"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.
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