Stressed over election season? The University of Utah may be able to help

SALT LAKE CITY — New course offerings at the University of Utah are intended to help deal with election season stress. 

A recent poll from the American Psychiatric Association found that 73% of respondents feel anxious about the upcoming presidential election.

According to Isabelle Solvang, the director of the Lifelong Learning program at the University of Utah, the school launched the classes to help people cope with election season stress. 

Another goal is to help people become more empowered to get civically engaged. 

“We saw this need and decided that we should meet it,” she said. “So we worked really closely with our instructors who bring their expertise and creativity to design their classes … [We] hope they’ll be both practical and empowering,” said Solvang. 

The program will offer classes like: “Beyond the Headlines: Fact-Checking and Media Literacy” and “Writing as a Tool to Cope with Anxiety.”

“[They are] classes that help you develop resilience and inner-strength,” Solvang said. “In times of political and emotional turmoil, it’s important to have mental and emotional wellbeing.”

These classes will help people deal with the plethora of information that comes with politics and elections.

“If you don’t have the tools, it can be hard to navigate all of the information that comes up,” Solvang said. “We want folks to be informed when they get to the polls.”

The program is offering these classes for a limited time only starting next week. They are not for academic credit, but that means you don’t have to be a current student to take them.

Heather Peterson is a reporter and producer for KSL NewsRadio. She also produces Utah’s Noon News.