Rochester residents share mental health impact of witnessing political violence

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Witnessing violence like the attempted assassination of a former president can have a profound effect on us psychologically, from stress to anxiety to poor sleep quality. So how are we all dealing with the aftermath of the shooting and the political tensions that remain? For answers, News10NBC’s Tom Kowalski hit the streets to find out.

“Us younger generation, we’re like permanently – I mean everyone is – permanently stressed from the state of the world and a lot of instability,” said Emme Houser, who just moved to Rochester from Utah. She’s grateful to have left before the attempted assassination.

“Just moved from St. George, Utah and I’m glad I wasn’t there during the time because things really get heated there…me being someone who’s not pro-Trump living there. It was there were definitely moments of like fear and depression because of that,” Houser said.

So how can you keep your stress low during this upcoming election season? Kowalski reached out to NAMI Rochester, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, to find out some helpful tips.

“One of the things I would suggest is avoiding any type of conflict or any difficult dialog and stress, anger, frustration, you know, really causes anxiety. So if you take a step back and not engage in those difficult conversations, I think that’s much better than trying to take something and discuss it with someone or argue with someone, you know, head to head,” said Donna Leigh-Estas and Beth Winslow D’Amico of NAMI Rochester.

And for those like Detroit native Michael Clapp, he finds mental health salvation in a higher power.

“For me, I’m a Christian. And so it’s yes, there’s there’s a lot of turmoil. There’s a lot of this stuff going on. But I know that I have a God that’s a higher power. And so I don’t have to fret so much about what’s going on down here because I already know I’m going to heaven when I die,” said Clapp, a Detroit pilot.

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