my 2024 election anxiety toolkit
let's be real, we're all shitting our pants
hi hello hi.
I wanted to do a “what I love right now” post, but realistically, what’s on my mind the past few days is the United States Presidential election — and the local ballot initiatives in each city, which is why it is important to vote, even if you are less than enthused about the Presidential election, because there are real impacts being made on each city’s ballot measures. (See: my city, of New York, where the mayor is facing indictment.)
For the last two weeks, I’ve been trying to gameplan how I am handling this week. In 2020, I was in Texas with my parents during the Presidential election. In some ways it was nice, and in others, I was away from my friends and community, which made having access to some of my coping tools difficult. That night, I decided not to watch the count come in on the evening of November 5, and instead I tried to watch RuPaul’s Drag Race and comedies. This only kind of worked, because I was anxious and I couldn’t sleep.
So, I thought I’d share a little of what I’m doing differently in 2024 to stay sane.
my self-care plan:
I don’t anticipate that we will know the outcome of the election until Wednesday, and potentially Thursday/Friday if a recount is called. Because of this, this plan is meant to last several days.
In anticipation, I went to the library the other day. I also made a list of activities that don’t involve things like “window shopping,” or coping with feelings by buying random shit online. Times of stress are prone to make people impulse buy, retail therapy shop, and resort to other less healthy coping mechanisms if no plan is in place to do things differently. I would highly recommend having some plan in place if you think you’ll want to stress-buy crap you don’t need during this week! Otherwise, you’ll probably fall into old habits and patterns.
preparation for this week
In advance of this week, I:
secured some nice non-alcoholic beverages for me to enjoy because even me, a person who drinks like twice a year, probably might be tempted to have a glass of wine
made sure I had some food available (ready-made or easy-to-prep) that will feel sustaining
made plans with friends
jotted down some ideas of fun stuff I like to do
found and charged my old Nintendo 2DS and my Nintendo 64, so if I want them they’re available to me
charged my Kobo e-reader
tuesday, nov 5
I spent this past weekend (and a weekend before that) in Philadelphia, PA, working to help register people to vote, make sure their ballots were properly received or counted, and ensure people who want to vote can, including getting people free rides to the polling site near them. It was great. I highly encourage anyone who is politically anxious—or any kind of anxious—to find a way to volunteer around said issue.
A friend of mine came down with me this past weekend and she said she had a great time, and “wished she’d done this sooner,” because now “the seal is broken and anything like this is so much easier and less scary.”
I mention this because this action is part of what’s helping me feel less anxious: I did what I could. I’m also serving as a poll worker in this upcoming election, which will occupy most of my Tuesday.
My plan for this day:
Make sure to eat regular meals
Make sure to hydrate
Make sure I take any/all medication or supplements I need
Do NOT check my phone, social media for election updates. I have a few friends who might text updates, so I plan to ask them not to! Or, to mute notifications from those friends.
If I plan to check in on the polling results on Tuesday evening, I’ll check for a set period of time - two 5-10 minute windows - and that’s it.
My healthy activities I’ve planned:
Reading a book
Doing a sticker book a friend got me that’s “paint by numbers” but a sticker book
Watching comfort TV shows like Monk, Abbot Elementary, Gilmore Girls
Playing Detective Pikachu or Professor Layton on my 2DS, or Zelda on my N64
Snuggling my dog
wednesday, nov 6
On Wednesday, I’ve got a few hours of work to do, which will help occupy some time.
My other scheduled activities:
Go to the gym
Going to a book signing during the evening
Going on some long dog walks and listening to a few good podcasts
Using my good ol’ trusty flip phone instead of my smartphone
Plan a movie double-feature of a few comforting films (Hocus Pocus 2, anyone?)
Take a warm bath
thursday, nov 7
Hang out with a few friends
Go to the gym or ride my bike
Work for a couple of hours
I have a job interview (fingers crossed) so that’ll help!
Organize my office space and work on my “buy nothing” 2025 rules (which I’m super excited about)
Read Moby Dick, my book club book
Go the local library or park if I’m feeling like I need to get out of the house
Regardless of the outcome of the election, the work of justice will not end this week. The work of fighting for a better, more equitable society will continue. Every voter that I registered will be able to vote for the next five, ten, twenty years, and more, hopefully—this is one step toward fighting voter suppression, which has much broader impacts than just this election.
As much as I, too, am nervous about the immediate impacts of this week, I know that our work continues.
I hope that, if you are able to, you vote in this election, and that you find a way to care for yourself in the coming days. Have any tips or thoughts? Please share in the comments!