Election Stress 2016: Dr. Esther Sternberg, Stress Expert and Medical Researcher, Provides Advice and Insights into the Vicious Cycle of Election Stress and How to Manage It

TUCSON, Ariz., Nov. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Esther Sternberg, world-renowned stress expert and medical researcher whose science of the mind-body discoveries proved the connection between stress and arthritis, today provided advice and insights (below) on how stress contributed to the election outcome, how the election caused stress, and what people can do about it. 

Dr. Sternberg is the author of two best-selling books, including The Balance Within: The Science Connecting Health and Emotions and Healing Spaces: The Science of Place and Wellbeing.

What Causes Election-related Stress
"The storm and fury of this election didn't just cause stress – the brain's stress response caused the election rhetoric and its outcome.  The science of stress tells us that change triggers the stress response, and its flipside, familiarity, calms it."

Seeking Familiarity
"People said they wanted change, but what they were really seeking in this time of unprecedented change, was familiarity – with an older, more familiar time."

Fight or Flight
The stress response gives us the energy to "fight or flee."  "This is life saving in the face of imminent danger, but counter-productive in the long run, because the 'fight' part of that reaction only amplifies stress."

Productive Ways to Reduce Stress
"There are more productive ways to reduce stress, and get that haven we are all seeking. How stressed you feel depends on the balance between demands placed on you and the amount of control you have over them."

"So do what you can in your own life to take control – whatever it is that you do best to make a difference. Better yet, do those things for others. Love and compassion, by activating positive brain chemicals, are more effective ways to lower your stress response than working hard to reduce stress."

The Importance of Compassion
"By having compassion for people on both sides – all struggling with their own stresses – job loss, new culture, loss of home or homeland, fear, discrimination, violence, poverty ­– we will hopefully find a way to work together with respect for the fears and stresses that motivate us all; to find solutions on common ground; to build instead of tear down."

For More Information
For more information about Dr. Esther Sternberg, visit www.esthersternberg.com

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SOURCE Dr. Esther Sternberg

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