Post-Election Toolkit to Cope with Election Stress

After yesterday's election, we realized that many of you might be having varying emotions, including stress about the uncertain future. Election stress is common and a very valid response to such quickly changing circumstances. Social workers, our clients, and our communities are all feeling it. 

To help all of us cope with these complicated feelings, we have put together a post-election toolkit. This guide is equally focused on how we as social workers can cope, as well as how we can help our clients through this time. 

It includes resources on coping strategies, such as prioritizing self-care, building and sustaining community, and channeling political stress into other action and advocacy items. Any of these can be applied in your own life and/or shared with clients. There is also information on how to have difficult conversations with clients about the election and how to specifically help marginalized populations through this uncertain time—as these communities are most likely to suffer from election stress. Finally, there is a section on the relationship between reproductive rights and mental health and the role that practitioners can play in supporting clients while the landscape of reproductive healthcare is constantly changing.  

Our hope is that this toolkit provides you with some resources to work through all of this uncertainty in the way that is most useful to you. Please remember that you’re not alone—we are all going through this together, and all of us at NASW-MA are here for you.