'Election Stress Disorder' is a real thing. Here's how to fight it.

"If you think that the presidential election is driving you nuts, you're right," Harry Smith said on Monday's NBC Nightly News. That's kind of a glib way to put it, but the American Psychological Association reported last week that according to a new survey on stress in America, 52 percent of U.S. adults say the 2016 election is a very or somewhat significant source of stress. The APA dubbed this phenomenon "Election Stress Disorder." The survey, conducted by Harris Poll, found that the stress is bipartisan, affecting 55 percent of registered Democrats and 59 percent of registered Republican. Stress levels have almost certainly risen since the survey was completed.

"It could be how negative the whole campaign is, the discord is particularly heated, we seem to be more polarized," APA policy chief Lynn Bufka tells The Washington Post. "Also, we can work ourselves up over what the future president could do and if we get wrapped up in a lot of what ifs, that can make us really stressed, too." Senior citizens are the most stressed (59 percent), followed by millennials (56 percent), baby boomers (50 percent), and Generation X (45 percent). Whatever your age, the APA has some suggestions on how to cope with the Donald Trump–Hillary Clinton grudge match.

The first suggestion is maybe the most obvious (and least beneficial for the news media): "Read just enough to stay informed," but turn off the cable news, keep off Facebook and other social media, and limit your news consumption. "Take some time for yourself, go for a walk, or spend time with friends and family doing things that you enjoy," the APA says. Other suggestions include avoiding discussing the election often or violently, working to advance issues you think are important, paying attention to races and issues other than the presidential election, avoiding "catastrophizing" because America will probably be fine, and voting. If that doesn't help, Alice G. Walton at Forbes has some other suggestions.

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You can also, as Smith notes, take an election-free vacation, at least at one enterprising Boston hotel that promises, for the time you're there, to save you from your own election obsession. Watch the NBC News report below. Peter Weber

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