As a psychiatrist, I’ve never talked so much about politics with my patients as I have in the past two years. It was surprising, though, when the conversations started to shift from more abstract concepts to concrete questions about my personal views on politically charged topics. Patients began to ask about my views on Covid-19 controversies, Donald Trump’s mental health, freedom of speech, the Black Lives Matter movement and neutral pronouns.
Political topics seem to be everywhere, and do not refrain from knocking on therapists’ office doors. From 24-hour news to social media hashtags, we are all surrounded by never-ending campaigns, discussions and sometimes fights over politics. We may even be involved in some of them.
Everyone should take part in the decisions that affect their community. However, a significant number of people are letting stress over politics get so far under their skin that it’s making them sick.. The negative impact was more prominent in those who were young, politically engaged or opposed to the government.
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