Stress eating and exercising: Here’s how Boston.com readers are managing their election anxiety
"My kids' Halloween candy is getting hit hard this week, and not by them," one reader wrote.
It’s been a wild 24 hours, folks. And it’s not over yet.
Votes are still being counted in the 2020 presidential election, an exceedingly tight race that, as of publication, could still go either way. While we wait to see whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden will become the next president of the United States, many Americans are left trying to manage their election anxiety.
With tensions running high, we asked Boston.com readers in a survey and on social media how they were dealing with the stressors from this nail-biting election. One common thread: voraciously eating our feelings.
“I just ate cold pizza and Reese’s peanut butter cups for breakfast,” Marquelle Dufour said on Facebook. “I’d say things are going well.”
“My kids’ Halloween candy is getting hit hard this week, and not by them,” echoed Amy Leonard.
“I’m eating @benandjerrys for breakfast,” wrote @WhiskeyEyeBrews on Twitter.
On Instagram, @boston followers shared that they were eating Tasty Burger and leftover Halloween candy to cope, along with “wearing sweats and stress eating.”
Exercise was another oft-mentioned tool for dealing with election anxiety.
“Taking my dog [for] a walk and getting some fresh air,” Stephanie from Dorchester shared in our survey, while Catherine from Cambridge wrote that she was practicing yoga to stay calm.
“Walks along the Charles River!” one wise Instagram user shared; others wrote that they were looking after their mental health by taking off from work and practicing yoga.
Still, plenty of readers responded that they were, in fact, not doing OK at all. On Instagram, a flood of responses took on a worried tone:
“I’m not handling it. And my body is suffering because of it!”
“Not well. Showered but that’s about it.”
“I threw up last night lmao.”
“Stressed!!!”
“Overwhelmed. Scared. Saddened by the status of our country.”
“Terrible, how is voting such a mess.”
“Very anxious. Not managing stress well or staying positive. I fear the [worst],” read one anonymous survey response.
At the other end of the spectrum, readers were channeling zen vibes, emphasizing that the world will go on no matter what.
“Going to work and continuing to remain the same,” @RyanShores1 wrote on Twitter.
“Why would people stress, it is what it is,” Debbie Spink Yanoolis expressed on Facebook, while Jim Franklin wrote that he was just “living life” and Andrew Charles shared that he is “happily working on my laptop. Quite certain my life will be fine no matter who wins.”
“I’m trying not to watch TV or look at news,” wrote A.M.F. from Cambridge in our survey. “We’re playing video games with the kids and watching funny TV shows.”
On Instagram, followers responded to say they were “focusing on my work today” and “not focusing on [the election] too much.”
And when exercising, stress eating, and playing it totally cool weren’t working, some readers turned to a hefty pour to get them through the day:
— Greg Forrister (@GregForrister) November 4, 2020
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