No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, you may be feeling stressed, anxious, and perhaps even traumatized. Are you still obsessively scrolling through your social media feeds searching for items that confirm your beliefs that the other side is WRONG? Are you arguing with loved ones who don’t share your views? Do you have a queasy feeling about the future?
You may be struggling with post-election stress trauma (PEST), a real “pest” that is affecting people of all political persuasions all across America. The
brain SPECT imaging work at Amen Clinics—over 160,000 functional brain scans and growing—shows how your brain type plays a role in your vulnerability for PEST and offers valuable clues to the best ways to get past it.
First, it’s important to understand how harmful PEST can be.
MENTAL AND PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF POST-ELECTION STRESS TRAUMA
Similar to
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), PEST can take a toll on your mental health as well as your physical health too. A 2020 study in
PNAS found that in the 2 days following the 2016 presidential elections, hospitalizations for acute cardiovascular disease were 1.62 times higher than the same 2-day period the previous week.
At Amen Clinics locations nationwide, there has been a steep rise in patients who are suffering from this phenomenon. PEST is causing heightened
anxiety,
panic attacks, fears about the future,
uncontrollable anger, and negative thoughts that loop endlessly. It’s also giving people
brain fog, making it hard to concentrate, keeping them
up at night, and causing
relationship troubles. For some people, it’s ruining their life.
Is PEST interfering with your life?
KNOW YOUR BRAIN TYPE TO COPE WITH POST-ELECTION STRESS TRAUMA
To overcome PEST, you need to know your brain type.
The Spontaneous Brain Type (conflict seeking).
Don’t agree with some of your friends and family? If you know that talking about certain issues will upset others and you impulsively do it anyway, you may have this brain type. People with this brain type tend to be drama driven; they’re the ones who like to “poke the bear” to get a reaction. Brain SPECT imaging shows that this is associated with low activity in the brain’s frontal lobes, and people create conflict as a way to stimulate their sleepy brain. This type is common in those with
ADD/ADHD.
The Spontaneous Brain Fix: Set boundaries for discussion topics when you get together whether it’s in person or virtually. For example, you may want to say that talking about politics is off the table. Instead, focus on what you have in common to keep relationships alive. To boost frontal lobe activity, eat a higher-protein diet, engage in daily aerobic activity, and consider nutritional supplements that stimulate the brain (including green tea, rhodiola, and ginseng).
The Persistent Brain Type (rigid thinking).
When you argue with reality, welcome to hell. If you’re stuck in rigid thinking patterns, such as “It’s my way or the highway,” you’re likely to feel extreme stress when elections don’t go your way or when others don’t agree with you. This can keep you locked into PEST, filling you with anger, depression, or relationship issues. SPECT scans show that cognitive inflexibility is often related to overactivity in the anterior cingulate gyrus (the brain’s gear shifter that helps you go from thought to thought or from behavior to behavior), along with low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin. This is often seen in people with
obsessive compulsive disorder,
eating disorders, and other types of anxiety disorders.
The Persistent Brain Fix: To calm an overactive ACG and enhance flexible thinking, boost serotonin in the brain by eating “smart carbs” (such as sweet potatoes and hummus), salmon, turkey, eggs, nuts, and seeds; taking supplements like 5-HTP and saffron; and doing activities like burst training.
The Sensitive Brain Type (overwhelmed by negative thinking).
People with this brain type struggle with moods, can feel overwhelmed, and are likely to have lots of automatic negative thoughts (ANTs). When you focus on what’s wrong in your life, it can make you feel depressed and gloomy. This type is associated with too much activity in the deep limbic system, the emotional centers of the brain. It is common in people with mood disorders, such as
depression.
The Sensitive Brain Fix: Whenever you have a sad, anxious, or negative thought, write it down and ask yourself if it is true. Questioning your thoughts can help you clean up the mental mayhem. In addition, calm the emotional centers of the brain with healthy fats, such as avocado, almonds, and salmon; take omega-3 fatty acids, s-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), and vitamin D; and do physical activities like dancing or team sports.
The Cautious Brain Type (fearful about the future).
Your brain is always listening and reacting to the inputs you’re feeding it. For people with this brain type, watching the news and scrolling through social media can fire up your brain’s anxiety center (basal ganglia) and trigger nervousness, panic, and fear. It is common in people with
anxiety,
panic disorder, and
phobias.
The Cautious Brain Fix: One of the first steps to harnessing PEST is to pay attention to your news and social media consumption. Limit your daily diet of distressing news and inflammatory posts. Soothe the brain’s anxiety centers by avoiding caffeine, booze, and sugary sweets; supplement your diet with GABA, magnesium, and B6; and try calming activities like yoga.
PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever and waiting until life gets back to “normal” is likely to make your symptoms worsen over time.
At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here.
