'This is psychological warfare.' Dr. Phil's tips for managing election anxiety after historic Trump win

Washington — A disaffected electorate has voted former President Donald Trump back into the White House, a blatant rejection of Vice President Kamala Harris and her nearly four years with President Joe Biden.

The Republican’s victory came from a public so put off by America’s trajectory that they welcomed his unorthodox approach. About 3 in 10 voters said they wanted total upheaval in how the country is run, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide. Even if they weren’t looking for something that dramatic, more than half of voters overall said they wanted to see substantial change.

But with that change, anxiety and depression has lingered for many. Merit TV's Dr. Phil McGraw offered advice for stressed Americans Wednesday morning after Trump prevailed in the electoral college. Here are his seven steps for managing "election anxiety."

• Acknowledge fear and anxiety
  "It's not a weakness on your part. You've actually been targeted by professionals. This is psychological warfare. These aren't just ads that someone is running. These were designed by professionals to create an image of evil! To create an image of people who are out to get you and take away the life that you have lived in America... and if you vote for the wrong side, evil will prevail and good will be wiped away. So this has all been a campaign to create anxiety and fear if you do the wrong thing. This has been a PSYOP to get you to have exactly the reaction you're having," shared McGraw. "So you naturally are going to have fear and anxiety if you think that if your side doesn't win, you're going to get up in the morning, open your door and it's going to look like some kind of nuclear holocaust... so, acknowledge that, it's ok. It's not a weakness."
• Play the 'what if' game
  "It's ok to play the 'what if' game, but you have to play it all the way to the end. Answer the question. You aren't going to wake up and find the world on fire, but what is going to happen? And let me answer that question for you -- nothing. You're going to wake up the day after election day and you're going to have the same car, or walk to the bus stop. You're going to have the same job... same kids, dog, cat... and everything is going to seem like, 'wow what was all the to-do about?' There may even be some violence in the streets. But this too shall pass," advised McGraw. "Pretty soon you will get back to the same routine and will think, 'well what was all that about?' If this country is weakened by the wrong side winning, it will be a slow process across two or three years. Hopefully that won't happen, and a lot of it will be up to you."
• Break the cycle 
  "Turn off your television. Shut off your computer. Put your phone down. Limit your exposure to all this. Trust me, the media makes money by creating drama. This isn't going to change minute-to-minute. I saw people do this during COVID. Have you ever seen your government move quickly? Of course not. Don't get caught with doom scrolling," said McGraw. "Put. It. Down."
• Exercise
  "Get outside, go exercise. Burn off some of this anxious energy. It will lower your adrenaline and cortisol. And focus on rituals that have gotten you through; grooming for example. Maybe you need to take an extra shower? Maybe you need to go get a haircut. Maybe you need to go do some things that you've neglected because you kept such a high vigilance. Get back to that."
• Maintain routine
  "Don't take days off of work or cancel out on dinner with family or skip church. Do those things, but have some guardrails for your health and wellbeing. Take care of you because in the end, how we do or don't do will be a product of self-governance. It won't be because of who's president. You're the president in your life, and you need to make sure you're doing a good job."
• Focus on what matters
  "Family. Faith. Health. Those are the things that matter and so does having some fun. Focus on the things that really matter in your life."
• Focus on what you can control 
  "Don't focus on the weather. Focus on being prepared for the weather; that you can control! You're not helpless. The biggest thing you can control is your internal dialogue.  It's not what happens in life that upsets you, it's violating your expectations of what happens in life that upsets you. Viktor Frankl said it well when he was a prisoner at Auschwitz. He said: 'They can control everything about my life whether I sit, stand, eat, sleep... even live or die. But they can't control the attitude I take about it.,' " said McGraw. "And whatever the media does, whatever anybody tries to do, they can't get into your mind if you set up boundaries. Control your internal dialogue (what you say to yourself). And remember people aren't equal to their beliefs. That's just one part about them. You don't have to love everything about someone to love them. You may not like their politics, but you may like their personality. Recognize that they are not what they believe about politics. And focus on why you were their friend or why you married them to begin with. Remember, when you feel that anxiety welling up inside, that can be a cue for coping or a cue for meltdown. Let it be a cue for coping."
  

