Less than a week before election day, how are you feeling? Let’s talk about election anxiety, and how it affects one’s health.

Research found that around election time, levels of stress increase across the nation. Yes, election anxiety is a real thing. It’s actually called Election Stress Disorder, the American Psychological Association (APA) says it affects people on both sides of the political aisle equally. The constant media coverage, uncertainty, volatile election issues, and social media bickering or what we call bardagulan are just some of the many reasons the election has people feeling on edge.

Voting is one of our fundamental rights to make our voice be heard. It is only fair to stress about it–really think about our choices and make time to research who these candidates are and who among them deserve to take on the job of public administration for several years.

Recently, senatorial aspirant Loren Legarda under the Marcos-Duterte tandem received an open letter of disgust from son, Lorenzo Legarda Leviste. In his letter, he was enraged, disillusioned, and dismayed because she, the woman who taught him to respect truth and justice, is suddenly on the side of what he claims was “vile, braindead, and reckless people”. He also speaks about how he despises the possibility of another Marcos presidency, which for him would mean the end of history.

Legarda’s son showed how stressed he is about the upcoming election as he writes about how he’s been crying everyday, screaming everyday until blood spat out. As per his words  “For weeks I have been paralyzed in pain. But I have no choice but to publicly declare that I am absolutely disgusted by my mother and what she has decided to do. It sickens me and makes me want to die. I need everyone to know that Loren Legarda lost her son forever because of this. Paint her bright red with that shame. Don’t let her forget it. In the words of a wise woman: I don’t know her.”

He continues “The litany of Marcos crimes is not something to be debated. Their atrocities are fact. To even have to state that is patently absurd. To push back against these truths is to declare yourself an enemy of justice; of the thousands whose lives and families have been destroyed by the Marcoses and the Dutertes; of the millions today fighting on the front lines to stop them. My mother, Loren Legarda, spits in the faces of all these people.”

“I am in utter grief. F*** my mother for abetting this. Their crimes are her crimes now. Make her defend them.”

With the election getting nearer and nearer, it’s all getting more intense and controversial. So how do you get through the days to come? Phil Stone, a Denver based mental health expert offers a few ways to cope with election anxiety: take care of yourself–eat well, exercise, and get enough sleep, surround yourself with positivity–seek company who are not consumed by the election, go off the grid–dont look at Facebook and Twitter for the mean time, and vote as soon as you can–it’s the only part of the election you have control over.