How Political Anxiety Hijacks Your Nervous System 🧠
- Terri Kern
- 4 days ago
- 11 min read
Fear Mongering - A Wake-Up Call For Americans in 2025
This Isn’t Just Politics. It’s a Threat to Your Mental and Physical Health
America is not fine.
In 2025, the President of the United States has deployed troops to Los Angeles in direct conflict with the authority of the Governor. It feels like something out of a dystopian novel—or a history book on authoritarian regimes.
This strategy is called Fear Mongering : the deliberate use of fear to influence public perception or behavior—typically by exaggerating dangers, presenting worst-case scenarios as inevitable, or using emotionally charged language to provoke anxiety or panic.
But this isn’t fiction. It’s now.
If you’re feeling anxious, frozen, furious, or detached, you are not overreacting. You are reacting to real systemic instability driven by the fuel of political anxiety: fear mongering.
Fear Mongering : the deliberate use of fear to influence public perception or behavior—typically by exaggerating dangers, presenting worst-case scenarios as inevitable, or using emotionally charged language to provoke anxiety or panic.
But here’s the challenge: 👉 Is your emotional response helping you think clearly—or is it fueling more fear?
As a mental health professional, I’m trained to stay neutral.
LET ME BE CLEAR: Neutrality doesn’t mean silence in the face of psychological manipulation. It means naming reality without becoming emotionally hijacked by it.
It means protecting truth, not taking sides. I'm ethically bound by my license as well as my DNA to promote wellness and we can only be well in truth and reality!
This article draws on two books: On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder and the innovation principles of Blue Ocean Strategy—tools to help you step out of rage loops and into a clear, empowered mindset.
This isn’t left versus right! This is mental health versus emotional warfare.
We are suffering from POLITICAL ANXIETY
I'm addressing the topic of political anxiety because it has consistently been a prevalent source of emotional dysregulation in over 70% of my sessions over the last two years.
Clients are experiencing high political stress at work, with older parents and family members, and with friends and neighbors. It affects how people connect to each other, and it's literally killing us.
This is about your autonomy, your clarity, and your right to choose how you show up.
In this article:
This isn’t about calming down—it’s about taking your power back.
The Hidden Cost of Political Anxiety — What It’s Doing To Your Body and Mind
What Happens When Your Nervous System Goes Into Survival Mode
Our bodies know something is wrong.
Political stress isn’t “just in your head.” It’s in your jaw, your sleep cycle, your digestion, your breath. Constant exposure to outrage and instability sends your brain into survival mode:
Fight: You argue, post, rage. 👋🏼 This was me for a long time - that's a post for another day.
Flight: You avoid the news altogether. 🙈 This is where I went to after rage posting.
Freeze: You doomscroll and feel paralyzed to act. 🤳🏻 We can't afford to be here anymore!
This is emotional hijacking. When your amygdala is in charge, your prefrontal cortex—the part of your brain that thinks critically—goes offline. 🧠
💥 The Body Keeps the Score. You’re not weak. You’re experiencing political anxiety
Why Outrage Feels Addictive—But Leaves You Depleted
Social media exploits your nervous system. Outrage triggers dopamine. Dopamine feels good… until it doesn’t. Over time, this leads to:
Anxiety
Insomnia
Burnout
Cynicism
The system is designed to keep you reactive. When I watch the news I can feel my chest tighten and a pit form in my gut. That's not good, and I turn it off and walk outside into the yard to pay attention to things that matter to me.
Bot farms, conspiracy bait, algorithmic echo chambers—this is not a debate. It’s psychological warfare.
🧠 On Tyranny, Lesson #10: Believe in truth. Outrage is not truth. Outrage is a tool of manipulation.
Understanding The Fear Mongering Strategy: The Birth Of The Outrage Farmers
In the social media era, a new breed of political pundit has emerged—figures who brand themselves as commentators, analysts, or strategists without any formal experience or credentials in politics, governance, or policy.
These individuals often build large followings on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or X by producing emotionally charged, hyper-partisan content designed to maximize engagement and outrage. They present themselves as experts, but their authority is based on confidence and repetition rather than education or field experience.
The content of the political pundit typically relies on surface-level polling interpretations, speculative predictions, and culture war narratives that validate their audience’s biases. The business model is built on monetizing attention through ad revenue, affiliate links, and crowdfunding—not on delivering informed analysis or contributing to public understanding.
While traditional political commentators were often vetted by institutions or grounded in real-world experience, these influencers operate outside such structures, shaping public opinion in echo chambers that reward sensationalism over accuracy.
They are particularly effective at branding themselves as anti-establishment truth-tellers, undermining trust in journalism, academia, and public institutions.
On both the left and right—but especially within right-wing media ecosystems—this shift has blurred the line between informed commentary and ideological entertainment. The result is a political discourse flooded with noise, where expertise is replaced by virality, and public perception is shaped not by credibility, but by whoever can deliver the most compelling outrage.
