How are you taking care of yourself this Election Night?
Experts Offer Ways to Cope with Anxiety Before and After Election Day
It’s November 5th, 2024 — and Election Day is still stressful. National races with far-reaching implications bring lots of people anxiety, and what’s at stake today is no exception. In advance of the big day, Black Voice News spoke with four mental health experts to discuss strategies for voters to protect their peace while polls are open, and after everything’s decided too.
They advise practicing mental exercises like focusing thoughts on what you can control, and considering best case scenarios along with the worst. Self-care is crucial too, whether that means getting quality sleep, ordering takeout, or getting offline and outside.
They also suggest reaching out to close networks for support and levity, and offer tips for knowing when to seek professional help.
“When it comes to the Black community, we experience a great deal of anxiety, fear, insomnia and even racial trauma in navigating election season,” Dr. Patrice N. Douglas, a clinical psychologist and therapist in Rancho Cucamonga, told the outlet.
Plus: Election Day tips from psychologist Dr. Laura Roberts (Epicenter NYC)
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What’s At Stake: A Pivotal Election For Six Big Health Issues
This time next year, health in America will look radically different depending on whether it’s Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump sitting in the Oval Office.
Trump has powered much of his campaign around drastic, yet vague, plans to roll back Biden-era policies. This includes cutting subsidies to the Affordable Care Act, continuing to restrict access to abortion, and overhauling the structure and staff of public health agencies.
Meanwhile, Harris has been clear on her plans to protect the ACA, as well as maintain access to abortion, transgender health care, Medicaid, vaccines, and affordable prescription drugs.
As India Currents reports, a team at KFF News has broken down six of these pivotal health issues, offering a sneak peak at the future of each one under a Harris presidency versus a second Trump term.
Plus: We Are The BreadCrumbs: What Trans Alabamians Already Know About The Election (Scalawag)
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Baltimore’s Fatal Overdose Rate Finally Shows Signs Of Slowing
Cities across the country are feeling the toll of the opioid epidemic — but for Baltimore, it’s on another level. Over 8,000 residents have been killed by the crisis in the last decade, reports Baltimore Beat. According to 2020 U.S. Census data, the city’s death rate is the highest in the nation and four times the Maryland average.
This year, though, advocates and residents are cautiously hopeful. There were 566 fatal overdoses as of this September, which gives the city a chance to finish the year with fewer than 800 overdose deaths for the first time since 2017 — before a rapid spread of fentanyl swept the nation during the pandemic.
The decline in deaths may be a sign that recent investments in harm reduction are working, as Logan Hullinger explains, originally writing for Mobtown Mag. This includes the city’s distribution of life-saving naloxone, litigation against the opioid industry, and higher budgets for substance use disorder and mental health services.
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Meet the Gamechangers
A mental health campaign started by the Sac and Fox Nation and the Association of American Indian Physicians is gaining momentum. Tom Anderson, AAIP’s Executive Director, tells Native News Online that the campaign’s goal is to address stigma in indigenous communities around getting help, and bring awareness to a 24/7 phone and text lifeline. →
