Managing Political Anxiety in 2026: A Therapist's Guide with Somatic Practices
Your Anxiety About Politics Is Valid—And It’s Not Just in Your Head
If you feel like the political climate is constantly rattling your nervous system, you are genuinely not alone. The American Psychological Association’s 2024 Stress in America survey found that 77% of adults view the future of the nation as a significant source of stress, and 69% say the 2024 U.S. presidential election is a significant source of stress in their lives.[apa]
What often gets missed in mainstream conversations about “political stress” is that this is not just worry or mood—it is a full‑body nervous system response to ongoing threat and uncertainty.[thrivingcenterofpsych]
As a somatic art therapist, work with political anxiety focuses less on “changing your thoughts” and more on helping your body complete and regulate its stress responses. A 2025 two‑wave study of U.S. young adults found that higher 2024 presidential election stress was associated with increased odds of moderate or greater symptoms of major depression and generalized anxiety.[pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih]
This guide offers research‑informed somatic practices to help you work with your nervous system during politically turbulent times—so you can remain engaged without being swallowed by overwhelm.
The Research: Political Anxiety Is Real and Widespread
Recent data paints a clear picture of how politics is impacting mental health.[thrivingcenterofpsych]
In 2024, more than 7 in 10 adults reported the future of the nation (77%) and the 2024 U.S. presidential election (69%) as significant sources of stress, alongside concerns about the economy, health care, violence, and global conflict.[infectiousdiseaseadvisor]
A 2025 national survey from Thriving Center of Psychology found that 51% of Americans say politics causes them anxiety, and 48% report political burnout—emotional, mental, or physical exhaustion related to politics.[thrivingcenterofpsych]
Younger adults appear especially impacted: Gen Z and Millennials report the highest levels of political burnout, at 50% and 58% respectively.[thrivingcenterofpsych]
The same survey reported that 51% of Americans feel that election outcomes could affect their personal safety, a figure that rises to 65% for LGBTQ respondents.[thrivingcenterofpsych]
In a 2025 study of U.S. young adults, higher levels of 2024 election‑related stress were significantly associated with greater odds of moderate or severe symptoms of major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.[pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih]
These numbers suggest that political anxiety is not a personal failing—it is a predictable response to high, chronic, and often uncontrollable stressors.[apa]
Why Political Anxiety Feels Different
Political anxiety can feel different from other forms of anxiety, even for those who do not usually identify as anxious.[apa]
It is chronic, not a single event
Unlike anxiety about a one‑time situation (a presentation, a flight, a medical appointment), political stress often continues for months or years with no clear end point. Research on stress and health suggests that chronic, long‑lasting stress is more harmful than brief, acute stress, especially when there is a high degree of uncertainty and lack of resolution.[apa]It often feels out of your control
You can vote, organize, and take action, but no single person can resolve systemic issues or fully control electoral outcomes. That sense of limited control can keep the nervous system in a state of ongoing vigilance.[apa]Media exposure repeatedly re‑activates it
Surveys show that 72% of people say social media and news coverage contribute to their election anxiety, and 54% report limiting news and social media to manage stress. Constant notifications, breaking news, and algorithm‑driven content can keep your nervous system repeatedly exposed to threat cues.[prnewswire]For many, it concerns real safety
When policy outcomes may impact rights, healthcare, or physical safety, particularly for LGBTQ people and other marginalized communities, the nervous system responds as if there is genuine danger—because there is. This is not “overreacting”; it is your body responding to meaningful stakes.[thrivingcenterofpsych]
Your Nervous System’s Response to Political Threat
Polyvagal‑informed frameworks describe the nervous system as shifting through different states depending on how safe or threatened you feel. Those states often show up vividly around political content.[sonacollective]
Common patterns include:
Sympathetic activation (fight/flight)
Racing heart, shallow or fast breathing, muscle tension
Urgency, agitation, irritability, or anger
Compulsive news checking or doomscrolling
Dorsal vagal shutdown (freeze/collapse)
Numbness, spacing out, or dissociation
Exhaustion and low motivation
Hopelessness, “what’s the point?” thoughts, difficulty caring
These states are adaptive survival responses, not moral failures. The problem arises when the body gets stuck for long periods in activation or shutdown, which can strain mental and physical health over time.[sonacollective]
Somatic Techniques for Regulating Political Anxiety
Somatic work focuses on helping the body move out of chronic threat responses into greater flexibility and capacity to shift between activation and rest. Emerging research suggests that somatic approaches can significantly reduce anxiety symptoms when practiced consistently, often with reductions comparable to or greater than cognitive‑only strategies.[therapywisdom]
The practices below are for education and self‑support and are not a substitute for individualized medical or mental health care. It is always okay to stop or slow down a practice if it feels overwhelming.