Here are a couple of great examples:
This is the X account of Jack Francis, a 25 year old outrage manufacturer with over 100,000 followers. He touts himself as a child political prodigy claiming that by the age of 10 he could call elections.
I come from the HR world so I did a background check on his credentials.
Jack launched the Red Eagle Politics YouTube channel at age 19, while still a student, initially posting an election prediction video in February 2019 that went viral with over 100,000 views.
He claims to be a political commentator, a political analyst, and a political strategist.
It is confirmed he is a "political commentator" with his YouTube channel and related content. It is confirmed that he is an amateur political analyst; a partisan outrage farm versus an independent political analyst. It is largely unsubstantiated that he's a political strategist;
Why do people like Francis peddle outrage? Here is what I learned. This interview was from The Texas Observer, dated September 20, 2022, from an article titled, "To Build A Theocracy," by James Dobbins:
"Jack Francis, 22, creator of the Red Eagle Politics channel on YouTube, which boasts 143,000 subscribers, told me he learned of the Texas Youth Summit from a friend who saw a posting on Instagram. He came to meet like-minded conservatives. Francis posted his first video titled “WHY TRUMP WILL WIN!” in February 2019. It went viral, attracting more than 100,000 views. “I wanted my channel to grow, but I didn’t know it would blow up,” he said. “I knew I could do it as a career in 2020.” Francis graduated from college in the spring with a degree in political science. Last month, Francis said he earned about $19,000 from his videos. He said he expects revenue to increase as the midterm elections in November approach before falling off. “It will grow larger before 2024,” he said. "
If I had Jack's resume in front of me with his professional claims I would say he has misrepresented himself as a POLITICAL EXPERT - which he's not. I wouldn't hire Jack because he lacks the experience to call himself any kind of a political expert.
He's making money off of your outrage if you lean right. Political experts don't incite violence - HELLO.
Now, I don't want to give the impression that I'm picking on Jack. There are progressive "political analysts" who are equally fueling the outrage farms on social media. This hate-fueled outrage farmer's name is Hasan Piker. He represents a broader phenomenon: a Millennial left-wing commentator who has achieved celebrity-level reach through livestreaming.
Hasan Piker (born 1991), known online as “HasanAbi,” is a Turkish-American progressive pundit who streams daily political content on Twitch and YouTube. After starting as a contributor on The Young Turks network, Piker struck out on his own in 2019 and quickly became “one of the most prominent leftist political commentators” on Twitch.
As of 2024, he boasts over 2.7 million Twitch followers and about 1.4 million YouTube subscribers.
That's a LOT of folks he's influenced to feel outrage.
How Chronic Political Anxiety Hijacks Your Nervous System
Chronic political anxiety refers to the persistent and overwhelming feelings of worry and fear related to political events, policies, or societal changes. This type of anxiety can significantly impact an individual's mental and physical health.
The Nervous System and Its Response
The nervous system is divided into two main parts: the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The PNS is further divided into the somatic and autonomic nervous systems. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls involuntary bodily functions and is divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.
How Chronic Political Anxiety Affects the Nervous System
Activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System: Chronic political anxiety can trigger the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the "fight or flight" response. This leads to physiological changes such as increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and heightened alertness.
Release of Stress Hormones: The body releases stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline in response to anxiety. Prolonged exposure to these hormones can lead to various health issues, including weakened immune function and increased risk of chronic diseases.
Hyperarousal: Individuals may experience hyperarousal, characterized by an exaggerated startle response, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. This state can make it challenging to engage in daily activities and maintain relationships.
Impact on the Parasympathetic Nervous System: Chronic anxiety can inhibit the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for relaxation and recovery. This imbalance can lead to persistent feelings of tension and stress.
Long-term Consequences
Mental Health Issues: Chronic political anxiety can contribute to the development of mental health disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). -
Physical Health Problems: Long-term activation of the stress response can lead to cardiovascular issues, gastrointestinal problems, and chronic pain conditions. -
Cognitive Impairment: Prolonged anxiety can affect cognitive functions, including memory, attention, and decision-making abilities.
Chronic political anxiety can hijack the nervous system by perpetually activating the body's stress response, leading to a range of mental and physical health issues.
Understanding this relationship is crucial for developing effective coping strategies and promoting overall well-being.
The antidote for political anxiety is regulation.
Emotional Regulation Is a Political Strategy
Just like outrage is a political strategy, so is Emotional Regulation. And I'm here to teach every American how to use it to take meaningful political action.
Emotional regulation is a power move. It lets you:
Respond instead of react
Think critically in high-conflict situations
Take meaningful action without burning out
As a clinician, I say this with clarity: Emotional regulation is now a civic skill, not just a therapy tool.
