Having Election Day anxiety? We asked YouGov Chat users to tell us how they avoid election-related stress. You can share your thoughts on the topic here.
“Try to avoid falling down a rabbit hole of news articles and videos”
Many Chat users advise tuning out of any election related news...
- “Don't watch the news, mute the tv or radio when political ads come on.”
- “Avoid watching news twice a day. Don't read every article on the news feed. Ignore comments on social media.”
- “I try not to watch the news! But every time my husband tells me stuff I feel my pressure rising. I've told him I don't want to hear it.”
...and taking up a hobby to fill the time.
- “I try not to read or watch the news. Instead of scrolling on Facebook, I downloaded Duolingo and am learning different languages.”
- “Meditation, data analysis, logical reasoning.”
- “I have hobbies to keep me occupied, particularly philately. It's relaxing and stress free with the added benefit of being educational. I also enjoy reading, in particular books related to astronomy and geology.”
Others suggest enjoying the great outdoors.
- “Exercise, putting the phone away, spend time outdoors.”
- “I bike ride 13 miles a day in lieu of sex.”
- “Walking, reading a good book, talking to a few good friends, prayer, seeking beauty in nature.”
“I'm NOT avoiding it. I'm embracing it. I'll be working as a poll worker. This very disturbing time has inspired me to do more than just complain.”
Some YouGov Chat users choose to face election uncertainty and anxiety with acceptance.
- “No, I made my choice. I can live with that.”
- “Understand that it's 100% out of my control.”
- “Live life normally; don’t stress about what you can’t control.”
Others prefer avoidance.
- “Same way I have dealt with this whole entire year, pretend it's all a nightmare and I will wake up soon and everything will be back to normal again.”
- “Curl into a ball and stress eat.”
- “Ignore it until the last day.”
Or when all else fails, have a drink. Here are some of Chat users' top beverage suggestions.
- “A Strong Martini.”
- “Drink bourbon.”
- “Wine and Tequila :)”
- “A couple of Beers is all I need.”
- “Wine. Lots of wine.”
“I don't stress, I know God is in control. Whatever is on his timeline will come to pass”
But not everyone is suffering from election related stress. A number of Chat users claim to be unaffected.
- “I do not suffer from election related stress and anxiety. Is that a thing? Sounds like an inability to cope with the basics of life to me.”
- “I never get stressed about voting. However, Once I've decided who I will be voting for, I make sure that I go voting early just in case there will be a long line. That is it.”
- “I don't have any election related anxiety or stress. My suggestion is.... STOP TAKING THINGS SO DAMN SERIOUSLY!!”
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Every day, members of YouGov Chat are asked to share their opinion on a topic in the news. We allow anyone to take part in these chats, and do not display or weight results in real-time. Instead, to make the experience informative but still interactive, the chat displays weighted data from YouGov Direct to show them how the rest of the country voted. This enables us to pose the question to all, while retaining data accuracy and validity when communicating results.
YouGov chat seeks to add to the ‘what?’ (the quantitative poll result) by finding the ‘why?” (qualitative open ends) in a member’s own words. Learn more about YouGov Chat here.
