SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Election season usually leaves people feeling emotional, whether that be elated, frustrated, or in many instances, angry.
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To understand why elections make people feel angry and for some tips about how people can deal with negative feelings, KCBS Radio's Holly Quan spoke with Dr. Ryan Martin, psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin and author of the book "Why We Get Mad: How to use your Anger for Positive Change."
"People get angry over elections for the same reason they get angry over lots of things," he said. "They have a provocation in mind, there's a lot of stress and anxiety built up under that. I do think one of the things that has become increasingly provoking about all of this is the way in which we have selective attention regarding media and how we are really focused on particular claims and particular pieces of information that might be exacerbating those emotions."
So now that we know elections can make us angry, what can we do to control those feelings? According to Martin, admitting we feel those emotions is already the first step to a solution.
"I would start from the fact that first of all we should acknowledge that there are lots of reasons to feel lots of things about elections including anger," he explained. "Elections do bring with them consequences and those consequences might mean that people suffer and might mean that people should be angry about them. What I actually think is really important is that people really express that anger is productive and healthy for them and the people around them."
"So one of the first things I would do is say understand that that anger is normal and healthy and let's think about the best ways to deal with it and express it."
He said those methods of expression include protests, letters to the editor and simply the act of voting in the election. The most important thing is to ensure people express that anger in a "healthy way" and they don't "do things that are damaging."
As people follow the 2022 midterm results on Tuesday night, Martin recommended people practice tried and true approaches such as deep breathing, relaxation and find ways to pause, to cope with any negative feelings that begin to boil.
He also stressed that people should ensure the information they’re reacting to is accurate.
"We often see a lot of anger emerging from people believing false claims," Martin said. "If you feel yourself getting angry or sad or anything like that, pay attention to what is provoking that feeling and look to determine if it’s real and do the work of making sure it’s accurate."
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