[ Shouting ]
>> Shut it down!
Shut it down!
[ Inaudible Chanting ]
>> It got so bad that some therapists gave it a name, election stress disorder.
>> I have a small therapy practice here in Tucson and a number
of my clients had become very upset, very overwhelmed by the stress of the election.
Most people would agree that this was an especially toxic time.
>> If Donald Trump were to win this election we would have a commander in chief
who is completely out of his depth -- .
>> She's accomplished nothing, just made things worse [booing].
>> In the weeks leading up to election night 2016 voters reported unprecedented anxiety
regardless of who they supported.
In a survey by the American Psychological Association more than half
of all adults said the election was a significant source of stress
and a Monmouth University study found that 70%
of American voters felt the 2016 presidential campaign brought out the worst in people.
Although the oldest voters reported the most stress the youngest voters like University
of Arizona senior, Delmar Wiltshire, weren't far behind.
>> Everyone on either side just started attacking people's character,
not listening to people.
People don't actually discuss differences or try to come to a compromise or opinion or anything.
They just kind of yell at each other now and I think that just yelling
at somebody never gets them to see your side of any debate.
>> Donald Trump is not my president!
Donald Trump is not my president!
Donald Trump --
>> In the election's aftermath that division has persisted
and emotions are still running high whether you're grieving or celebrating.
>> Everything they're out here protesting is irrelevant and honestly just a waste of time.
>> I think that's the most hurtful part is that people
that are directly related to me voted for this man.
[ Inaudible ]
>> As the nation prepares for a new administration mental health experts
and political scientists alike are trying to figure out what made this cycle so different
and what it means for the country's future.
>> Voters really hate the other party.
Voters have always tended to prefer one party over another but we're really at a point now
where it's difficult to get democrats to say something positive about the republican party
and it's difficult to get republicans to say something positive about the democratic party
and that's I think really what a lot of people were sensing, this sort of total disdain
for the opposing party and also a total disdain for just the political system in general.
People are really fed up with our political system.
>> Behavioral scientist Chris Seagren says that disdain and frustration can fuel aggression.
>> Sometimes what happens with people is they then become very consumed
with getting their own needs and concerns met and again forgetting about other people's
and even being willing to trample on other people's if that's the way they see it
as the avenue to getting their own needs met.
The concern for the feelings and the welfare
of the person they're talking to is really diminished.
>> The result is conflict and pain and those can damage our mental health.
>> There's research studies that show for example children who were exposed
to their parents bickering like going through a divorce,
that it's not actually the divorce per se but it's the exposure to the conflict.
And by exposure I mean you're not a participant, you're just watching it,
that those children have higher rates of depression, higher rates of anxiety,
higher rates of substance abuse as young adults.
So we know from a lot of research
that just seeing rancorous conflict and vitriol is not beneficial.
That doesn't mean you can't observe a single interaction or single argument and you're going
to be flawed for life but when you're perpetually exposed to very strenuous arguments
and the bitter conflict between human beings it is not beneficial to our mental health.
>> Seagren says the social media landscape makes chronic exposure unavoidable.
>> You can't overlook the effects of media and social media on the ability
to keep dumping fuel on the flames.
I mean it just seems like every other day there's a new story about something related
to the election or politics that is allowing both sides to still sort
of fester in those emotional states.
>> That's why experts recommend disconnecting from social media
if the stress becomes overwhelming and reconnecting
to activities that are relaxing and enjoyable.
Psychologist David Sbarra whose research focuses
on relationships also recommends choosing battles carefully and recognizing
when mending fences matters more than arguing a point.
>> When we have strong emotions and the disgust gets connected to anger
and our emotions rise we become flooded.
We become emotionally flooded and can't process information
and that's why we say oh my God I cannot even talk to my brother-in-law,
I just can't deal with it, and that's both sides of it.
It's not unique to one political party or the other.
You have to agree to disagree.
I mean people -- that's a very important skill and to be able to sit down
and say look okay you want her, I want him and you think we're wrong, we think you're wrong.
Okay, let's just eat some pie.
>> Family dinners aside bridging the very real divide
that made itself plain during the 2016 election will require something that's even harder
than changing the subject, talking about it.
>> Once you say to me I want the president of this country to be successful and you say
so do I, I'm starting to see me in you and that's how people ultimately begin
to come together and seek common ground and the negative emotions get replaced by positive ones
and the way that has to happen is through dialogue.
It can't happen if we refuse to talk to each other.
>> We're at really a crossroads and we can use this moment as a moment of healing
and an opportunity to try to figure out how to come together in the wake
of this really pretty nasty election or we can go down the other road and we'll be torn apart
by the continuation of all of these negative conversations
that have been happening all over the place.
I really think it's too soon to tell.