During the run up to the 2022 election, I heard all sorts of complaints from my friends and relatives in states like Pennsylvania and North Carolina and Georgia. You know, these states, among others, featured fiercely competitive races in this year's midterms and a lot of the folks I know asked me the same question: Why is it the case that every time I turn on the TV, I get blasted by political attack ads from all sides? And how and when will it all stop? Well, the answer to the latter question was November 8th, when the general election was held for most of my friends. But for the unfortunate few who live in Georgia, the runoff election rules there meant that much like Punxsutawney Phil seeing his shadow, four more weeks of all-out campaigning for Raphael, Warnock and Herschel Walker would result. The Leaguer Georgians eventually sorted it out, electing Warnock in a close December contest, but for a lot of people I know the damage had already been done in the form of stress, anger, frustration, and really electoral exhaustion. But could these high-stakes election seasons have an effect on our overall physical and mental health? My anecdotal evidence suggests that my friends in non-competitive states fared a lot better in 2022 than the perennially stressed out denizens of swing states. But the plural of anecdote is not data. To better understand the link between politics and our health I recently decided to talk to an expert.