If you feel stressed every time during elections, you're not the only one - it's a pretty popular thing that can actually affect lots of us.
New research from North Carolina State University has discovered that just worrying about stress related to political elections can harm our physical health.
However, the study also found that there's a way to reduce these negative effects.
More about the research
The study, which involved 140 adults across the United States, asked participants to fill out a daily online survey for 30 days before and after the 2018 midterm elections.
The results showed that on days when people expected to feel stressed about the elections within the next 24 hours, they reported feeling physically worse.
The good news is that there's a strategy called "problem analysis" that can help protect your health when you expect stress.
Problem analysis means thinking carefully about why you expect to feel stressed about the elections.
For example, if you think you'll argue with someone about the election, you might think about why that argument might happen and how to make it less heated.
When people engaged in problem analysis on days when they anticipated stress, they didn't report a decline in their physical health.
This approach seems to work regardless of a person's political beliefs or age.
Why it's helpful to know
So, if you're worried about the stress of elections or other future events, try problem analysis.
It can help you stay physically healthy even when stress is on the horizon.