Technique 1: Grounding with the 5‑4‑3‑2‑1 Method
When political news sends your body into overdrive, grounding can help re‑orient you to the present moment.[therapywisdom]
How to practice:
Name 5 things you can see.
Touch 4 things around you (for example, your chair, clothing, the floor, a mug).
Notice 3 things you can hear in your environment.
Notice 2 things you can smell—or gently imagine comforting scents.
Notice 1 thing you can taste, or take a sip of water and feel the sensation.
Why it can help:
Orienting to concrete sensory input can shift attention away from catastrophic future‑oriented thoughts toward immediate experience, which signals relative safety to your nervous system and interrupts anxiety spirals.[therapywisdom]
Technique 2: Bilateral Stimulation (Butterfly Hug)
The Butterfly Hug is a self‑administered bilateral tapping technique that grew out of EMDR work and is now widely used as a self‑soothing tool.[therapywisdom]
How to practice:
Cross your arms over your chest.
Place each hand on the opposite shoulder or upper arm.
Gently alternate tapping right, then left, at a slow and steady rhythm.
Continue for 1–3 minutes while breathing naturally.
Why it can help:
Gentle bilateral stimulation engages both sides of the body and brain, which can support nervous system regulation and help shift out of intense activation.[therapywisdom]
Technique 3: Extended Exhale Breathing
Breath practices that lengthen the exhale can stimulate the vagus nerve and invite a parasympathetic (rest‑and‑digest) response.[therapywisdom]
How to practice (adapt timing as needed):
Inhale through your nose for about 4 counts.
Pause briefly for a comfortable count (for example, 3–4).
Exhale slowly through your mouth for about 6–8 counts.
Repeat for 4 cycles, and stop if you feel light‑headed.
Why it can help:
Longer exhales tend to engage the calming branch of the autonomic nervous system, which can counter the physical arousal that often accompanies political anxiety.[therapywisdom]
Technique 4: Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Political anxiety often shows up as chronic tension—tight shoulders, clenched jaw, a knotted stomach.[thrivingcenterofpsych]
How to practice:
Start with your feet: tense the muscles for about 5 seconds.
Release fully and notice any shift.
Continue up the body: calves, thighs, glutes, abdomen, chest, arms, hands, shoulders, neck, face.
Spend 5–10 seconds tensing, then releasing each group.
Why it can help:
You are teaching your body to distinguish between tension and release and giving it a structured way to discharge stored stress.[therapywisdom]
Technique 5: Pendulation (Moving Between Activation and Resource)
Somatic Experiencing founder Peter Levine describes “pendulation” as gently shifting awareness between sensations of distress and sensations of relative ease or neutrality.[etheses.whiterose.ac]
How to practice:
First, notice where you feel political anxiety in your body (for example, tight chest, clenched jaw, heaviness in the belly).
Stay with those sensations for 10–20 seconds, simply observing without trying to fix them.
Then, shift your attention to a part of your body that feels more neutral or comfortable (such as your hands, feet, or the support of the chair).
Notice that sensation for 10–20 seconds.
Move your focus back and forth a few times between the two.
