Fear- and anger-based ads contribute to election anxiety, experts say
Every election, voters hear about the "existential threat" of one party or the other — according to experts, that kind of rhetoric is leading to increased election anxiety.
"It seems like the ads are more antagonistic now than they've ever been in times past," said Nailah Scarber, who is voting for the first time in this year's midterm election.
She said the very dramatic political ads don't help her know more about the candidates on the ballot.
"It's just so absurd," she said. "Back in the day it was Democrats vs. the Republicans, but this time you're actually talking about people's families and people's personal convictions."
Professor Arash Javanbakht, who studies psychiatry at Wayne State University, said political ads and campaign rhetoric are designed to make voters feel a certain way.
"When the negative emotions, fear-based, anger-based emotions, are triggered, we pay more attention, we tap more, we engage more," he said.
Javanbakht said his advice is for people to make a conscious effort to balance the information they get from different sources and to seek news on entirely different topics.
"Exposure to the positive news or neutral news, which is in the world of the arts, sports, community science, that's one part," he said.
Javanbakht also said that talking face-to-face with people you like but maybe disagree with politically can help ease the feeling that everyone in another group is bad or dangerous and better build community.