   

Both nationwide and in key battleground states, Trump won over voters who were alarmed about the economy and prioritized more aggressive enforcement of immigration laws. Those issues largely overshadowed many voters’ focus on the future of democracy and abortion protections — key priorities for Harris’ voters, but not enough to turn the election in her favor.

Trump’s victory, however, wasn’t a total mandate. Most voters said they were very or somewhat concerned that electing Trump would bring the U.S. closer to being an authoritarian country, where a single leader has unchecked power. Still, more than 1 in 10 of those voters backed him.

Voters gave Trump the edge on their top concern: the economy

Anxiety about inflation was high nationally, and voters broadly believed that Trump would be better equipped than Harris to handle the economy and jobs. The key swing states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin largely mirrored the mood of the nation.

The share of voters who said their family’s financial situation was “falling behind” rose to about 3 in 10, up from roughly 2 in 10 in the last presidential election. Many voters were still reeling from inflation that spiked to a four-decade high in June 2022. About 9 in 10 voters were very or somewhat concerned about the cost of groceries, and about 8 in 10 were concerned about their health care costs, their housing costs or the cost of gas.

Trump eroded Democrats’ traditional advantage among key groups

Trump picked up a small but significant share of younger voters, Black voters and Hispanic voters, many of whom were feeling down about the economy. Majorities of younger Black voters and Latino voters said the economy is not working well.

The economy carried more prominence than in the 2020 election, including for these groups. Four years ago, COVID-19 and racism were important issues for Black and Latino voters. But this time, they were more focused on the economy, and Trump managed to make inroads with both groups even as the majority stayed with Harris.

Among voters under 30, slightly less than half went for Trump, an improvement from his 2020 performance. About three-quarters of young voters said the country was headed in the wrong direction, and roughly one-third said they wanted complete and total upheaval to how the country is run.

There was also a divide between young men and women on which candidate they backed. About 6 in 10 women between 18 to 29 voted for Harris, and more than half of men in that age group backed Trump.

Tough immigration policies were more popular, particularly in swing states

Voters were more likely to embrace hardline immigration policies than they were four years ago, which aligned with Trump’s tough approach.

About 4 in 10 voters said that immigrants living in the U.S. illegally should be deported to the country they came from, up from about 3 in 10 in 2020. And while most voters said that immigrants living in the U.S. illegally should be offered a chance to apply for legal status, that was down from 2020.

Trump has seized on an increase in illegal crossings at the U.S. border with Mexico as a driver of crime and falsely accused Haitian immigrants in Ohio of eating dogs and cats. That position may have echoed in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – three states far from the southern border whereabout 8 in 10 Trump voters said they supported deportation over a chance to apply for legal status.

A more isolationist electorate

Trump’s return to the White House will likely challenge the established global order, as he has questioned the commitment to defend fellow NATO counties and called for large tariff hikes on allies as well as competitors. Voters were more likely than in 2020 to adopt many of Trump’s isolationist stances. About 4 in 10 voters wanted the U.S. to take a “less active role” in solving the world’s problems, up from about 3 in 10 in 2020.

Most of Trump’s supporters opposed continuing aid to Ukraine in the war against Russia, undoing a Biden administration policy that had strengthened and expanded NATO. But there were limits to their isolationist stance: A majority of Trump voters separately favored continuing aiding Israel in its war against Hamas and Hezbollah.

Trump is not a unifier, but some voters didn’t see his flaws as dealbreakers

Some of Trump's voters acknowledged his flaws even as they chose to send him back to Washington.

Nearly half of voters said they were “very concerned” that another Trump presidency would bring the U.S. closer to authoritarianism. Roughly 1 in 10 in this group voted for him anyway. About 6 in 10 voters said he is not honest and trustworthy, but about 2 in 10 in this group backed him. A majority of voters said he does not have the moral character to be president, and about 1 in 10 of those voters supported him.

For all his promises, Trump will likely find it challenging to endow the nation as a whole with a new sense of unity and optimism. Asked if he would bring positive change, voters were about evenly split.

Copyright MSM/Associated Press