Trump headline-stress disorder: I have it, do you?

March 18--I don't sleep very well these days. I go to bed tired, then at 1, 2 or 3 a.m., I'm suddenly wide awake, feeling on guard with eyes open, heart pounding.

So then I do one of the things sleep experts say I absolutely should not do. I roll over, pick up my phone and check the latest headlines. I absolutely have to know: what has the president tweeted now? Or what investigative story, related to any of the scandals swirling around his administration, has produced the evidence that will finally convince his supporters that some of his actions could put our democracy at risk?

Invariably, I will see headlines that outrage me or dismay me, but I'll also look for those that reassure me that there are people who share my reality. My need to know satisfied, I can sometimes go back to sleep. But just as often, a headline leaves me feeling so amped up, I know sleep's a hopeless cause. Nights like that I can actually feel something like a chemical or electrical charge coursing through my veins.

So I get out of bed and try to knock something off my to-do list. I find that lessening my anxiety over a small deadline for work, for example, helps ease my greater existential anxiety about the country's future.

If this sounds at all familiar, perhaps you, too, have "headline stress disorder" -- a term coined by Maryland therapist Steven Stosny. In a recent column for the Washington Post, Stosny said he had been overwhelmed by calls from patients who were so stressed out by the negativity of the recent election that it was affecting their daily lives and intimate relationships.

"Yet as bad as it seemed in those days," he wrote, "there was an end in sight: November 8."

But then the unexpected happened. We got a new president whose career in business and as a reality TV star suggests he revels in crisis, operating on the belief that he gets the best results when he keeps everyone around him in a constant state of uncertainty and near-panic.

Whatever his intention, it appears many of us are now living in a constant state of uncertainty with, as Stosny says, the nonstop news alerts, social media posts and spinning of "alternative facts" coming at people like a "barrage of missiles in a siege without end."

Stosny isn't the only mental health expert who says we're enduring an unprecedented level of politics-related stress which is, of course, exacerbated by our immediate access to attention-demanding headlines and social media posts courtesy of our smart phones.

In fact, for at least a decade before the 2016 election, Americans were pretty consistent in what they worried about: money, work and the economy, according to a report issued last month by the American Psychological Association. But since the election, about two-thirds of the some 3,500 American adults surveyed say they are worried about the future of our nation. Not surprisingly, Democrats said they were more stressed out than Republicans by Trump's win (72 percent vs. 26 percent), though up to 59 percent of Republicans acknowledged that they, too, have general concerns about the political climate and the country's future.

While this survey doesn't specifically address certain demographic groups, it seems safe to assume that women as well as people of color, immigrants and Muslims feel an ongoing threat to their rights and well-being, given the sexist and racist things Trump said while campaigning and actions he's taken in office, said Jack Saul, director of the International Trauma Studies Program, in an interview with the Atlantic.

(While it wasn't mentioned in the Atlantic story, another group feeling threatened are mainstream journalists, who've been labeled "enemies of the American people." You can either laugh off that tweet as silly Trump bluster or shudder at how classic-dictator that sounds.)

Walnut Creek psychotherapist Don Elium said many of his clients -- from both parties -- felt this was a "life or death" election that exposed deep divisions in the country and within their circle of friends and family. Post-Nov. 8 was "exactly like the two weeks following 9/11," he said, in terms of clients expressing shock and disbelief.

Even if Elium's clients say their their day-to-day lives have yet to be affected, the news headlines have convinced many they need to be hyper-vigilant. "It's put all our brains in a 'fight, flight or freeze" mode that can be exhausting and depressing," he said.

"I know people who have begun therapy -- some for first time in their lives -- or have begun taking anti-depressants," my friend, Diane, told me. Since the election, this self-described news junkie said she's been living with low-grade depression, and has stopped watching her favorite news shows, including the even-keeled PBS Newshour. She's also "unfriended" people on Facebook whose pro- or anti-Trump political rants were driving her "crazy."

Another friend, in an attempt at levity, mentioned Barbra Streisand's recent complaint that headlines about the president's rocky first months in office were making her "gain weight." The 74-year-old singing legend tweeted: "I start the day with liquids, but after the morning news, I eat pancakes smothered in maple syrup!"

I can definitely relate to headline-induced stress-eating. Chocolate has become a regular necessity and so, too, has loading up on carb-heavy comfort foods like pasta carbonara.

Of course, I can't continue living at this amped-up level, even if my insomnia has made me pretty productive in other areas of my life. But in addition to the stress-eating, I'm too tired to exercise with any regularity which compounds the situation -- and I really can't afford to go up a size in clothes.

So what to do? While some friends have channeled their anxiety into political activism, others are instinctively taking news breaks, as Elium and other therapists recommend.

That includes my friend Greg, who voted for Trump and believes he's a smart man who will do good things for the country. Still, he's disappointed by all divisiveness in the news. "I've actually stopped watching all news -- even the local news, because it's all about the national scene," he said. "Frankly, my life is happier."

As a journalist, I can't take a news break, even if I mostly cover celebrities and pop culture; after all, we have a reality TV star as president, and Hollywood and D.C. now seem all melded together.

But I have found moments of respite. Just this weekend, I dove into a classic novel, got a pedicure and took naps. I also went to the gym and did some weeding in my yard -- though I confess I did it while listening to podcasts about Vladimir Putin and the threat to women's reproductive rights. Still, on balance, I relaxed enough that I felt less stress than I have in a while -- and I slept well on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

We'll see what the coming weeks bring.

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