Greg Vogt and Cassie Firebaugh: Managing our Mental Wellness Amongst the Media Mayhem

Welcome to our town hall event called Managing our Mental Wellness Amongst the Media Mayhem! With 6 days to go until Election Day, we are being bombarded with messages on social media, text messages from candidates running for office, and information overload. We have two panelists with us today to talk about Mental Wellness during this overwhelming time, Greg Vogt and Cassie Firebaugh. Some frightening statistics: More than two-thirds of adults in the United States say that the 2020 election is a significant source of stress in their lives, according to new data from the American Psychological Association (APA). That's a significant increase from 2016, when just 52% of survey respondents said that they found the election to be a source of stress. Now, 68% of respondents said that the election was bringing them stress. According to the APA data, the levels of stress vary based on different demographics. Adults with chronic conditions are "consistently more likely" to call the election a source of stress than adults without chronic conditions (39% vs. 28%). The proportion of Black adults calling the election a source of stress has also jumped significantly: 46% of surveyed Black Americans said the 2016 election was a source of stress, compared to 71% of respondents this year. Presidential Election Anxiety is a real thing, and we're going to discuss all of it today. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZB03Lks9cs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZB03Lks9cs