"On the news yesterday, they revealed a potential neo-Nazi plot against Barack Obama, and then they gave more details on the racially-motivated Ashley Todd hoax. It made my heart pound. My blood pressure rose precipitously," said anthropologist Wende Marshall, professor of public health sciences, University of Virginia.
Barack Obama's candidacy represents a pivotal moment in history, and many African American women are having a visceral reaction to the final, frantic days of the presidential campaign.
"I'm completely stressed out," said military wife Candy Hayes, a former Detroiter who now lives in Suffolk, Va. Her husband has been in the service for 30 years, and had hoped to retire next year. "We can't plan our future until we know who won the election. If John McCain wins, the retirement is postponed, and we won't get a chance to do the things we were hoping to do," Hayes told OffTheBus.
Belinda Moses is a single parent of two "great students." One is in college, the other is ready to go. "I already owe $23,000 in student loans. I share a car with my elderly father, who is watching his retirement nest egg slip away in the declining stock market. My disabled brother, who depends on me to advocate for his medical needs, has had five surgeries since January."
With so many people depending on her, Moses is furious at the McCain-Palin ticket. "How dare they focus on the frivolity of what somebody's pastor said, when lives like mine are hanging in the balance? What if some day my dad can't pay his portion of our mortgage? What if my brother has to move in so I can take care of him? Then what?" asked the health systems manager from Tacoma, Wa.
When an election gets this personal, it creates anxiety. Last week, Marshall visited her physician, who recommended increasing the dose of her hypertension medicine until after the election. "My doctor said many of her African American patients had higher than normal blood pressure readings this month, mostly due to the election," Marshall told OffTheBus through the Eyes and Ears feature.
Dr. Norm Oliver has observed the same phenomenon in his practice. "Many African Americans have become emotionally involved in Senator Obama's bid for the presidency, and it's creating stress. If he wins, we win. If he loses, it feels like a victory for racism. As you might imagine, this makes the stakes very high and very personal. Watching the polls has become an anxiety-producing activity."
Virginia Moore recently lost her home. To feed her four children, she sells newspapers in Washington D.C. "Food is so expensive now! I think Obama understands this better than McCain does." Moore watched the presidential debates and "got a good feeling about Obama. I think he'll straighten out the housing mess, and I like that he won't let anyone touch Medicaid or Social Security." Moore told OffTheBus she suffers from hypertension, and is having a difficult time controlling her blood pressure these days.
African Americans are at higher risk for hypertension
Hypertension is significantly more prevalent among African Americans than whites (44/28 percent), and the racial disparity is growing. "The stress being felt in this particular instance is the stress of being black in America. It expresses itself through higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, stroke, infant mortality, and certain cancers," said Dr. Oliver, a professor of family medicine at the University of Virginia. "A growing body of literature in biomedical science indicates that the stress of racial discrimination has become embodied in African Americans, and in African American women in particular."
Moni Law, a lawyer from Seattle, agrees. She told OffTheBus that African American women have "internalized a lot of stress over the generations. But we are also strong, with a stubborn tenacity. We love to celebrate the joy of endurance and survival."
Dawn Jennings, a former marine from Quantico, Va., told OffTheBus, "Oh, yes, I'm feeling the stress, too! But it's not just me and my female friends. My white friend Buddy and his friends are just as consumed with the election and whether or not it will be stolen from us again."
Tonya Smith told OffTheBus she worries about the entire Obama family, especially the children. "As African Americans, we knew their safety was going to be an issue -- a paralyzing issue at first, one that allowed fear to trump hope. But now, as Election Day grows closer, there is excitement in the air for everyone, of all races. We are on the cusp of something amazing, something that will show the world we're serious about change in the United States."
Stephanie Lipscomb works as a bank vice president in the eclectic Washington D.C. neighborhood nicknamed Borderstan. Of the financial crisis, Lipscomb said she has "never seen anything like it. All those no-documentation loans are proof of the careless way our country was being run." Driving through scenic Annapolis, Md., with her family, Lipscomb couldn't help but notice all the McCain signs in front of big beautiful houses. "Don't they want to keep those homes?" she asked. "Don't they see where we're headed?"
Lipscomb told OffTheBus that her life these days is "practically falling apart," but she's not anxious about the election. In fact, she's excited. "Barack Obama has united all kinds of people. I really believe this man can pull it all together. And I believe he will go line by line through the budget and hold people accountable."
"We'll get through this. Better days are ahead."
