What is the influence of politics on mental health?

Politics has a great influence on our life, being one of the central elements of the society in which we live.

Therefore, it is inevitable that, in one way or another, it affects people at very different levels. One of them is mental health. In this article we will try to analyze that relationship between politics and mental health and thus discover the effects it can exert, both negative and positive, if any.

• Related article: "What is Political Psychology?"

How does politics influence mental health and emotional balance?

The question of the influence of politics on mental health is broad and complex, so it can be studied from different perspectives. Therefore, in these lines we are going to discuss some of these effects, but that does not mean that they are the only ones, far from it, since other additional approaches could be considered.

And it is that politics, or what is the same, the art of government, it is an axis of our lives, although we are involved to a greater or lesser extent in it

. Due to this issue, it is difficult to abstract from all of its effects. Each individual will be affected to a different degree or through different pathways, but what is true is that all citizens, by living in a society, are affected by politics.

In any case, we are going to review what we consider to be the main forms of influence of politics on mental health. Although we will see each one in depth later, we will first list these different possibilities. One of them will be the one that has to do with the possible psychological effects suffered by exposure to political issues in the media.

Another, of enormous importance, will be the decisions made by the rulers regarding health, and more specifically, those that cover the field of mental health. Finally, we will analyze another question related to the influence of politics on mental health, and it is the one referring to the consequences suffered by politicians themselves as an effect of their profession.

Next, we will treat each of these points separately, trying to deepen each of these approaches. so different, but all of them being part of the central theme, which is the influence of politics on health mental.

Psychological effects of politics on citizens

As we already anticipated in the introduction, one of the most visible forms of influence of politics in the Mental health is the one that has to do with the psychological effects that people suffer as a consequence, not only of the decisions that the rulers make at a given moment, but also of the political climate that is lived in society.

In this sense, it will be necessary to distinguish different variables that are involved in this problem. First, of course, not all people are equally interested in the political affairs of their region or country. In addition, not everyone will be affected in the same way by certain decisions, since certain laws only affect specific sectors.

Third, there are the personal variables of each individual, which can make them more or less resilient and can have certain resources to assume situations, for example, stressful, without suffering certain consequences that others, in a similar scenario, do they would feel.

We see that the influence of politics on mental health is direct, simply by living in a community. But also, This effect is accentuated if the person tends to expose themselves to these issues through the media or social networksespecially in recent times.

It is evident that in societies like Spain's, the political landscape has entered a state of polarization and tension in which each party tries to influence its voters in a certain way. extreme, rivaling the rest of the formations at a level of aggressiveness that would make some fans of sports clubs blush, accustomed to clashes with the stands contrary.

This state of tension generates psychological effects in many individuals, who may experience symptoms compatible with depression or anxiety, among others. Obviously, if the socioeconomic situation that exists at a certain moment is especially unstable, due to a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic may imply, the influence of politics on mental health further exacerbates their effects.

Is it inevitable to suffer these effects? Not at all. Obviously, the individual lives in society and therefore is exposed to all the information related to the political panorama, but what he can do is a certain stimulating control.

What does this mean? That the person may, at least in part, reduce his presence in social networks, his review of the press, newscasts and other means by which you constantly receive a type of information that is generating stress. We cannot forget about the world we live in, but we can control in a certain way the degree of exposure to which we are subjected.

• You may be interested in: "Partisan bias: a mental distortion that leads us to partisanship"

Political decisions about mental health

But the influence of politics on mental health doesn't end there. That first point would suppose an indirect form of affectation at the psychological level in the citizens. But we can't forget that the policy itself must be in charge of managing the resources invested in each area, including, of course, health.

And within health, the area that concerns us is mental health. Therefore, any law, decision, budget that has to do with this area is going to be a direct example of the influence of politics on mental health.

It is evident that the more resources devoted to treating and preventing psychopathologies, the lower the prevalence of many mental disorders and this will have a direct impact on the well-being of citizens, both for those who do not develop a disease, and those who manage to have it treated and controlled.

Nor should we forget the relatives of people with situations of severe mental illness and therefore dependent on them, who on many occasions feel helpless by the system due to the lack of resources that receive. This is another example of the forms that political influence can take on mental health, sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly.

If we focus now on the most serious and dramatic cases, such as those psychopathologies that lead the individual to autolytic attempts and even trying to kill oneself, we find another of the fundamental connections between political decisions and health, in this case mental. In Spain, almost ten people commit suicide every day, according to statistics.

It is an absolute drama, which sometimes does not receive all the attention it deserves. Obviously, each case will be particular, but many of them will be related to psychopathologies that, Perhaps, if they had been treated in time or even prevented, they would not have ended in such a terrible. That is why we must not overlook the tremendous influence of politics on mental health in this regard.

The psychological effects on politicians

We have already been able to review some of the psychological effects that politics generates on citizens, through different mechanisms. We have also known the repercussions that political decisions in the area of ​​health can have on the mental health of individuals. But there is still another issue that also has a political influence on mental health.

These are the psychological effects suffered by politicians themselves, or at least some of them, as a result of the performance of their work, in the front line of this sector. It is evident that, Like any position of responsibility, this work can lead to wear and tear that will be more or less pronounced depending on the tools that the person has, as we have already seen.

A fundamental characteristic in this sense would be resilience, the ability to overcome adverse situations, such as stress. constant generated by knowing that the well-being of millions of fellow citizens depends on the person's own activity, which can be a huge stressor.

The current situation may increase this effect or lessen it, assuming that instead of a crisis scenario, society is in a moment of economic boom. In any case, it is a form of political influence on mental health that we must take into account.

Bibliographic references:

• Jané-Llopis, E. (2004). The effectiveness of promoting mental health and preventing mental disorders. Journal of the Spanish Association of Neuropsychiatry.
• Jimeno, J.C.P. (2020). The psychological effects of COVID-19. Archives of the Spanish Society of Ophthalmology. Elsevier.
• Navarro-Gómez, N. (2017). Suicide in young people in Spain: figures and possible causes. Analysis of the latest available data. Clinic and Health. Elsevier.
• Vince, R. (2010). Anxiety, politics and critical management education. British Journal of Management. Wiley Online Library.