Dealing with Political Stress in Washington, DC and Chevy Chase, Maryland
March 7, 2025 | By Carissa Hannum
The Emotions Related to Political Stress and Anxiety in the DMV
There is no question that living in the DC area after the most recent election, corresponding inauguration, and the consistent political strife has been, well, stressful! Consistently, whether I’m providing therapy to current clients or with personal friends, people are feeling emotionally overwhelmed, stressed about the future, hopeless about political change, or even worried about their personal needs with regards to politics.
Normally, a topic of conversation within the DC area or any area tends to be, “What do you do for a living?”. I have noticed a personal shift since January’s presidential inauguration, and now the question has become, “Is your job impacted by the current presidential policies, have you lost your job, or is your job safe at the moment?”.
Many clients have reported the DMV area to feel emotionally “heavy”. The general worry, stress, anxiety, sadness, anger, grief, and overwhelm is a palpable feeling within the area. Clients have felt glued to their phones or email exploring if they or their family will have a job tomorrow, checking the price of groceries or other necessities will be financially impacted, or playing what if scenarios through their head as to what they would do if their mental health medications suddenly disappeared with policy changes.
Not to mention, there has been the reality that families' lives have been quickly changed overnight. Many individuals within the DMV have encountered losing the ability to take necessary hormones, cancer clinical trials have been stopped, or employment has been terminated. Emotionally, the world has felt like a lot to sit with and tolerate.
The Need for Self-Care & Coping with Political Stress and Anxiety
Quite frankly, the political news is always changing. However, the consistency and intensity of the political news as well as the reality that people’s lives have quickly changed in the last month and a half can lead to catastrophic thinking and mood issues. It is important now more than ever to find ways to take care of yourself and your mental health in the face of political stress and overwhelm. Although these skills cannot always lead to change around political policies, finding ways to take care of yourself can lead to positive change and action. At times, taking care of yourself and finding appropriate coping skills is the most radical thing you can do when feeling torn down, anxious, or even depressed, or experiencing any other mood issues.
Coping Strategies for Political Stress and Anxiety
The following are several ways that can help mitigate political stress and anxiety:
Engage in Self Care
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When I was in graduate school, our professors consistently discussed the importance of self-care. At the time, it was so consistent that we heard the term self-care that it became annoying! However, when dealing with political stress, finding appropriate ways to practice self-care is necessary. Self-care is the way an individual practices and takes steps to preserve their physical, emotional, and relational wellbeing. When envisioning self-care, I think many people envision getting a manicure or taking a bubble bath. Although those things can very well be self-care, I would take some time and identify what feels meaningful and nourishing self-care to you. What activities “fill you up” and nourish your energy? The following is a wonderful list from the APA called the Pleasant Activities List. This list has 282 possible self-care activities to explore as possible activities to practice meaningful self-care.
Spend Time with Like-minded individuals
Something I have personally enjoyed and helps me cope with my own stress around politics is spending time with individuals that feel the same and have the same beliefs as I. Although I do find benefit in talking to others that have different beliefs, when experiencing stress and overwhelm due to politics, it is very easy to judge yourself or feel that your emotions are “too much”. Talking to others and providing you with empathy and connection that can regulate your nervous system in these experiences. Find friends or even join a group that allows you a safe space to explore your emotions, thoughts and feelings about politics.
Turning Stress into Meaningful Action
One of the ways that stress, overwhelm, grief, and sadness can start to manifest is through anger. Anger can feel burdensome to the individual experiencing this emotion. Many clients frequently tell me that they don’t know what to do with their anger. Anger as an emotion tells us that we were “wronged”, and something isn’t right about a situation. Frequently, anger can be used to lead to positive change or meaningful action. Take some time and decide what you want to do with your anger if this is an emotion that you are experiencing. You don’t have to react to your anger right away. Take some time and explore what you are angry about so that you can respond in a way that feels meaningful for you. Some of my clients have enjoyed volunteering for an organization that aligns with their values, joining a peaceful protest, or writing to their senators. Take some time to explore what you value and ways you may be able to put those values into daily actions.
Practice Mindfulness
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Mindfulness is the practice of intentionally being in the present moment on purpose. Mindfulness allows us to be in the present moment in a non-judgmental way, while being aware of what is happening internally with our own emotions as well as the external world around us.
When experiencing political stress, we very quickly can be wrapped up in our fears, concerns, and worries that we suddenly are not in the present moment or living intentionally in our lives. Our emotions, although helpful and needed, can sometimes feel as if they have a mind of their own. Maybe you can remember a time that your anxiety or sadness took over in a way that made it difficult to stay present in the world around you.
When wrapped up in your anxiety about the future or what has already happened in the past, take some time to breathe and focus on your breath. Then, utilize the space around you to create a mindfulness practice. Here are some possible mindfulness activities to begin your practice from the online platform Therapist Aid.
