It was billed as one of the most momentous elections in history. Hyped as contest that would decide the future of the U.S. democracy. For swing state Georgia in particular, the race was watched around the nation as razor-thin margins were forecast between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
With both sides straining for every last vote in the state, the outcome was bound to leave close to half of voters deeply disappointed while the other half celebrated.
It’s not the first emotionally charged election Georgia has weathered, but some are finding themselves mentally exhausted by the results.
“It’s been a lot of grief and a lot of sadness and then also a lot of celebration and a lot of feeling seen. So we’re getting kind of all sides of the spectrum,” said Haylie Ann Yakrus, a therapist in Dunwoody.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Social media feeds showcase a range of strong emotions — from elated and relieved Trump supporters to devastated Harris supporters. Posts of a crying Statue of Liberty shedding tears, her hands covering her face. Some posts show happy voters wearing MAGA hats. While others on Facebook are covering their profile photos with a plain black image.
Yakrus said she’s gotten an influx of requests for therapy sessions and inquiries from new clients. She recommends that people don’t isolate themselves and instead seek out and talk to others.
“I think because of the nature of this polarized election, a lot of people had to sacrifice parts of themselves that they weren’t so comfortable with,” she said, adding “Even my clients who were happy about results wanted to come in and kind of off-load about what they’re experiencing.”
Montisa Watkins, had high hopes that voters would send the first Black woman to the White House to lead the nation.
It was especially significant because Vice President Kamala Harris was also a member of her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc. Watkins is a fourth-year masters of divinity student at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur.
Watkins and her sister had started talking about making plans to go to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration.
Fast forward to Election Day.
Watkins decided to hold off looking at social media but then started getting email alerts from the New York Times that Trump was poised to regain the presidency.
“My heart just sank,” said Watkins. “I cannot believe this. For real. Then, yeah, for real.”
The magnitude of what unfolded hit again when she went on a morning walk. She said she burst into tears and was particularly distraught by the thought that Vice President Kamala Harris’ gender and race might’ve hurt her chances with some voters.
“Lord, this really hurts. This is what America thinks of a woman, a Black woman who is more than qualified compared to the person she is running against,” she said.
Watkins emotional investment in the election’s outcome isn’t unusual.
The American Psychological Association says political anxiety is a source of chronic stress and different from general anxiety. The group said political concerns topped the list of stressors on APA’s 2024 Stress in America survey of 3,000 voting age adults in August. The study, which found 77% of adults reported the future of the nation is a significant source of stress in their lives.
The Trevor Project a suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit organization for LGBTQ+ young people, reported a spike in calls after Election Day. The Project did not have numbers for Georgia, but CEO Jaymes Black said in a statement that said it has seen significantly high outreach from LGBTQ+ young people needing mental health support in direct response to election results. The organization saw a 125% increase in crisis contact volume on Election Day through Thursday morning, when compared to normal days.
Derek Stevenson, a Trump supporter who lives in Atlanta, said he felt calm before Election Day, and was happy and relieved when the former president won again. Stevenson said he’s lost some friends who have blocked him online for his political views, but that he’s OK with it.
”It is what it is. I’m not going to cry about it, but it has been fun watching people get so upset to the point where they’re crying, because it’s just an election: people win, people lose,” he said. “It’s like a baseball game: people win, people lose, and then you just move on.”
Nick Combs and Matt Chambers, who are married and co-owners of M3 Yoga + Hot Pilates, have seen a large increase in clients attending classes since election night. They are also offering a week of free postelection yoga classes. By Thursday afternoon, 200 people took them up on their offer, and signed up for at least one class over the coming days.
“We know this is an especially challenging time for many of us. I taught a 6:30 class Wednesday morning and it was definitely a somber mood. People were feeling very heavy, very scared,” said Chambers whose studio prides itself in being queer-owned and queer-friendly. “But I think even being at the class for 45 minutes or an hour, it helps. We want to have a space for people in difficult times. We wanted to do something for our community and just sort of threw it out there, the free classes and it kind of blew up.”
Meanwhile, some people are turning to their faith for comfort.
On the day after the presidential election, the Rev. Cedrick Von Jackson, pastor of West Hunter Street Baptist Church, led a regularly scheduled virtual Bible study class.
He asked the 30 people on the call to turn on their cameras so they could see each other.
The previous Sunday, Jackson had delivered a sermon in anticipation of an election night victory for Vice President Kamala Harris. He said on this Wednesday night, the online cameras showed a wide range of ages, men and women, who were sad, angry or in a state of disbelief.
“I found out that a lot of us were dealing with grief and how we were processing it, so we talked about dealing adequately about our feelings and moving from sadness to acceptance to anger,” said Jackson, who leads the Atlanta church once led by civil rights leader, the Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy. “I was very transparent. I found myself very angry.”
Before the election he had watched a video of a man in metro Atlanta who called Vice President Harris a racial slur.
“It reminded me of where we are as a country,” he said. “I wanted to encourage the congregation to lean fully into all of their emotions. In Scripture there are times when people questioned God and many of us grew up with the idea you don’t question God.”
To deal with his own emotions, Jackson is praying and reading Scripture. He has a personal therapist and said he plans to make an appointment soon.
K.D. Boyd, an independent, said he didn’t vote for Trump or Harris, but wrote in the name of his late dog, “Lando” for President.
Boyd said Thursday he felt more at peace Thursday and was feeling “pretty awesome” about the results. He said he hopes this election will help stop Democrats from taking the votes of Black Americans for granted, and perhaps lead to more conversations many Black Americans care about, such as school choice, often considered a Republican policy platform.
The 45-year-old Atlantan also had a message for his friends on Facebook which included many upset with the election results.
“It’s not the end of the world,” he wrote on his page.