Why it can help:
Pendulation helps your nervous system learn that it can come into contact with discomfort and also return to sensations of stability, rather than feeling trapped in one state.[etheses.whiterose.ac]
Art Therapy Practice: Giving Political Overwhelm a Place to Go
Art‑making offers a way to move political intensity out of your body and into an image that you can see, touch, and relate to.[aclientfirst]
You will need:
Paper
Markers, crayons, or paint
About 20 minutes
Step 1: Put the overwhelm on paper (5 minutes)
On the first page, let your political overwhelm take any visual form it wants—scribbles, jagged lines, dense blocks of color, overlapping shapes. The goal is expression, not aesthetics. As you work, imagine you are letting some of what you have been holding inside move onto the page.[aclientfirst]
Step 2: Draw a holding shape or boundary (5 minutes)
On a new sheet, create an image that feels containing: this might be a circle, a box, a room, a landscape, or any shape that feels like it can hold intensity without being wiped out by it. This drawing represents your capacity, your boundaries, or the support around you.[aclientfirst]
Step 3: Explore how the images relate (10 minutes)
Next, experiment with how these two images interact. You might place or tape the “overwhelm” drawing inside the containing image, overlap them, or create a third image where both the chaotic marks and a grounded figure or space appear together. As you do this, notice what happens in your body—whether tension, breath, or emotion shifts in any way.[aclientfirst]
Practical Strategies for Sustainable Political Engagement
Somatic practices are most effective when paired with concrete choices about how and when you engage with politics.[apa]
1. Set Boundaries with News and Social Media
Surveys report that 72% of respondents say social media and news coverage contribute to their election anxiety, and more than half (54%) consciously limit exposure to manage stress.[prnewswire]
You might experiment with:
Choosing specific windows to check the news (for example, once in the morning and once in the evening).
Setting a timer for 10–20 minutes when you open news or social apps.
Doing a brief grounding or breath practice before you look at political content.
Moving, stretching, or using bilateral tapping after you close the app to help your body process what you saw.
2. Channel Anxiety into Action
For many people, transforming distress into meaningful action restores a sense of agency.[colorado]
Possible forms of action include:
Volunteering with organizations that align with your values.
Attending local meetings, teach‑ins, or community gatherings.
Participating in mutual aid efforts.
Donating time or money to causes that matter to you.
Action can help shift a “freeze” state into more empowered mobilization, but sustainable activism depends on cycles of engagement and rest, not constant activation.[colorado]
3. Prioritize Community Over Isolation
Clinicians and community reports note that political polarization can intensify loneliness and social withdrawal. Being in community with others who share your values or experiences can buffer against political anxiety.[meadowsllc]
You might:
Join affinity groups, support spaces, or community organizations where you feel a sense of shared purpose.
Choose a few trusted people for political conversations and set limits with those who escalate your anxiety or reactivity.
Allow yourself to have different levels of closeness and different topics with different people.
4. Know When to Step Back
A 2025 analysis drawing on Charlie Health data found that a large majority of clients reported that the political climate negatively affected their mental health, and many said they avoided political conversations to cope.[meadowsllc]
Stepping back can look like:
Muting or unfollowing accounts that spike your nervous system.
Skipping political talk at specific gatherings.
Taking intentional breaks from social media or 24‑hour news during high‑intensity cycles.
Saying, “I need to pause this topic for my mental health right now.”
Taking distance is not apathy; it is one way of caring for your nervous system so you can keep engaging over time.[sonacollective]
Political Anxiety Journal Prompts
Writing can help you connect your cognitive understanding of politics with the felt experience in your body.
Consider exploring:
What specifically about the current political climate feels most activating to my nervous system?
What is within my control right now, and what is outside my control?
Where in my body do I notice political anxiety, and what might that part of me need?
What forms of action—large or small—would help me feel a bit less helpless?
What boundaries with news, social media, or certain conversations would support my mental health while staying engaged?
Who are “my people,” and where do I experience political solidarity and support?
When Political Anxiety Needs Professional Support
Some signs suggest it may be time to seek therapy or additional support. Surveys and clinical reports indicate that politics is a common topic in therapy and has contributed to increased demand for services.[wgbh]
Consider reaching out for help if:
Political anxiety is interfering with work, school, or relationships.
You experience panic attacks or intense physiological reactions to political news.
You feel hopeless or despairing, or have thoughts of self‑harm.
You notice using substances more to cope with political stress.
You feel unable to stop doomscrolling or compulsively checking the news.
Approaches that may be particularly helpful include:
Somatic therapy: Works directly with bodily responses to political threat and chronic stress.[sonacollective]
EMDR: Can be useful when political events link with past trauma or are themselves traumatic.[therapywisdom]
Internal Family Systems (IFS): Helps you understand and care for parts of you that feel terrified, enraged, or shut down about politics.
