How to deal with the intense stress of political, economic uncertainty
Coping with stressful world events begins with accepting some things are out of our control
Political science professor Julie Simmons is no stranger to stressful current events.
Though she's active in discussions around Canada's current federal election campaign, Simmons says it's the U.S. government's unpredictability — including threats to the Canada-U.S. relationship — that have her stress levels especially elevated.
"I feel …the humanity is lacking in the statements and the decisions that are made by the United States that have very real implications for people struggling around the world," said Simmons, who teaches at the University of Guelph.
She isn't alone in her anxieties.
A survey published in late March by Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC) found that 42 per cent of respondents experienced increased anxiety levels over the past month.
MHRC surveyed 1,500 Canadians in late February to get their thoughts on how national and global events have influenced their anxiety levels. The survey was conducted in the context of events like the resignation of former prime minister Justin Trudeau, as well as U.S. tariffs, annexation threats made by the current U.S. administration, and the ongoing international conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas.
University of Toronto Scarborough psychology professor Zindel Segal says he feels this anxiety too, and is stressed out by witnessing the dismantling of "so many institutions that we believed in."
"I think [stress] is increasingly heightened and it's going to stay there for quite a while, not just because of the impending election Canadians have to face, but also so much of the news from around the world that seems to be upending assumptions that we took for granted to help us feel some measure of stability and predictability," Segal told Dr. Brian Goldman, host of CBC podcast The Dose.
As a distinguished professor of psychology in mood disorders, however, Segal says there are key steps we can all take — like accepting there are some things beyond our individual control — to learn to live with large-scale global events.
How does stress affect the body?
Segal says stress is a broad term that can be better understood by differentiating between temporary and chronic stress.
Also known as acute stress, temporary stress is a short-term reaction to stressful stimuli, whereas chronic stress is long-term.
"Temporary stress can actually be a good thing, something that gets you fired up to deal with the situation, harnessing your focus, your concentration, your motivation, maybe even your values and you decide to do something about it," said Segal.
Common reactions to stress include fatigue, high blood pressure, muscle tension or chest pains, as well as digestive problems.
In the short-term, these reactions can provide discomfort that ranges from mild to severe — depending on the source of stimuli — but in the long-term, this discomfort can cause serious harm to the body.
Acute stress reaction symptoms occur within hours to days of a stressful event, according to the the International Classification of Diseases.
A 2024 analysis found that "physiological impacts of chronic stress include cardiovascular issues, immune system suppression, digestive problems, and muscle tension."
"In a sense, your body is acting as if it needs resources to put out a five-alarm fire every moment of the day, and eventually that wears down your organ systems," said Segal.
It does this by producing hormones and other physiological reactions in response to the mind keeping our stress levels up, he says.
Chronic stress can also lead to anxiety and depression, overwhelming people to the point that they disengage from activities that bring them joy.
Dr. Jackie Kinley, an associate professor at Dalhousie University's department of psychiatry, also says the mind and body are intertwined when dealing with stress.
"We have a stress reaction, which is evolutionary and designed to protect us and to keep us safe," she said. "When that pressure comes, your body responds to it and we have a fight or flight response, and that's natural and that's absolutely normal."
Where things get complicated, Segal says, is when the mind has a difficult time distinguishing between the danger of something like a tiger chasing us and the danger caused by fluctuating stock market prices stemming from U.S. economic uncertainty.
What can I do to manage my stress?
Kinley says stress impacts our "brain circuits," explaining that responses to stressors can become hardwired, leading to habitual responses.
Managing stress, therefore, is a matter of understanding how our bodies react to stimuli and training our brains to respond differently, says Kinley.
Segal says exercise of any kind — including going for walks or doing yoga — can manage some stress levels. Breathing exercises, like box breathing, can also help.
Segal also says that limiting so-called doomscrolling can also help reduce stress and anxiety.
"Anything that feeds the tendency to bring up this world-on-fire sensation … is something that also can be unplugged from for periods of time," he said.
Segal says people who worry a lot should consider trying a technique called stimulus control.
Essentially, he recommends people carve out time during their day to give themselves permission to "worry about every single thing in the world that you feel is going wrong."
"You might even have a place in your house, like your worry corner, where you sit in the worry corner and just let the mind roam," he said.
"So you're not getting rid of your worries; you're postponing them to the period of time when it's OK to worry."
Stimulus control is a documented psychological strategy and a 2023 meta-analysis found that stimulus control — also known as worry postponement — "has the potential to be an effective strategy in reducing daily worry."
Nonetheless, the same meta-analysis recommends further study.
Psychological interventions like dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) can help us increase our distress tolerance in healthy ways.
"It can be helpful for us to understand that, in turbulent times, we may not be able to fix everything," said Segal.
To get through that turbulence, he said it's also important for us to identify things that provide us with some level of stability, continuity and connection to other people.
Finding hope in sometimes hopeless situations
Julie Simmons acknowledges that current political and socioeconomic stressors — including high living costs — are legitimate causes for concern. But she says she draws hope from both her faith in the Canadian political process, and her students' enthusiasm for improving their communities.
"Even though it's a challenging environment, I see the energy of the next generation, which I'm not sure that everybody that isn't working around those soon-to-become taxpayers and soon-becoming contributors to our society have a chance to see," said Simmons.
At the same time, she's able to manage her stress by connecting with her family and her children, savouring the time she's able to spend with people who matter the most to her.
"At the end of the work day, and when I see the acrimony in the news, it is very easy for me to turn to the other aspects of me from which I derive so much meaning and joy," said Simmons.
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