How to Stop Worrying About Politics

At press, presidential inauguration day of 2025 has just come to pass. For some it’s a time of celebration. For others, it’s the culmination of election anxiety that was felt through much of 2024. Meanwhile, many on both sides of the socio-political spectrum are experiencing unexpected feelings of uncertainty, anxiety, and stress. What will newly instated executive orders and policies bring? Will there be civil unrest? How will foreign allies and enemies alike respond? What will happen with the economy? For millions of Americans these questions (and more) weigh heavy on the mind. You’re among this large group, but fortunately recognize that allowing negative feelings to persist will continue to compromise your mental wellbeing. As a result you’re online and searching for help on how to stop worrying about politics so that you can be free to live a happier, healthier, and more productive life. As one of the country’s foremost behavioral health support providers Kindbridge has laid out an effective itinerary to follow that will help you accomplish your worthy goal.

5 Steps to Keeping Negative Feelings About Politics from Compromising Your Mental Health


Step 1: Disconnect from Media (just for now)

You already know that the 24-hour news cycle plays a big role in your negative feelings about politics. You also know that any strategy to mitigate negative feelings about politics must involve better management of time spent being exposed to this news cycle. From the American Psychological Association (view more) to researchers at the University of Michigan Medicine (view more) all indicate exposure to media coverage about politics should be reduced. If you need added motivation, consider how the public is being manipulated to participate in unhealthy political discourse. Around the clock media coverage of political events along with pundit opinions and commentary are layered with verbiage known to trigger strong, aggressive, and negative emotions to promote metrics that garner advertiser interest. Yes, ad revenues are generated by the likes, dislikes, upvotes, downvotes, and arguments in the comment sections of streaming and viewing platforms. Your anger and anxiety, and the anger/anxiety of your fellow Americans, are being monetized at the expense of the nation’s collective mental health.

Do you need to blackout the media in perpetuity? No. But until you learn coping strategies to better manage feelings and emotions that arise from viewing it’s a good idea to disconnect. We understand that it’s not always practical, especially if your profession demands that you remain somewhat engaged with social networks (which is media in modern times). The good news is that there are steps you can take to take a break from media without going cold turkey. View our guide for How to Take a Mental Health Break from Media, When You Can’t.

Step 2: Request a Ceasefire Among Friends and Family

Send an e-vite or start a text thread between friends and family that in a heartfelt manner requests that you collectively agree to leave politics off the table for all future gatherings. This request for a ceasefire can be made between you and a given individual, or an entire group, depending upon what the relationship dynamic is like. If comfortable doing so, confide that your prior discourse on politics has had a negative impact on your mental wellness. If they don’t agree to abstain, or sociopolitical debate is an innate part of a given group dynamic, consider excusing yourself from discussions until you have developed coping strategies that will allow you to participate again in the future, should you desire to reengage. On that latter note, introspection may unveil that it’s healthier to avoid certain social/familial settings altogether. Ultimately,,you require the freedom from worry-inducing political discussion among those who are closest to you to discover what is best for you.

Step 3: Confirm or Request Workplace Policy Embargo on Politics

Workplaces are also hotbeds of political discussion which can be problematic for someone suffering from related anxiety and stress. If this occurs at your place of work, morning commutes to “the office” may be filled with dread and you find yourself counting down the days until the weekend comes to provide escape. But as Sunday rolls around your solace is once again disrupted by negative thoughts about what’s to come. A vicious cycle ensues.

What you may not realize, is that political expressions in the workplace may not only impair organizational productivity and divide employees, they generally constitute a breach of workplace policy. Confirm with human resources / management that political expressions are off-limits and request that they expedite a memo reminding everyone to abstain from hereon in. If no such mandates exist, request an addendum to policy. This can be done anonymously if you’re not conformable making the requests in-person.

Step 4: Avoid Distraction and Focus on Breathing Instead

Whether or not the first three steps fall in line, you will continue to experience anxiety, stress, and uncertainty to the point that it will disrupt moments of your day. Resist the urge to distract from these feelings by engaging in unhealthy coping mechanisms. Unhealthy coping mechanisms are those that only offer a fleeting solution, and more concerning, can form a habit which can form a compulsion among those who are vulnerable to such behavior. Common unhealthy coping mechanisms include binge eating, consumption of alcohol / mind-altering substances, and consumption of pornography along with excessive gambling and gaming.

So what’s the alternative? This is where the coping strategies that we have hinted at above come in. One such strategy involves slow diaphragmatic breathing which is calming exercise used in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). When done with intent it will help you calm the worry you feel. While a professional trained in CBT will help you prefect the technique, you’re not online with one at the moment (more on this in Step 5 below). For the time being you may proceed to do the following whenever you anticipate that concerning emotions are about to manifest:

  • Sit or lie-down in a comfortable space and close your eyes.
  • Place one hand on your chest and the other hand on your abdomen.
  • Inhale through your nose for approximately 4-seconds as you feel your abdomen expand.
  • Hold your breath for 2-seconds, then exhale slowly and steadily through your mouth for about 6-seconds.
  • Repeat the process from anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes. Your mind and body will let you know when you have calmed down sufficiently to move on to the next step.

Step 5: Initiate a 3-Month Program to Becoming Worry-Free

The response from all mental health publications to America’s question about how to stop worrying about politics invariably concludes with the same call to action – talk to a therapist.

They’re not wrong, but the recommendation feels vague to many. To this, Kindbridge makes a very specific suggestion. Commit to participating in 3-months of sessions with a counselor who specializes in treating anxiety and stress in addition to cooccurring issues such as depression, irritability, and anger, along with behavioral health concerns that may accompany sociopolitical uncertainty.

A three-month personal pledge affords you the opportunity to get comfortable with a therapist. It allows you the time to explore and then open-up about your feelings and emotions. It allows you the time to witness how counselor-provided coping strategies directly reverberate in your life, be it around water-cooler talk about politics or when it invades your social media feed. While Rome wasn’t built in a day, you may notice a palpable change for the better after your first few sessions and note more dramatic improvements in weeks. Your 3 AM wake-up calls of anxiety may be replaced by 8-hour marathons of REM and non-REM bliss. Importantly, a 3-month commitment also permits for time to recognize mental and behavioral “slip-ups”. These returns to negative feelings and behaviors can absolutely occur, even after one assumes that they’ve mastered coping strategies. If/when they do occur, you’ll find peace of mind in knowing that can speak with your counselor in the next regularly scheduled session to address how and why it may have occurred.

Concerned about cost associated with a 3-month journey towards personal freedom from political worry? Kindbridge offers a diverse array of packages and subscriptions to increase access to all. We offer private one-on-one online counseling and even more affordable group session plans too. Better yet, is that your counseling may qualify for direct billing through our partnerships with America’s notable insurance providers.

How to Stop Worrying About Politics

Overcome Worry, Anxiety, and Stress with Kindbridge

CALL +1 (877) 426-4258

OR

Email [email protected]

How to Stop Worrying About Politics