Art therapy: Offers nonverbal pathways to move political grief, fear, and anger out of your body.[aclientfirst]
Group therapy or support groups: Reduce isolation and foster a sense of shared meaning and community around political experiences.[meadowsllc]
A Note on Privilege, Safety, and Political Anxiety
Political anxiety is not distributed evenly.
If you are LGBTQIA+, an immigrant, a person of color, disabled, economically precarious, or part of another marginalized community, political outcomes may directly affect your rights, access to care, or physical safety. The Thriving Center survey found that while 51% of Americans overall worry that election outcomes might affect their personal safety, this concern rises to 65% among LGBTQ respondents.[thrivingcenterofpsych]
For many people, anxiety about politics is therefore a rational response to real and present dangers—not a sign of being “too sensitive.” Somatic tools can support regulation, but they do not replace:
Building concrete safety and mutual support where possible.
Participating in collective and systemic change at a sustainable pace.
Naming that some fears are grounded in reality, not exaggeration.[colorado]
Nervous system work is not about becoming comfortable with injustice; it is about building enough internal steadiness to keep showing up without burning out.[sonacollective]
Your Nervous System Matters in the Work for Change
A more settled nervous system is not a luxury—it is part of how you maintain your capacity to participate in change. When your body feels grounded enough, it becomes easier to listen, think clearly, and respond instead of react.[colorado]
Political engagement does not have to cost you your mental health. The more resourced your system is, the more sustainable your voting, organizing, caregiving, and community work become over time.[apa]
The aim is not to stay serene while everything feels like it is on fire. The aim is to have enough internal anchor that you can act in ways that align with your values, even when the world feels unstable.
Your Anxiety Makes Sense—And You Deserve Support
Political anxiety in 2026 is an understandable response to polarization, instability, and very real stakes for many communities. You do not have to minimize it, and you do not have to carry it alone.[apa]
If you are in New York State and want support around political anxiety, you are welcome to book a free 15‑minute consultation. Virtual art therapy and somatic therapy can help you:
Work with your nervous system during intense political cycles.
Process political grief, rage, and fear through both words and creative expression.
Build sustainable rhythms of engagement and rest.
Find or deepen community to reduce isolation.
Channel anxiety into aligned, doable action.
Your mental health matters. Your nervous system matters. Your ability to show up for what you care about matters. You deserve support in staying grounded while you navigate all of it.
Sources
American Psychological Association. (2024). Stress in America 2024: A nation in political turmoil. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/stress-in-america/2024[apa]
Charlie Health. (2025). Politics and mental health. (summarized in Meadows, 2025). Retrieved from https://www.charliehealth.com/research/politics-mental-health[meadowsllc]
GBH News. (2025, March 27). Politics-related stress driving uptick in demand for mental health services, providers say. Retrieved from https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2025-03-28/politics-related-stress-driving-uptick-in-demand-for-mental-health-services-providers-say[wgbh]
Levine, P. A. (2010). In an unspoken voice: How the body releases trauma and restores goodness. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Meadows, J. (2025, July 21). Be Aware: How the 2025 political climate is eroding mental health. Retrieved from https://www.meadowsllc.com/blog/2025-political-climate[meadowsllc]
NeuroStim TMS. (2025, January 14). Mental health crisis in U.S. politics: 2025 presidential inauguration. Retrieved from https://neurostimtms.com/mental-health-crisis-politics-2025-inauguration/[neurostimtms]
Sona Collective. (2025, November 16). Somatic therapy for uncertain times. Retrieved from https://sonacollective.co/blog/therapy-for-political-uncertainty[sonacollective]
Thriving Center of Psychology. (2025, April 7). Political anxiety: Latest statistics & impact. Retrieved from https://thrivingcenterofpsych.com/blog/political-anxiety-statistics/[thrivingcenterofpsych]
University of Colorado Boulder, Department of Political Science. (2025, December 1). The importance of well-being with increasing political divide in the United States. Retrieved from https://www.colorado.edu/polisci/2025/12/02/importance-well-being-increasing-political-divide-united-states[colorado]
Zhao, C. H., Woolverton, G. A., Rastogi, R., Menor, A., Hahm, H. C., & Liu, C. H. (2025). 2024 presidential election stress and its association with depression and anxiety among U.S. young adults: A two-wave survey study. Psychiatry Research, 361, 115622. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2025.115622[pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih]
