plain extremist.
Relief: Yep. Controversy sells, but you don’t have to buy it. You can either turn it off, or flip back and forth between bias stations to get a more full picture on any issue. The different views may give you the more complete story on any one issue.