Watching Trump all over again is bad for my mental health


A possible rematch in the 2024 presidential election between President Biden and former President Trump appears likely, even though few voters actually want it. A Yahoo News/YouGov poll found 38 percent of respondents reported they felt “exhaustion” over the idea of a Biden-Trump replay. 

According to the American Psychological Association, the stress of following daily political news can negatively affect people’s mental health and wellbeing.

Straight Arrow News contributor Jordan Reid opens up about her own mental health challenges given the prospect of another Trump presidency.

A vote for Trump in 2024 is a vote for Trump for him [sic] however long he feels like being there because he aspires to be just like his bestie, Vladimir Putin.

He is so emboldened now that he absolutely will upend our democracy in the service of his own ego. He tried to do it one time already, and I think this time he could succeed.

Now, that is really scary, again, not in a hypothetical way, in a tangible way. Will more people vote for Biden again, assuming he’s the nominee? Yeah, I believe so. But the way that the electoral college is set up, which don’t even get me started, it means that if Trump is the nominee, he’s basically like a coin flip away from the presidency again.

We lived through this once before. I am very worried about our collective mental health —  and specifically my own — now that it appears that we have to do this all over again.

So, especially because it is mental health awareness month, I want to take a minute to remind you that while, yes, you better show up when it matters; you vote and you get others to vote and you make yourself heard, you also do not have to maintain 24/7 vigilance. You don’t have to listen to Trump’s voice if it triggers you as it does me. You don’t have to open your eyes and go straight to your news app. You can step away from the news cycle and the sky will not fall. I want to acknowledge that your feelings, whatever they may be, are real, and also remind you that this sort of constant ongoing stress can have real effects on your health.