Election results are out and there is a mix of emotions coming from both sides, some being very pleased and others feeling sad and stressed.
We spoke to Political Psychologist Markus Kemmelmeier from the University of Nevada Reno, and he says people have been following this election very closely, in turn people are emotionally invested for the up's and downs of the election cycle.
“They’re really engaged and the stress really comes from the uncertainty as to who’s going to win, or maybe from the stress of realizing that you have lost, that your issue was not going to go through, and as a result of this you’re concerned about the world after,” he said.
Professor Kemnelmeier also says the wide range of emotions toward the election are normal. But if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed you need to make sure you're aware of why you're feeling this way and to seek help if you need it.
Carly Waller, a Grad Student at UNR says she's disappointed in how the election turned out.
“As a woman, and as a woman of color, it’s very disheartening to see someone who has openly spoken negatively about my demographic,” she said.
For Waller, she says the results derail her hope for the future of the country, but she would have felt differently if Kamala Harris had won the election.
“I think that I’d have a stronger sense of security in the future which my demographic that I’m a part of and just the professionalism. I just would have more pride in who we put in office,” she said.
She also mentions that everyone has different ways of dealing with the results.
“I did what was under my control, going out and voting which, whatever which way that went and in this case, it made Donald Trump our president. But doing our part I voted, so I can be happy knowing that I voted and did my role as an American citizen,” she said.
Another student who studies English at UNR, Thomas Ladouceur, shares the sentiment with Waller about being upset about the election results.
“I thought that we were going to get a more Democratic turnout from Gen Z, the younger population that just started voting, the younger white males is the most disappointing part to me because they swung very heavily Republican,” he said.
He says he's most worried about tax cuts and struggling financially going forward.
“Focusing on the things that we can control is all you can do," he said. "There are going to be things that happen politically in the next couple years that are going to be very upsetting.”
Ladouceur says even though the election is over everyone should stay involved in politics.
Paul Nannini, a Washoe County resident tells us how he feels about the election results.
“One word. Freedom," he said. "That’s all I have to say about that.”
He says the election, for him, did not have an impact on his mental health at all.
“I’m not sure why it would have an impact on my mental health. I mean, I had a reaction to the whole thing and an opinion on the whole thing, the goal as I stated was for us the people of America to at least live in freedom instead of being dictated by the government.”
Loretta Wales, another community member says she thinks neither candidate should be in the white house.
“They both suck," she said. "I think no matter who was going to get there we were going to be doomed.”
She also says “I didn’t vote for president. I did everything else, but I did not vote for president. I should’ve put myself in there I could’ve done a better job.”
Professor Kemnelmeier says feeling happy or sad about the election is because people are really identifying with their candidate that they favor.
“You’re talking about a situation in the United States where you have two camps going at each other it’s like a sports team and just as you want your sports team to win, and you think they’re the best and you have your own personal reason maybe you invested into them and know all the details about them, it’s like your team losing the championship,” he said.
His biggest advice is to take a breather if you're upset.
“In this particular election in some other elections the people who are invested into the elections are saying hey this is so important this sets us up for the next four years or for the next decades to come whether this is right or wrong has remain to be seen sometimes the stress peters out and people find their own groove again.”
