Americans are feeling sick, stressed, and losing sleep over politics, according to a new study.
"A surprisingly large number of American adults perceive their engagement in politics as having negative effects on their social, emotional and even physical health," said lead researcher Kevin Smith, chair of political science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The new survey of 800 people nationwide, conducted prior to these latest revelations, indicated that politics are creating a burgeoning public health crisis in the United States, Smith said.More than one in 10 people felt politics had adversely affected their physical health. Political stress appears to be taking a greater toll on people from the left side of the political spectrum, potentially tied to the controversial 2016 election cycle and Trump's confrontational style of governing, Smith said.
"It could be there has been a fair amount of polarization and stress associated with politics that's been increasing over the past decades, but it's hard to say," Bufka said.Dr. Michelle Riba, a past president of the American Psychiatric Association, said that anecdotally at least it appears people are coming to therapy more often with political concerns on their mind.
What can be done? One option is disengaging yourself from politics, but Smith is reluctant to endorse that.
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