Eight strategies to build resilience and keep your cool during the elections. KEY POINTS Political conflict keeps stress hormones high with adverse psychological and physical consequences. Social media encourages partisanship and undermines the motivation to discern fact from fiction. Fear of social rejection can increase political group compliance and support for misinformation. Limiting exposure and seeking balanced information sources can reduce stress during election season. Political polarization has worsened to the point where 40 percent of Americans describe politics as a chronic stressor, blaming it for increased depression and anxiety, loss of sleep, greater impulsivity, such as posting social media comments they later regret, and damage to [...]