Is it really all over? We saw long lines at polling places demonstrating how intensely Nationalists and Labourites both believed that the course of our democracy was indeed on the line. Voter participation was less than wished for. The candidates framing the stakes in this election were deemed as the most important of our lifetimes, if not the history of our country. It is impossible to analyze the returns until they are more complete.
A major election always leads to major change, psychological change that is. We have just had our general elections. The unexpected emotional letdown or explosive reaction after the ballots have been counted can be overwhelming to many who can be set up for crushing amounts of what I call post-election stress syndrome. Essentially, it is a feeling of hopelessness or dread that someone feels after the conclusion of a critical political election. This election has been one of the most stressful in years because of numbing news fatigue and continual media over-exposure, yet the real emotional problems come in the days after the ballots are counted. Personal anxiety, professional panic and poorly thought out decisions are on the horizon for many regardless of their political persuasion. If people have little interest in politics, then they are virtually immune to it, but with how opposed the values are among many people in the country these days, this is a condition is to be taken seriously.
The reason is that this election process has been so overwhelming with months of negative news, never-ending data to process and confusing choices to make on complex issues while partisan experts were shouting every half-hour on news/talk stations that we are all doomed if their candidate does not win. Not to mention the huge challenge on who is trustworthy, since you often do not know who will say something inappropriate on social media and crash their credibility, leaving you feeling very alone to make some major decisions without leaders who lacked the strength of character to stand on their convictions instead of popular opinion polls. I suspect that there will be many people who are unprepared for the emotional upheaval they are about to experience, now that the election is over.
Everyone will feel some degree of emotional letdown now that the issues have been decided and the acceptance speeches were given. There will be those who will be led to a free fall of depressing emotions. If someone has been a 'news junkie' the last few months it will be especially stressful. Those feelings of distress will come out in one of two ways, anger or apathy. People who feel violated by the election process will often turn to dump volcanic levels of anger at someone or something to find relief for the pressure inside. This can lead to devastating decisions, impulsive rage or using the wrong words in front of the wrong people and losing credibility or, worse, a job. Apathy is a more dangerous reaction since it can lead from distress to the early stages of depression, such as comfort eating, excessive drinking, hooking up with the wrong partner to try and forget about the election or just refusing to answer the phone, closing the mini-blinds and checking out on life like a hermit hiding in a dark cave.
It all has to do with individuals feeling nervous or anxious about our country's future. They might be worried about Malta's economic standing, the fate of hot-button issues like the environment or the corruption plague, or they might be concerned about Malta's standing on the world stage. While it would certainly be accurate to say that feeling depressed because of a recently concluded election will not be fatal, it also must be acknowledged that this condition is caused by acute stress or anxiety that can lead to all kinds of health problems. If a part of what you are feeling is helplessness because the party that you do not support won the election, then you might also feel better if you become politically active yourself. You do not need to run for office but you can get involved with grassroots activism that is associated with the issues about which you feel the most strongly. You can try to sign up voters for the next election, for example. Taking a step back from political news and getting right with yourself might turn out to be what is best for you.
Wherever your party goes next, keep track of how it is shaped by the election aftermath. It could split, grow stronger or remain relatively unchanged. It is time for soul searching. It is time for deeper listening to each other. We need to make a concerted effort to engage in dialogue with people whose political beliefs are very different from our own. Post-electoral reflections are necessary to analyse the rights and wrongs of a campaign and prevent mistakes in the future. Parliamentary elections represent the highest expression of democracy for any representative system. As such, their completion demands the analysis and evaluation of the results as well as some form of self-criticism aimed to point out any possible mistakes and oversights made by the parties involved.
Most of us do not spend large amounts of time neck-deep in politics. As with recovery from all traumatic events, the healing process from the election will not happen overnight. The grieving process will bring days of denial, anger and depression along the bumpy road to acceptance. It is over and now it is time to move on with whatever politicians and issues the majority of voters selected. You cannot change the outcome of an election. Malta is a democracy, and democracy is not just an election, it is our daily life. Take comfort, though, in knowing that the creators of our democracy, in their wisdom, agreed that we should only have to go through this process once every five years. To that, we can all say a collective "Amen!"
Dr Mark Said is an advocate