Politics. As a person with anxiety, I can honestly state that even seeing those words makes my levels of unease, perspiration and panicked breathing sky rocket.

First of all, the stress of knowing that I can contribute to our country’s future by simply marking someone’s name on a ballot freaks me out. Yes, I understand that not everyone with anxiety experiences this sort of stress. It makes me ponder what percentage of people simply don’t vote because of their anxiety. Do they ultimately come to the conclusion their vote won’t make a difference anyway? Why endure the extra stress, right?

Don’t even get me started on political debates. Listening to two (supposedly) professional people debate over the future of the country I live in is a panic attack waiting to happen. Then putting a couple people like Trump and Hillary on the stand, um, no thank you. The only way I can endure that torture is with wine and a plethora of social media to complain.

Then there are the political arguments and conversations you are ultimately forced into with friends and family (especially after debate night).

There is nothing like a social, bona fide, public anxiety attack caused by someone asking you about your views on a topic discussed in last night’s debate. Now, like a pack of wolves, they know you watched the debate.  You just had to broadcast your need for a large bottle of wine while watching the catastrophe. What they don’t know is that you finished the bottle in approximately 15 minutes and still had to turn the debate.

It was ultimately too stressful to watch the candidates bicker like a couple of 13-year-olds. After the anxiety of having to answer said question about said catastrophe starts to kick in, you can do one of a few things.

Cry and hope they never ask a political question again. Or appease them and state something that you know they will approve. Then sit and pray the subject is dropped.

Or you can have a full blown panic attack with all of the rambling about how the debate sucked and you can’t handle the anxiety of all of this and then pass out because the hyperventilating becomes too much to bear.

Politics. Anxiety. These two words may be important to the life that I exist in, but they sure as hell do not mesh.