It seems election cycles become more stressful – or exciting, depending on how much you relish political drama – every four years. If the approaching 2020 election has you on edge, it’s important to remember that the power of the mind, and healthy mind-body-spirit practices, can help you center yourself.

This Tool for Fixing Election Stress incorporates many of the mind-body practices we’ve talked about before, including paying attention to bodily sensations, journaling about your feelings, and meditating.

Relieve your stress by paying attention to your senses. What do you feel, see, hear, smell, and taste right now? Focus on one or more of these things.

• Something pleasant to the touch, like a soft blanket or velvety leaf. Or just enjoy the feeling of sun on your face.
• Something pleasant to smell, like a scented candle or freshly washed laundry, or a lavender bag on your pillow.
• Something pleasant to hear, like rustling leaves, upbeat music, nature sounds or a favorite podcast.
• Something beautiful to look at, like family pictures or the view out your window.
• Something delicious to taste, like a juicy tomato, dark chocolate or your favorite tea.

Do something different to take your mind off the election and world events. It might help to put your phone or other devices away and try one of these activities instead.

• Reading – fiction can be very distracting
• Crafting, sewing, knitting, or crocheting
• Gardening
• Woodworking
• Doing a puzzle
• Voice calling a friend, just to chat

If election news and political talk have you felling depressed, do something to energize yourself, like taking a brisk walk outdoors. Find a Zumba or Chakaboom dance video on YouTube and follow the moves. Or watch a funny movie. Feeling angry? Tempted to rant and rave? Set a timer and stretch for 5 minutes. Try alternate nostril breathing to calm down. This is an ancient yoga technique.

This powerful guided meditation with Dr. Jonas helps you relax and feel calm, centered and grateful. Shift to a mindset of gratitude. Gratitude helps you deal with life’s difficulties in a positive and productive way. You’ll reap health benefits including better resistance to illness and better mental and physical well-being. Start a daily gratitude practice. The simplest way is just to jot down three to five things you are grateful for each day, from the good weather or a hot cup of tea to a loved one or a job. Other options include keeping a gratitude journal, writing letters or thank-you notes to loved ones, or texting a gratitude buddy. A few weeks of this has been shown to lower burnout and stress.

Try journaling. Writing your feelings down can relieve stress. If the thought of trying to write coherent paragraphs stresses you out, just make a list of your feelings, jot random words in a “word cloud,” or draw or paint. Here are some ideas for journaling – and remember, complete sentences aren’t mandatory! Neither is good handwriting. The journal is for you to process your own feelings for yourself.