How Do You Handle Anxiety?

Are you feeling anxious about the presidential election? According to an article written by Marjorie Cortez and published in the Deseret News, you are not alone. 

According to the American Psychiatric Association’s annual mental health poll, 73% of respondents reported feeling anxious about the upcoming national election.

A higher percentage of respondents said the election made them feel anxious than those who identified current events and gun violence. Only the economy, which 77% of the sample of more than 2,200 adults who responded to the poll said made them anxious, was higher. The poll was conducted April 9-11, 2024.

The poll also showed that adults are feeling increasingly anxious. In 2024, 43% of adults said they feel more anxious than they did the previous year, up from 37% in 2023 and 32% in 2022.

According to University of Utah Lifelong Learning instructor Debbie Leaman, writing is a good way to cope with anxiety. “Starting Sept. 7, she will be teaching a Lifelong Learning course on five successive Saturday morning titled ‘Writing as a Tool to Cope with Anxiety.’”

“The good news? Writing can help. Studies have shown that unloading persistent thoughts onto the page can alleviate anxiety, provide distance, and a new perspective. In my class, we’ll learn how putting pen to paper can help re-center us and calm our minds.”

The Lifelong Learning center offers seven classes this fall, with the other six classes being “The Voice of Reason: Writing Letters to the Editor,” “Beyond the Headlines: Fact-Checking and Media Literacy,” “Applied Somatics: Practices for Turbulent Times,” “A Change in Dialogue: Effective Communication,” “Adobe In Design: Creating a Basic Newsletter,” and “An Introduction to Antidiscrimination Response.” 

Lifelong Learning has been offering non-credit classes to the community for more than 60 years. Some of the classes are one-day workshops while others last up to eight weeks. Attendees are not required to enlist at the University of Utah.

The University Connected Learning is based in Salt Lake City and was founded in 1906. More than 25,000 learners enrolled annually, and they come from all over the world. You can learn more at this site. 

I suggest another way to handle anxiety or fear: keeping a daily journal. Writing down thoughts and feelings releases them from the mind and keeps the brain from building up more anxiety. I find that expressing daily gratitude is also helpful. At the end of my daily journal entry, I include five people, events, or things for which I am grateful, which can be anything from clean water and fresh air to my children and grandchildren to blessings from God.