CAPE CORAL, FLA — From the dawn of time, we've been designed to run, freeze, or fight when exposed to stress.
But in a year like 2020, FSW Professor and counselor Pamela Peters says most of us have lived in a constant state of it.
"The state of trauma right now is not only diverse, it's intense its ongoing and therefore our fight or flight response never shuts off," she said.
It's a cycle that's left many extremely anxious or indifferent about the 2020 presidential race.
Fox 4 asked Peters about how we could relieve some of that stress.
"Control what you can," she said.
Peters says you can start right now by raising your shoulders and blowing out a stream of air.
"It tends to release that tension that we hold across our shoulders," she said.
Some longer-term solutions you can put in place are getting outside, laughing, unplugging from social media and wall-to-wall election coverage and exercise.
"It's in a sense, allowing the body to run away," Peters said.
She also encourages you to be aware of what your stress triggers are and find healthy ways to cope when they come up.
And if all else fails, reach out for help.
"There are also people who are already stressed by other factors in their life where this just compounds it. Folks like that probably need to have an intervention of some kind other than what they can implement for themselves," she said.
If you are in need of help, here are a few local resources:
