Did the 2024 Presidential Election Affect Individuals Mental Health?

Question

As this year's Presidential Election was very heart-felt to certain individuals, did it impact their mental health? 

https://mhanational.org/news/mental-health-america-statement-2024-election

Comments

This election really stirred up a lot of chaos and trouble for a bunch of marginalized groups in the country. I think this really messed with a lot of people's mental health once everyone found out the consensus. Even though the link does a solid job of providing resources for folks feeling a bit lost about the future, I think it would’ve been a good idea to include some sort of graph. This way, readers can check out how individual mental health has changed from this election to the last one. Honestly, I really liked how the article highlighted the need to boost access to mental health care and tackle substance use problems, all while pushing for bipartisan support for mental health initiatives.

Answer 1

I think every election has an impact on some peoples mental health. A lot can be changed and many people have different opinions.

Answer 2

This election has certainly had an adverse effect on the mental health of many Americans, and the reasons go beyond the election itself. Many nationwide polls have asked how voters felt about the safety of democracy and the path of the country, and in those polls, a majority formed of Republicans and Democrats felt as if democracy was under attack this election and that the country was on the wrong path. These feeling, in addition to the hardship of the pandemic and the fear that came from the assassination attempts on Trump have led to a greater amount of election anxiety than other recent elections.

Comments

I agree with your analysis. This year's election was much anticipated, and the result will have huge implications for years to come. It can definitely be concluded that it has had big effects on the mental health of Americans, both in the days leading up to Election Day, and in the aftermath.

---

I like your thinking, I think you touched on a lot of points that didn't cross my mind. The assassination attempts have caused more anxiety and I can agree that this election has been surrounded by more fear and violence than others. You mention the nationwide polls and I'm wondering where you got those from? They sound interesting to take a look at but also for future reference it could be beneficial to link them in your fact check.

Answer 3

The claim surrounding this question would come out to be true. 

The question asked is if the 2024 presidential election affects individuals health. This question was then followed by a link to the Mental Health America statement on the 2024 election. This statement draws back to older presidential elections and feelings that surround it but also gives a number of links of resources if experiencing any of the negative feelings. It mentions that white some individuals celebrate this election there are many others that are experiencing dark thoughts and disappointment. Another main takeaway was the emphasis on their efforts as an organization to advocate with political leaders to speak on these matters and address the public health crisis happening. Giving major importance to their organization's purpose. 

The Mental Health America organization is America's largest non profit dedicated to mental health, well being and other aspects of the crisis. They specialize in research, the spreading of donations and resources for the public. Given that their website is organization based (org), my first instinct was to find it trustworthy but I still looked at more of their work. Their website was very informative including; statistics, informative articles, missions and crisis resources were all easy to navigate. Link to mission statement: 

https://mhanational.org/ 

Apart from this article, other major organizations such as the Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA) published articles acknowledging the feelings surrounding this election and suggestions of how to manage these feelings similar to the ones from the first article. Rachel Busman reassures and mentions that these feelings are normal since this election will affect the following years for individuals. Rachel is a licensed psychologist and the senior director of the Child & Adolescent Anxiety and related disorders program giving her lots of experience in mental health disorders.  

Link to article: https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer-professional/election-over-now-what

More about Rachels work: https://cbc-psychology.com/cbc-staff/rachel-busman-psyd-abpp

Given that 2 trusted websites, who specialize in mental health disorders, published articles informing and showing support to those who may feel defeated after the election proves that this claim is true.