Yes, ‘Trump anxiety’ is a real thing, according to these psychologists
Alongside issues majorly affecting Americans such as divorce, death and moving house, psychologists have said Donald Trump has reared his head as a new major anxiety.
Trump has said he would “consider” a plot to overturn equal marriage, and has assured Republicans he wouldn’t block a ‘religious freedom’ law to permit anti-gay discrimination. Ms Clinton has a historic raft of LGBT rights promises, and endorsements from a vast number of rights groups.
According to a report by the Washington Post, psychologists and even massage therapists have brought up Trump as one of the reasons for their stress and anxiety.
One patient asked a psychologist what had made Trump a “bad person”, and questioned whether something had happened in his childhood.
The anxiety was based out of a sense of how he divided people, psychologist Alison Howard told the Post, saying: “We’ve been told our whole lives not to say bad things about people, to not be bullies, to not ostracise people based on their skin colour. We have these social mores, and he breaks all of them and he’s successful. And people are wondering how he gets away with it.”
The paper also speculates about a rise in the number of Tweets mentioning Trump’s name alongside comments about sleepless nights, or phrases like “scary” or “freaking me out” and the fact that the Republican frontrunner could actually become President.
Although the majority of those suffering from ‘Trump anxiety’ are Democrats, the reports suggests that Republicans who are against his candidacy also suffer from the acute condition.
One massage therapist, Amanda Long told the Post that she had seen a dramatic rise of people lying down at her table venting about Trump.
Long says she lets her clients vent before asking them to be quiet and calm.
“It stresses me out to listen to it,” she said. “I can’t give you a good massage if I’m grabbing your shoulders like Donald Trump’s orange face.”
Others said they had genuinely enquired about moving to another country – asking whether family roots in Ireland, for example, could mean an easy escape if Trump does become President.
Ken Goldstein, a Democrat and an author, asks the Post about Trump supporters, saying: “Who are these people? Are they at the grocery store, are they sitting next to me at Dodger Stadium? That makes me nervous.”
Earlier this month, Trump backtracked, again changing his position on abortion, after suggesting that he would criminalise it and seek to punish women who seek them.