BETTER BY CHOICE: A Mental Health Strategy for Democracy
BETTER BY CHOICE is your new framework for staying grounded and effective in chaotic times.
Instead of spiraling into confusion and outrage from hyper-masculine manchildren, this strategy helps you reclaim your nervous system, sharpen your focus, and act with purpose.
🔷 The 4 BETTER BY CHOICE Skills: | |
|---|---|
🕵️♀️ Crisis Clarity | See facts clearly and assess risk without panic. |
🛡️ Mood Armor | Protect your nervous system from outrage triggers. |
⚒️ Bridge Builder Tactics | Communicate across echo chambers with skill. |
🔍 Truth Lens | Spot disinformation quickly and center yourself on verified facts. |
Each is based on DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) and adapted for the realities of modern political stress.
This Is the Time to Wake Up
You already know something is wrong. Now you have the tools to act with intention.
🧨 On Tyranny, Lesson #17: “Listen for dangerous words.”
Words like “traitor,” “enemy of the state,” “fake news,” and “patriot” are being weaponized. This isn’t just divisive rhetoric—it’s psychological grooming toward extremism.
🧭 Better By Choice Strategy says: Don’t compete in the Red Ocean of outrage. Create a new emotional lane. Lead with grounded clarity, not fear-based reactivity.
What You Can Do Today
✔ Regulate first, then act.Your nervous system is your first battlefield. Use breath, grounding, and Wise Mind check-ins.
✔ Set boundaries.Create a media plan. Unfollow the chaos loop. Don’t let the crisis live in your pocket.
✔ Engage locally.Democracy is strongest at the community level. Show up. Speak up. Volunteer.
✔ Protect truth.Share verified content. Be the source others can trust.
✔ Be the calm.Outrage is contagious—but so is composure. Your clarity could literally save lives.
💥 Start to reclaim your focus and your freedom in two steps:
Step 1:
Take the Political Anxiety Self-Check to see how political anxiety is affecting you.
Step 2:
Download the Resilience Tracker and start focusing on YOU.
🧭 You Can’t Heal in a Constant State of Alarm
Political anxiety isn’t weakness — it’s a completely human response to living in a world that often feels unsafe, unjust, and out of your control. But staying in a chronic state of emotional chaos isn’t sustainable. It drains your focus, hijacks your body, and steals your clarity.
The goal of Better By Choice isn’t to make you apathetic. It’s to help you stop reacting and start responding — from a place of groundedness, clarity, and personal power.
You don’t have to fix everything. You just have to stop feeding the fear machine and start choosing how you want to show up in your life — and your world.
➡️ Next Up: On Tyranny Meets Better By Choice
In the next article, we’ll take the 20 lessons from Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny and apply them directly to the Better By Choice strategy — a trauma-informed, nervous-system-savvy method for building mental resilience and taking meaningful action without burning out.
You’ll learn:
How to stop fighting reality and start working with it
How to disrupt fear-based thinking and emotional manipulation
How to live your values even when the world feels upside-down
Because the truth is:You can’t control the world.
But you can control your response to it. And that changes everything.
📜 20 Lessons from On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
Do not obey in advance.
Authoritarians rely on voluntary compliance.
Pause. Question. Choose.
Defend institutions.
Democracies die when people stop believing in the systems that protect rights.
Beware the one-party state.
When one party controls everything, democracy is already on life support.
Take responsibility for the face of the world.
Symbols, slogans, and norms matter.
Speak up when something feels wrong.
Remember professional ethics.
If you're in law, media, medicine, education — hold the line.
Your integrity protects others.
Be wary of paramilitaries.
When private groups enforce political agendas, rule of law is at risk.
Be reflective if you must be armed.
Police and military must serve democracy — not political power.
Stand out.
Tyranny thrives on silence.
Be the one who speaks first.
Be kind to our language.
Use clear, honest words.
Don’t let propaganda define the conversation.
Believe in truth.
Without shared facts, democracy collapses.
Resist cynicism and lies.
Investigate.
Follow the facts, not just the feeds.
Support real journalism.
Make eye contact and small talk.
Human connection builds community.
Isolation breeds fear.
Practice corporeal politics.
Show up in person. March, meet, volunteer.
Democracy is lived physically.
Establish a private life.
Protect your privacy.
Digital overexposure makes you vulnerable.
Contribute to good causes.
Support institutions and people who fight for democracy.
Learn from peers in other countries.
Authoritarianism is global.
So is resistance.
Listen for dangerous words.
“Terrorism,” “extremism,” or “emergency” can justify repression.
Pay attention.
Be calm when the unthinkable arrives.
Crises are used to consolidate power.
Stay grounded. Think clearly.
Be a patriot.
Love your country by defending its values — not its rulers.
Be as courageous as you can.
There’s no substitute for moral bravery.
Others will follow your example.
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