Try to Disrupt Thinking Traps
Political stress and overwhelm can lead to catastrophic thinking patterns. These patterns frequently look like thinking the worst about a scenario. Although some of these thinking patterns can be based upon reality, catastrophic thinking doesn’t always consider the whole picture. Some catastrophic thinking patterns that you might be experiencing are “I’m going to lose my job”, “I’m going to lose my house”, “I won’t be able to buy groceries”, or many others. I find that catastrophic thinking is rooted in anxiety and stress patterns. Anxiety doesn’t always allow us to know/recognize what our emotional tolerance skills are or what we would do in those fear-based situations. Take some time and realistically explore what you would do in these situations. Recognize that you do have strengths to deal with this stressful experience or people on your side to support you.
When experiencing catastrophic thinking take some time and recognize what thoughts tend to be thoughts that you get “trapped” or stuck in. What are other ways of viewing or interpreting this situation? At times you might be able to challenge these thoughts. What is the reality of these thoughts or situations? Is my thought based upon fact or fiction? This socratic questioning worksheet can be helpful when trying to look at the full picture of an emotional situation or dealing with thinking trap thoughts about politics.
Take Breaks and Set Boundaries with Social Media and the News
As I stated earlier, the news and social media have been inundated with politics. Some days it feels that there is a new breaking news story related to politics every 30 minutes. That is highly stressful! What I suggest to my clients and even try to practice myself is to set boundaries and take breaks from social media and the news. Generally, for myself, after a long day of work, my nervous system is generally more activated and stimulated. Because of this, I’m more likely to get overwhelmed by news stories or things that feel out of my control. This is something that I know about myself. For this reason, I don’t watch the news at night. Try to think about how your emotions may impact your news and social media consumption. Are there times of days you might want to set boundaries around your consumption? Maybe you also want to set social media time limits on your phone or vow to not comment on political media. Take some time to explore what would be useful to you and your emotions.
Set Boundaries in Relationships
Do not be afraid to set boundaries with others and yourself when dealing with politics. It is okay to tell people no or that you don’t want to talk about politics at the moment. I promise you are still a good person! Generally, those that allow themselves to have boundaries for themselves and others tend to feel less shame overall. Spend some time identifying your morals and values and choose behaviors that are in line with your values. If something does not fit in with your values, it is okay to set a boundary in that situation, even if it is with a family member. Some boundaries may look like, “I would prefer not to talk about politics with you” or “I can’t come out tonight, thank you for inviting me”. Do whatever you need to do to take care of yourself right now.
Create a Coping Plan
Personally, I enjoy helping my clients create their very own plan for how to deal with their emotions around politics. When creating your own coping plan first, write down a list of things about politics that may trigger you emotionally or that you have difficulty tolerating. Once you have these triggers, write down for each trigger a coping skill or a few that you can use to help you feel more able to tolerate the situation. Coping skills can range from mindfulness to self-compassion, to calling a friend, to journaling, to even setting a boundary and walking away. This is another example of knowing your limits during interactions.
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Coping plans are meant to be fluid. Just because a coping plan skill didn’t work for you the first time, you can always build upon the plan or change the plan as you learn about yourself and your emotions. Finally, write a list of people you know are in your corner. These are people you can call on if you need to talk through a situation, need to ask for help, or need support around some of the anxieties and fears. Keep your coping plan with you and reference it when you need it. Some of my clients enjoy creating a section on their coping plan to identify maladaptive coping mechanisms they have used in the past. Some maladaptive ways clients have identified they deal with political stress which include isolation, avoidance, eating disorder behaviors, alcohol, or any other behaviors that don’t feel in line with their values. It is helpful to create a “what you need to do section” creating ways that you know help you get back on track once you utilize a behavior that doesn’t align with your values.
Continue to Create and Stick to a Daily Structure
Generally, the tendency when feeling overwhelmed and fearful is to deviate from your daily structure. However, keeping a structure and sticking to a plan can reduce anxiety and help you feel calmer. Try to keep yourself to a similar eating and sleeping schedule (of course there can be some flexibility!). Plan in time for self-care! Many people forget that self-care and self-love allows you to respect yourself and allows your body to recuperate and tolerate emotions better. In addition to self-care, try to also incorporate a time where you might check in with your emotions, journal, and practice self-compassion and mindfulness. You may feel selfish about scheduling this time for yourself and maybe even guilty in the short term, but in the long term, you will feel more confident approaching stressful situations related to politics.
Wrapping Up
Politics can be stressful no matter where you live, but working, living, or attending school in the DMV has been overwhelming for many individuals. Finding a plan that works for you to deal with any and all emotions that you may be experiencing can be helpful. If you need to you can always reach out and speak to a clinician to help you manage your emotions around political stress and overwhelm.
Join Our Free Online Therapy Support Group for Government Workers
If you’re feeling the weight of political stress, career uncertainty, or the emotional toll of working in government, you don’t have to navigate it alone. Monarch Wellness & Psychotherapy is offering a free online support group for government workers. See the flyer below for more details.
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