CLEVELAND — As the nation deals with an undecided election, many Americans are reporting increased levels of stress and anxiety amid the uncertainty.
3News’ Romney Smith asked how you woke up feeling and we received answers saying “Aggravated”, “Sick to my stomach”, “Feeling like crap” and “Great”. LeShun ‘Ship’ Collins voted in the election and says this morning the close numbers are causing a little confusion and anxiety.
“It appears that the country is 50/50. Where does it go? It’s still divided,” says Collins.
Smith spoke with voters about which specific topics are their highest concern. Dan Skinner is an Ohio health policy professor who says healthcare is his top priority.
“For me, the policy stakes were extremely high. The repeal of the Affordable Care Act and what happens with healthcare. There are high stakes for millions and millions of people including here in Ohio”
A conservative voter we spoke with is worried that a Biden presidency will lead to a Kamala Harris presidency.
“She’s extremely liberal. As I shared, I look through conservative eyes and there’s very little that I think I agree with her and it’s a road that I certainly wouldn’t want the country to walk down,” says Anne Patram.
Others feel hopeless that the nation seems to be in a deadlock.
“How do you convince someone of right and wrong? Where did they lose a sense of empathy? A sense of sympathy?” questions Collins.
“I really wonder can it be any more divided on some philosophies or policies than we are right now?” questions Patram.
Shayna Jackson, Crossroads Health Chief Clinical Officer says in order to reduce your election anxiety, it may help to do something physical, like volunteer.
“Something that connects your current life circumstance with something you can control that feels positive, because that’s our community. So rather than channeling it all into a negative space, how can we channel it into a space where we feel more in control? And our community gets a positive impact from it,” says Jackson.
Jackson adds if we’re doing something physical, it can provide a distraction by literally using a different part of our brain. She also says it’s important to pause and determine if your response to political topics is coming from a place of emotion or logic because often high emotions will hijack your ability to be logical.
3News also called out to our viewers on social media to ask how they are currently feeling about the state of the election and the country. We received responses from all across Northeast Ohio with one common theme: anxiety.
One 3News viewer, Priya Vaidya said on Facebook Wednesday morning, "Feeling like crap." Two other commenters agreed with her, with Jeff Gambrone writing "sick to my stomach," and Mike Mccoy saying he feels "sick" in regards to the current state of the presidential election.
Frustration over early poll results from before Election Day happened to also be a hot topic on social media today.
"Exhausting, it's time to end the profession of polling. That don't know what their doing and influence voters that haven't voted yet. It's obvious they were wrong again" Ed Somppi said on Twitter.
One 3News viewer responded on Facebook that she feels "really upset people don’t educate themselves on what they are actually voting for."
Jane Goodman on Twitter told 3News that she's "glad to see our turnout increased a lot, but dismayed to see that approximately 3 out of 10 registered voters in my city didn’t bother to vote at all, and many who did vote left a blank in the presidential race."
Kathy from Ohio expressed her disdain for the results that have poured in from across the country, writing "I really thought American's would have learned from all the bad we have been thru the last 4 years and more have voted for Biden. America is really disappointing me today. And I am feeling ashamed to call myself an Ohioan today. A sad day for sure."
"Shameful that states have mishandled the election process and left many wondering about the results," Fred Zupancic responded on Twitter Wednesday morning, "We deserve better than this."
"Let’s keep delaying counting" Mandy Murar said on Facebook of the fact that some states have not called races due to absentee ballot counting, "Democrats are a piece of work."
Despite several comments calling the mail-in ballots a "rigged system," Ashley Ann on Facebook said, "grateful that mail-in ballots are being counted because that’s what a democracy looks like. And people who are complaining about taking time to actually count all of Americans’ votes must be on the wrong side of it. #FairElection."
Joyce Elaine Smith shared a similar statement, "disappointed but accepting. Just finish counting all ballots in every state that were cast, stamped and received by election day. That is the fair thing. Then accept the results of ALL Americans."