Life is a continuation of stress. Soaring mad house prices are stressful, home finishing such as tiling (check out Tilers Place.com for better tile prices) is also stressful. Not to mention endless childcare costs! This stress is somewhat resolved if politics works properly. Good property policies and good childcare allowances, but real politics do not. So politics itself is a stressful case. Because of this, the hard life of the common people can continue, and the level of anger can rise.

Recently, Wired brought the results of the American Academy of Psychology (APA) in October 2016 to reveal the relationship between politics and stress. In its annual research report, Stress in America, the APA surveyed and published what was the biggest stressor for Americans in 2016.

More than half of the US adults surveyed were stressed large and small because of the presidential election, regardless of their support party. In other words, a sigh leaked from every corner of the United States during the election.

Donald Trump’s win rate in the presidential election was the lowest in modern American history, just after he took office. This leads to speculation that many American presidential election stresses cannot be quickly resolved. Moreover, this election not only cracked the whole of the United States but also brought political confrontation even within the home. In particular, social media (SNS) emerged as the channel with the most stress. Thirty-eight percent of those surveyed said they were stressed by conflicting elections on SNS.

Social Media Is Essential In Political Campaigns

In recent election campaigns, the use of social media is considered essential. Voters who use SNS also have access to numerous theories about politics and elections throughout the election. However, according to a report by the Pew Research Center, which surveyed 4579 adults via the Internet and mail between July 12 and August 8, 2016, many people were dissatisfied with the tone of the political debate on SNS. Was bearing.

According to the survey, 20% of respondents say they like to see political posts on social media, while 37% of users say they are tired. Similar to our appearance, the US has been stimulating opinions on SNS, not just scolding each other by supporting a party or ideological camp. The report notes that “a significant percentage of SNS users are so full of anger that SNS is unable to find other cases.” The most noteworthy part is this passage. 59% said they were “stressed and frustrated” about interacting with the Internet on a political disagreement.

Stress Over Politics Affecting Americans’ Mental And Physical Health

The less stress you get, the higher your turnout

The studies of voting and stress is also interesting. Voting is an optional act. As you ponder which candidate to cast your vote, the voter’s stress index naturally rises. The trouble of voting itself is stressful. A common physiological phenomenon under stress is the secretion of cortisol. Once the brain feels threatened, the hypothalamus signals the pituitary gland, which actively produces cortisol called the stress hormone. In September 2011, the Israeli Negev Ben-Gurion University research team measured the participants’ cortisol and reported that the stress of voters in the election was about three times higher than usual. The team re-examined the 113 people who participated in the 2009 Israel election. As a result, voters’ stress levels up to 10 meters in front of the polling station rose three times more than usual.

There is also a study on the correlation between the stress caused by voting and the turnout. A study by Jeff French, a professor team at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln University, found that voters get less stressed and turnout is higher. The team examined the relationship between stress and political participation in over 100 participants who were indifferent to conservatives, progressives, and politics. Stress was confirmed by the amount of the cortisol hormone mentioned in the previous experiment. Low-stress people participated in political activities such as campaigns and sponsorships. And turnout was also high.

A similar study can be found in our case. Professor Oh Eun-hwan, Department of Health Management, Hyeopseong University in October last year, conducted a survey on health indicators such as the turnout rate of 222 basic self-governmental organizations in 14 cities and provinces nationwide and the drinking rate and smoking rate of residents of each local government. The relationship was analyzed. As a result, the lower the smoking rate, the stress recognition rate of the residents (the percentage of residents who responded to the stress very or very badly) and the suicide rate (the number of suicides per 100,000 residents), the higher the turnout rate of the local government.

In the case of Choi Soon-Sil’s National Political Affairs case, an unprecedented presidential impeachment is underway in modern history. How much stress do our people feel? And how does this stress affect the election turnout? The baptism of stress that our politicians will pass is not over.