Do You Have Post Election Stress Disorder?

It’s real and it’s worrisome.

There’s now an official name for the nonstop worry many of us are feeling right now over the state of our country: Post Election Stress Disorder (PESD).

As we wrote last week, American’s stress levels are the highest they’ve been in 10 years. And the political landscape is at least partly to blame. CNN reported Monday that mental health professionals are seeing patients exhibiting new or worsened symptoms of anxiety and depression related to the current political climate. Hence the name PESD.

Political issues are far from the only source of stress in our lives but we can all agree that the daily deluge of news about the new administration isn’t helping. One psychologist quoted in the CNN article suggests limiting the time you spend on social media and being more mindful about consuming news to curb the election-related stress. Instead opt for something relaxing and analog like talking to a friend, exercising or reading a book. And maybe turn off the news notifications for a while.