The 2024 Election: America's Greatest Mental Health Disaster, No Matter Who Wins?
Sunday, November 3,2024.
The United States is heading into an election season unlike any other, and that’s saying something.
The past few years have conditioned Americans to expect a certain amount of chaos—political clashes, cultural upheavals, and economic uncertainties have become as routine as morning coffee.
But 2024 promises not just the storm, but the tempest.
And regardless of who wins, the outcome is likely to bring with it the most significant mental health crisis the nation has ever seen.
If that sounds dramatic, it’s because it is. And it should be.
Americans are already grappling with escalating rates of anxiety, depression, and stress, fueled by political polarization and socio-economic strains. Now, we’re heading into an election that feels like a pressure cooker set to explode.
The irony? No matter which side of the aisle you're on, you're probably already pre-disappointed with the outcome.
Pre-Election Anxiety: The Agony Before the Agony
Americans are no strangers to pre-election jitters. But this year, it’s more than jitters; it’s a deep, gnawing dread.
Social media timelines have become doomsday clocks counting down to November 5, and I’ve even heard reports that some families have started pre-emptively canceling Thanksgiving plans just to avoid the political minefield that’s sure to follow.
Studies on election-related stress have shown that it’s not just real; it’s pervasive. The American Psychological Association’s Stress in America reports have repeatedly found spikes in anxiety linked to political events.
In 2020, 68% of Americans said the presidential election was a significant source of stress (APA, 2020). If 2020 was an inferno, 2024 is looking like the opening act of a disaster movie that doesn’t even pretend there will be an action hero to save the world.
At this point, any talk of “winning” feels irrelevant—it's just which half of the country gets to say, “I told you so,” while the other half stockpiles canned beans and retreats to their bunkers.
The Winners' Curse: When Victory Isn’t Sweet
Let’s say your candidate wins. Congratulations!
You now inherit a nation that’s not just fractured but splintered into a million little pieces.
The victor will have to grapple with immediate post-election backlash that will include legal challenges, protests, and enough rage-tweeting to make Elon Musk reconsider owning a social media platform.
But the voters who “won” aren’t off the hook either.
Political victories in hyper-partisan climates come with a kind of existential anxiety—an awareness that your “win” means half the country believes they are staring down the apocalypse. The word “Pyrrhic” doesn’t quite capture the exhaustion and depletion of this victory.
The resulting guilt, mixed with an uneasy sense of triumph, creates a stew of complex emotions that mental health experts might have to coin new terms for.
If you thought “schadenfreude” was fun to say, just wait for the new psychological terms this election will inspire. What new words must we coin to describe these novel states of political being; perhaps “victory anxiety” or “winner’s remorse”?
The Losers' Lament: When the Floor Drops Out
Now let’s shift to the losing side.
For millions of Americans, the outcome of this election won’t just be a setback; it will feel catastrophic.
And it’s not just hyperbole—research shows that political loss can feel as devastating as a personal trauma.
A 2018 study in Social Science & Medicine found that losing an election could lead to significant emotional distress, sometimes manifesting in symptoms akin to grief (Leigh & Biddle, 2018).
Why such intense reactions?
Because, more than ever, politics has fused with identity.
People no longer merely support policies; they see their political affiliations as core aspects of who they are. A loss, then, doesn’t just feel like a political defeat; it feels like a personal invalidation and negation.
Post-Election Fallout: The Great Disillusionment
Once the votes are counted and the dust settles (or maybe never does), we’ll enter the post-election period, which could be the most dangerous phase for the collective mental health of the country.
It will be marked by ongoing disputes over election integrity, intensified by the psychological weight of years of “us vs. them” rhetoric.
Here’s where things get truly bleak: No matter the result, the election aftermath promises to deepen distrust in institutions, heighten feelings of alienation, and fuel a sense of hopelessness that can take root in the national psyche.
The mental health impact will be far-reaching—affecting not just those glued to cable news but trickling down to families, workplaces, and social circles.
Therapists may soon be fielding more appointments from clients exhausted by the endless cultural “doom loop”—where every news cycle feels like a countdown to the end of the world. In a worst case scenario, Zoom sessions may become booked solid, not just with folks, but entire family groups trying to find common ground or at least negotiate a truce for the holidays.
The Cultural Backdrop: The Age of Cultural Narcissism
And how does Cultural Narcissism fit into all this? America’s increasing focus on individualism has created an “every man for himself” mentality.
Politics has become a vessel for self-expression, amplifying the personal stakes in every election. Combine this with the digital age’s relentless need for validation, and you have a population that’s not only emotionally invested but also emotionally exhausted.
Politics has become a profound vessel for self-expression, amplifying the personal stakes in every election.
Combine this with the digital age’s relentless need for validation, and you have a population that’s not only emotionally invested but also profoundly emotionally exhausted.
A culture that emphasizes personal achievement over community well-being will reliably fumble to cope with collective disappointments.
The election’s outcome, whatever it is, won’t be seen as a communal turning point but as a personal affront or validation.
This will aggravate and intensify emotional responses, crowding our capacity for collective healing or understanding.
The Way Forward: How to Prepare and Protect Your Mental Health
So, what can you do? Acknowledge that this election season is going to be tough and prepare accordingly:
Set Boundaries: Limit your news consumption and take breaks from social media.
Stay Connected, Wisely: Talk to friends and family, but set ground rules to keep conversations productive.
Seek Professional Help: If the anxiety becomes overwhelming, don’t hesitate to reach out to a therapist or support group. I can help with that.
Prioritize Self-Care: Engage in activities that help you relax, whether it’s exercise, hobbies, or simply disconnecting from the news cycle.
Let’s be present, and assume that the 2024 election is poised to be a mental health disaster, no matter who wins.
With tensions this high, it’s essential for everyone to take steps to protect their emotional well-being. Because when it comes to the aftermath, the true victory will be making it through with your mental health intact. We are 48 hours from the threshold of history.
Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.
Be Well, Vote Kind, and Godspeed.
REFERENCES:
American Psychological Association. (2020). Stress in America™ 2020: A national mental health crisis. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2020/report
Leigh, A., & Biddle, N. (2018). Public perceptions of election fairness and emotional distress: Evidence from the United States. Social Science & Medicine, 219, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.10.034