How Election Season Impacts LGBTQ+ Mental Health
Election seasons can be particularly hard for LGBTQ+ people or anyone whose rights are politicized. I connected with some fellow Minneapolis LGBTQ+ therapists to get their insights on LGBTQ+ mental health during the current election season.
What are some things that make election season particularly stressful or challenging for LGBTQ+ people's mental health?
Ruby Levine, MSW, LGSW of Dandelion Spirit
“This particular election season is challenging for the LGBTQ+ community as a whole. We have been through four years of the Trump administration, which was devastating and deadly to our community and allied communities, and four years of the Biden administration, which has an intensification of codified discrimination against queer and particularly trans people at the state level. Many people have had to move, or are moving, due to the criminalization of their existence or their children's existence in their home state. Despite the Biden administration's professed commitment to queer and trans people, and some attempts to improve life for our community at a federal level, between gerrymandered, vote-suppressed local politics, and the intense queerphobia of the Supreme Court majority, it's hard for the LGBTQ+ community to see a lot of hope in this election.” -Ruby Levine
“Some struggles LGBTQ+ folks might experience during an election season include an increase in anti-queer rhetoric and violence and last minute anti-queer legislation passing before an election. Also, LGBTQ+ folks might feel undervalued due to being seen as a pawn in an LGBTQ+ voter group. Finally, many folks might feel distress and betrayal from loved ones supporting anti-queer candidates due to single issue voting patterns. These experience may lead to mental health struggles including depression, anxiety, and aggravation of trauma symptoms.” - Rebekah Anderson
“Politics is a huge piece of the backdrop of our daily life and it can be relentless. Election season amplifies that stress by adding a constant influx of new information, the uncertain threat of change, and the dehumanization of hearing human rights and LGBTQ+ issues discussed as if they were political trading cards.” - Dr. Allen Wood
What are some ways LGBTQ+ people can take care of themselves and their well-being during election season?
Rebekah Anderson, MA, LMFT of Rainbow Relationship Therapy
“There are many ways that LGBTQ+ folks can focus on caring for themselves during a stressful election season. Boundaries around media consumption are incredibly important. This does not mean you have to put your head in the sand. It could mean choosing to listen or read media instead of watching outrage content or taking breaks/having specific times set aside to stay informed. Second, focusing on taking care of your body can be a helpful way to relieve stress. Your body’s nervous system gets dysregulated when hearing and witnessing such hate and fear. Your body needs regulation. Go for a walk. Take some deep breaths. Get together and laugh with loved ones. Joy is resistance. Finally, if you are able, getting involved with candidates/campaigns who are LGBTQ+ affirming and value who you are can be an empowering way to process the strong emotions you may be feeling during a tough election season.” - Rebekah Anderson
“Staying informed is important and so is honoring our capacity. News around elections is designed to keep the audience tuned in and they often do so through fear, excitement, anger, and hope. Keeping track of the toll this takes on us, allowing ourselves breaks, and using news sources that aren't sensationalized can help us endure the ever-lengthening marathon of election season.” - Dr. Allen Wood
Ruby Levine outlines 4 main points for taking care of yourself during election season:
Take care of you. You have to do all the boring stuff -- drink your water, take your meds, call your person, as Tracy Clayton and Heben Nigatu say. Practice gratitude when you can. Eat a food that feels good. Move your body. Rest when you need to.
Find a place locally you can make an impact, and the people you can do it with. Join a mutual aid group. Take a self defense class. Run for the library or school board. Bring blankets to an encampment of unhoused people. Text bank for a candidate or cause you care about. You can't do everything, but you can do one thing -- pick a lane and stay in it. Build relationships with the people who you can depend on when shit goes down. At the end of the day, we don't have anyone but each other, and we keep each other safe.
Remember that you can never do enough, and let that idea go. No one person can ever do enough to solve the problems we're facing -- if we could, the problems would be solved. There is no enough. There's what you can do, today. Believing we have to take a big "enough" action to have an impact is, counterintuitively, a barrier to action. Start small. If a step feels overwhelming, break it into smaller pieces and start with the first one.
Give yourself permission to take breaks. It can feel necessary to stay up to date on every twist and turn of the election and politics more generally, but remember that staying informed only matters in the world as far as it influences your behavior. Obsessive consumption of the news can feel like action, because it's so draining and engaging, but worrying has no impact outside your own head. You're far better off sending $15 to a trans person's GoFundMe and logging off for the day.
How can people support their LGBTQ+ loved ones during election season?
Dr. Allen Wood, Psy.D., LP of Center for Deliberate Psychotherapy
Dr. Allen Wood gives 3 ways to support your LGBTQ+ loved ones:
Listen - You may already have a good understanding of the stresses and concerns your loved one holds, but listen anyway. Being able to talk to someone you trust both expands the brain's ability to modulate stress and reinforces that they are not alone, two critical factors in emotional wellbeing.
Educate - Staying up-to-date on issues (and supporting other allies in doing the same) can lighten the load by reducing or removing the need for your loved one to explain first.
Participate - That may mean going to marches or it may be respecting that they are not wanting to talk about politics right then; either way, stay an active participant. Also, get out and vote!
“One of the most important ways to support your LGBTQ+ loved ones is to get to know candidates values regarding LGBTQ+ rights as a part of your research process. Informing yourself is important and can be a way to avoid asking your queer loved one to do that emotional labor for you. Second, it is important to check in on how your queer loved ones are doing when anti-queer rhetoric is big in the news. They most likely know these events are happening, so focus on your loved one’s experiences instead of rehashing the details of the events. Focus on being a safe place of support for your loved one when they are distressed about election season. Finally, use your privilege as an ally to inform and combat against hate speech directed at LGBTQ+ folks. Your voice is powerful and you can do so much good by speaking out.” - Rebekah Anderson
“Well-meaning allies say things like "I couldn't look my [queer/BIPOC/trans/disabled/otherwise marginalized] friends in the face if I didn't vote for Biden." Check in with your marginalized friends before saying things like that! The Biden administration has been a huge disappointment on a number of fronts, from failing to reunite families at the border, to a feeble defense of the right to abortion, and most prominently, to the ongoing supply of arms and political cover in the invasion and starvation of Gaza. There are queer and trans people on every part of the political spectrum, but Caitlyn Jenner aside, you don't find a lot of LGBTQ+ people excited to vote for Trump. What you might be surprised to find is that many of us are sick at the idea of making a choice to vote for Biden, either. Where does that leave us? Nowhere good. Be prepared to sit with your LGBTQ+ loved ones in all of their complicated feelings, keeping in mind the wide array of people whose lives are on the line in this upcoming election.” - Ruby Levine
Prioritizing LGBTQ+ mental health is more important than ever during an election season.
Caring for yourself and your LGBTQ+ loved ones helps us survive the election season with greater resilience. Remember, you are not alone, and there are resources available to support you through this time.
Curious about the benefits to being LGBTQ+ in the face of oppressive politics?
Download our free list of the 8 science-backed ways being LGBTQ+ makes your life better.
If you’re looking for a therapist who gets how stressful and painful it is to be queer sometimes, but also how meaningful, reach out to me for a free consult. I am a bi therapist in Minneapolis, MN. I provide online therapy for LGBTQ+ people located throughout Minnesota. You can have a life where you feel supported and joyful in your queer identity. Let’s connect and nurture what your LGBTQ+ identity means to you. I’d love to support you.
