If the high stakes presidential election is causing troublesome thoughts, existential dread or rifts with loved ones, there's no need to white knuckle through it. Take a deep breath. Literally.
Meditation and mindfulness teacher Rosie Acosta says focusing on each inhale and exhale can help regain that grounding sense of control that may be drowned out by the spiraling uncertainty of election season. Experts like Acosta, who works in Southern California for Headspace, a mental health company and app, want those struggling to know there are ways to lighten election-induced stress and navigate related tensions. "I can control how I'm breathing.
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I can use my mindfulness practice and stay in the present moment, instead of worrying about what the outcome is going to be with an election," said Acosta, who contributed the guided meditations "Surviving Dinner Table Debates" and "Compassion During Campaign Season" to Headspace's "politics without panic" collection. "You forget how much power we actually have over this tension and this anxiety." This year's campaign has already witnessed unexpected twists and turns with President Joe Biden's exit from the race and Vice President Kamala Harris' quick ascendance among Democrats as well as assassination attempts targeting Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump.
And roughly 3 in 4 American adults believe the upcoming presidential election is vital to the future of U.S. democracy, although which candidate they thin.