Expert advice on how to relax
The high pitch of a presidential election in its final days is enough to rattle anyone's composure. If you have hypertension, please remember to check your blood pressure regularly. Also try to keep the election in perspective: neither candidate is as good or as bad as he seems. Dr. Oliver offers the following relaxation tips:
-- Cut back on watching the news, especially shows that focus on election coverage.-- Go for a walk, because walking delivers some of the same benefits as anti-depressants.
-- Spend time with family and friends just to have fun, and don't talk about politics.
-- Pray, meditate, or engage in some other relaxing endeavor.
-- Be proactive: volunteer to work on election day.
For more posts on Election Anxiety, click here.
Are you suffering from Election Anxiety? How has the election impacted your life? Tell HuffPost, and we may just quote you! Tell us your stories using this Survey Monkey form.
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The biggest worry is that the election will be stolen...and how sad that in the cradle of democracy here in America, Republicans have created that scenario!
That should be one of the first things to be addressed after this election.
1. Go out and buy an electric megaphone- (you know...."Come out with your hands up!" ...one of THOSE)
2. Go to different neighborhoods, walk or ride shotgun- (don't megaphone and drive)...
3. Tell your fellow citizens to get dressed and get out to vote, if they're registered to do so.
* Don't call for anyone to vote for a specific candidate...just vote- (we wouldn't want someone to deliberately vote for the opposition, out of spite, from being conjured into action by someone in their neighborhood with a megaphone).
BE HEARD *** MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!
COPY AND PASTE THIS MESSAGE / SEND IT TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO WANT TO DO SOMETHING MORE....
I'm also starting to think about all that needs to be done to make this a much better country and a better citizen of the world too. So come Nov. 10 (we need a few days to party and then get caught up on things like laundry) we all need to be like fictional president Bartlet and say "What's next?"
These are terrifying times and I want people to really think hard while they are voting and ask yourself, do you want possibilities and change; or do you want the uncertainty and fears!! It is your call America!!
When I hear Sa rah Pa lin speak, I shudder when I hear all those ig norant people chanting in support. This woman being taken seriously is an affront to America. I can only imagine how we are being viewed in the eyes of the rest of the world.
And so afraid that the election voting machine operatives will be "calibrating" late in the evening on election night.
McCain saying that he expects to win late on election night. Chilling.
2000, 2004 were stolen this way, nothing has changed in regard to the voting machines and the companies and people hired to "Maintain" the voting machines. Just a flip of the switch.......
Now, what will the Demoractic party do this time around? What will we demand?
We'll see come Tuesday night!
Abraham, Martin & John...very sweet, soulful version:
http://current.com/items/89450598_obama_08_abraham_martin_john
Also, how are Palin people preaching about needing less gov't, but more gov't to control what a woman does with her own body. What if gov't wanted to make them be a vegetarian and having MEAT on THIER plate, in THEIR own home was ILLEGAL. I'm sure they'd be highly upset, yelling "How DARE gov't try to control something that's MY choice". And vegetarianism isn't even life-threatening.
It concerns me that ANY person of color, can vote for M/P. I see these minorities who are Pro-P and I'm like " YOU couldn't even STAND safely outside of a Palin rally venue, what are you THINKING? Oh wait, you AREN'T but your vote gets to count and affect the lives of other people who ARE".
People joke about OBAMANS IDOLIZING him, but behind that I'd bet that there are LOTS of people who have actually researched his positions and affiliations and are pleased, which only serves to STRENGTHEN the support. When you talk to Obamans about their reasons for voting for him, for the most part you are going to hear actual substantiated reasons, not just talking points and not in the YELLING/TALKING over format either, b/c you don't have to get hostile when you know you're truly right about something.
Sigh...I don't know, but THIS is the stuff that gives me NIGHTMARES.Literally. I feel it won't be safe to be a woman or a person of color, if McCain wins.
OMG! I too have been terribly stressed out over this! It's gotten so bad that I've somewhat distanced myself from my good friends who aren't as concerned both because I don't understand how they AREN'T obsessed and they don't want to hear about this stuff and it's all I can talk about.
I'm an AA woman and it concerns me to NO END, how ANY woman who has ANY pride in themselves or any concern for their daughters and sisters, can vote for someone who doesn't VALUE women (speaking of Palin). True, she is not the Pres. candidate, but McCain is not a young man and even if he were, she obviously has a mind of her own and doesn't care about anyone but herself. With her acceptance of someone who causes harm to women under the title "getting rid of witches", to her stance on abortion NO MATTER the circumstance (even possible DEATH to the mother), to her charging rape victims for rape kits, but not regular victims (burglary, etc) for theirs, is MIND-BOGGLING. Even is PALIN was a black woman, there's no WAY IN HELL she would get my vote.