Politics and mental health are seemingly unrelated themes, but are they more interconnected than we'd like to admit? With a UK general election set for July 4th, I would like to explore in this post how political promises designed to simulate emotional reactions and a blaming culture influence our mental well-being.
The Voter’s Dilemma
Let's talk about the choices we have. The growing frustration with the lack of appealing candidates and parties is substantial. Manifestos filled with grandiose promises are often just that—promises. Take, for example, a current party claim to "end government waste and deliver our fully funded plan for zero NHS waiting lists," while simultaneously "cutting taxes, increasing benefits, and repairing broken public services." It's like believing in unicorns.
This could be likened to a sprinting coach claiming that under their coaching programme, an underproductive runner with every possible ailment known to man will be able to run a sub-10-second 100m sprint. Let’s ignore the fact that there is no evidence to suggest that outcome is possible, but it is pledged it will all be achieved by training less, stabilising all health issues and creating a sprinter who will age backwards rather than forwards. Runners around the world would be delighted; they’d be sprinting down to the polling stations to vote. Now, I don’t need to spell out how this story would end, but in four years, you can guarantee there will be another sprinting coach on hand to criticise the ridiculousness of the methods and proclaim that they indeed have the solution to the problem.
This constant cycle of hope and disappointment takes a toll on our mental health. The emotional rollercoaster during election seasons, followed by the inevitable disillusionment, leaves us drained. It's like dating someone who constantly promises to change and to make our lives better but never does. Exhausting, isn't it?
Emotional reasoning is exhausting, much like healing from a broken heart. During these times, we are far from our best. Each cycle of disappointment—whether in love, life, or politics—takes an increasing toll. Eventually, the repeated letdowns wear out our optimism and hope for a better future.
The (Political) Show Must Go On
If you have read any of my previous blog posts, you will know that when a person is emotionally triggered, they become far less likely to consider facts and make reasonable choices. If we by-pass the pre-frontal cortex then we can exploit a person and be exploited no matter how irrational the information is.
This is the way modern politics works. Do we ever stop to consider it?
By exploiting our deepest fears and highest hopes, politicians trigger emotional responses that dictate our voting patterns. Crisis narratives create urgency, making us feel like if we don’t vote a certain way, we’re doomed. Whether it's fear-mongering, playing the victim card, or promising utopian futures, the aim is to manipulate emotions and secure votes. Political parties have become experts at orchestrating promises tailored to specific demographics and appealing to people’s fears.
I am not suggesting that all politicians only care about themselves any more the equally absolute ideology that all politicians only care about their constituents and country. It's a game of gaining power, influence and control. Without which they remain in the background, like the un-casted understudy, hoping and ready to pounce should tragedy befall the lead.
In the political arena, it's common practice to attribute incompetence to every idea, decision, and member of an opposition party. Then, parties promote how, not only retrospectively, they would have done better in most if not all the areas, but also how they will make improvements in these areas in the future. If we change the scene and apply how politics works into a different context then the absurdity of it all becomes far more obvious.
Let’s apply this logic to sports. Imagine a post-game interview after one of the Euro 2024 Group Stage matches in which one team beats another. If we applied political logic perhaps the interview would sound like this…
Interviewer: “Well done on the result, how do you feel the game went?’
Manager: “We were just better in every area, we had better players we made better decisions and we truly care about every one of our supporters.
Interviewer: “Ok, what about your opponents?
Manager: “They were truly hopeless, when they tried to pass the ball they lost it, when they tried to run they fell over, in fact, every time they had the ball the potential to end the hopes and dreams of every football fan irrevocably felt perilously probable.
Interviewer: What about the possibility of meeting them in the knockout stages?
Manager: “If we play them again we will be infinitely better and will guarantee a better future for the whole game. If they somehow win it would be disastrous for the sport. There will be no more pitches, no more footballs, the floodlights won’t have any power, 93% of players will be injured in the game and the referees will be on strike 64% of the time. Not to mention, people will just simply not enjoy the game and football will be doomed.”
I can only offer my opinion here but as funny as this interview sounds, the resemblance to political interviews is disturbingly real.
Football teams battle it out on the pitch, they fight hard to win, but with respect to their opponents, they recognise their strengths and weaknesses. This is something we do not see in politics. In this arena, they prefer to deal with absolutes, such as: “They are absolutely wrong and we are absolutely right”
Discussion without listening and reasoning is not a discussion. It’s just noise. Like when two young siblings are arguing in the back of the car over a phone with your Spotify playlist, that is playing through the car stereo. Eventually, all you want to hear is silence.
The way we think is the number one player in how we feel. But everyone is different, everyone thinks differently and everyone feels differently. For any political party to assume they have the answers and solutions for everyone would be completely ludicrous.
If politics doesn’t change, the only plausible outcome is for people to become polarised or disenfranchised.
Can We Take Control?
Shifting our focus to personal improvement can be liberating. When we invest in ourselves our families and our friends, we see tangible results—something political promises rarely deliver.
Because the truth is rarely popular, and it’s unlikely to generate votes. But most people have it within themselves to change their own lives far more drastically than any politician ever could. But that takes effort, hard work, reasoning and compromise. You can’t win electoral votes by suggesting people should exercise more, eat more whole foods, consume less alcohol and prioritise their mental health and wellbeing. Yet it seems logical that the best way to reduce NHS waiting times would be a healthier and happier population.
Fight Or Flight
Are we better off ignoring politics altogether? I've considered the option of completely ignoring politics. It’s hard to argue against the case for improving mental health. But in the pursuit of a better life, the quote is not: “When the going gets tough. Give up”
Should you give up eating if some foods make you sick? Should you give up sports after back-to-back losses? Should you give up dating after successive bad relationships?
A better question is would any of these things ever get any better if people decided to no longer care about them?
To change any area of your life, you have to care enough to do something about it. This inevitably impacts our mental health, well-being, and relationships, both positively and negatively. Politics is no different. We can’t escape the fact that it does affect our lives. Even in a world where political discourse often feels like a bad reality TV show, we must find a balance between being involved and tuning out.
We can exercise our democratic rights effectively by making decisions and choices based on sound reasoning. By thinking logically about the possibility of change, we gain far more realistic expectations. We can hope for positive changes without relying solely on politicians to solve all our problems. This is where our responsibility begins: to look after ourselves and others, consider other points of view and treat each other with respect.
If you are ready to make a change take the first step today. Your mental health will thank you.
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