Psychiatrists across the country are reporting an uptick in the number of patients coming to them complained of stress over the current political climate, taking up session time to share their political views regardless of which side of the political divide they are on.
“We truly are all equal. We have the same fears, the same emotions, the same threat, the same insecurities,” Houston psychologist Dr. Ed Reitman tells KTRH News. “We all bleed and we all hurt. The blood we bleed is red, and if we could see the commonality, there would no need for the kinds of behavior we’re seeing now in the world.”
Patients’ complaints are varied, but many include insomnia, a feeling of hypervigilance, and an inability to turn off the 24-hour news cycle. A California psychiatrist says she’s working overtime to keep up with demand.
A study by the American Psychology Association finds 66% of Republicans and Democrats have complained of stress coming from the White House and are worried about the country’s future.
“People who supported Trump are now questioning should they have. People who didn’t support him are now vitriolic,” says Reitman.
The APA study reports stress has been a solid downward trajectory for American adults for the past ten years, but spiked for the first time in January 2017 when President Trump was inaugurated.