Election day arrived, and so did the anxiety that settled in the middle of the room.

Some are doing their best to rise to the occasion — with mixed results — while others have simply chosen not to let the race for president and control of Congress dominate their lives.

For most voters we spoke to, that’s easier said than done.

Brothers David and Mark Aurigemma tried to drown out the Election Day noise by taking a walk

David Aurigemma wears a Kamala Harris t-shirt while taking a walk at Los Angeles State Historic Park.

(Jireh Deng/Los Angeles Times)

on Tuesday morning. They had planned to hike and visit art galleries in downtown Los Angeles, but admitted they were stressed about the election.

David Aurigemma wears a Kamala Harris t-shirt while out for a walk

(Jireh Deng/Los Angeles Times)

David Aurigemma wears a Kamala Harris T-shirt on Election Day.

(Jireh Deng/Los Angeles Times)

“We’re just walking around and trying to have a nice day without thinking about it too much,” Mark

said. “I think we’ll be glued to our televisions tonight to find out how the rest of our lives will play out.”

If you can’t stop the doom and worry, you’re not alone. More than 7 in 10 adults (77%) say the future of the United States is a major source of stress in their lives, a study finds. recent report from the American Psychological Assn.

Nearly 70% of respondents in the study said they were stressed about this year’s election, a slight increase from 2020, when 68% of respondents reported being stressed, but significantly more than in 2016, when they were 52%.

Anxiety can be strong and dominate our every waking moment, but only if we let it, said Richard Cytowic, a professor of neurology at George Washington University.

“The anxiety has nothing to do with the election and external factors,” Cytowic said. “It has everything to do with the individual.”

Artist Hennessy Christophel works on a mural titled “Invisible Neighbors” at the Griffith Park Welcome Center as voters cast their ballots Tuesday.

(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

The news cycle provides a constant stream of election information every hour, and it can be exhausting given that the U.S. election season has pretty much covered the last two years, but Cytowic believes it’s all manageable.

“Most people ask themselves, ‘How can I deal with this cacophony that is bearing down on me?’ Whereas I say forget the cacophony,” he said. “My point of view comes from the brain. What does this do to us and how can I say no to this intrusion?

One approach is to ignore elections altogether, as commercial truck driver Eddie Castaneda does.

Castaneda, 36, was running around Los Angeles State Historic Park Tuesday morning and said he had no plans to vote.

“I believe that my vote does not matter. … I’m not really a big fan of politics,” Castaneda said. “Whoever wins, I’m going to sit back and watch it unfold.”

Like a duck’s back, everything seems to roll over Castaneda. Despite the news regarding AI automation and driverless vehicles such as WaymoCastaneda is not worried about his position being eliminated. He drives a bobtail truck to move furniture across Southern California.

“I don’t think (my job) is going to disappear,” he said. “Transportation is the only thing that makes the world work. …We are on the right side.

On the other side of the coin were Kimberly Flores, 31, and her sister Luz Flores, 23, who were waiting in line to order cupcakes at The Grove.

Burbank police officers were present at the voting center at the McCambridge Recreation Center in Burbank on Election Day.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Both men are not eligible to vote and do not feel safe under either potential administration. So they chose to be generally nihilistic about the whole thing, while recognizing that it could affect their future.

“Evictions are still happening, regardless of party,” said Luz, who has legal status under the Dream Act.

The Flores, it seems, intend to stay calm under pressure. Such self-regulation is a sign of emotional intelligence, according to Cytowic, and a way to respond to stress rather than letting it control your behavior.

For Kelly Greaney and Stacey Matthew, who live near Grove, their way to calm down Tuesday was to attend an afternoon romantic comedy. Later, they planned to do their best to make the day as normal as possible: baking brownies, playing with their kids, cooking as a family.

“I’m just trying to pass the time of anxiety, because in my mind we have a whole day and night waiting for the votes to be counted,” said Greaney, who was wearing an “I Voted” sticker “.

The couple, who work in Hollywood, were heading to an early screening of the film “Anora” while their children were in kindergarten. They became friends through their children – and said it had been stressful trying to explain the election to them.

Matthew also said, “I’m really afraid of civil unrest. »

Greaney, meanwhile, was doing her best not to get stuck watching the news. “I didn’t turn on the news today. I didn’t turn on the news last night,” she said. “I went on social media, but I avoided disaster.”

“One thing we know from psychology is that people really hate uncertainty and also hate lack of control,” associate professor of psychology. Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton told UC Berkeley News. “Elections have both. You only have one voice. So there’s a lot of anxiety. »

Not so much for Tom Rhodes, though.

“I’m feeling pretty zen,” Rhodes, 57, said of Election Day.

The full-time touring comedian had planned six months in advance to return home just so he could vote in person.

Rhodes was walking through the Grove on his way home with his “I Voted” sticker on his chest. “For me (Kamala Harris) has always been ahead,” he said.

The comedian said he was a news junkie and, although he tried to avoid obsessing over the news, he said he knew by nightfall that he would seek its dose of news as the election results were known.