Although she specializes in treating patients with eating disorders, Gainesville-based psychologist Ashley Chin has watched political anxiety flood her office.
Over the past six months, Chin said more of her patients, ranging from college- to middle-aged adults, have expressed concerns about politics.
“That's not always the case in therapy, since people are oftentimes talking about personal matters,” Chin said.
Chin has observed a national trend. According to a Quinnipiac University nationwide poll, 79% of voters in the U.S. believe the country is facing a political crisis.
In light of heavy political polarization, constant policy shifts and the assassination of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, anxiety surrounding politics has been intensified in and out of the classroom.
Over the past few months, Kirk’s assasination sparked conversation among most of Chin’s patients, who she said are scattered across the political spectrum. Most commonly, patients expressed concerns about public safety and the country’s divisiveness.
Chin has noticed a major theme among her patients of feeling out of control and fearing the unknown.
This increase in political unease makes Chin’s job more complex, she said, as she works with patients to help channel their politically fueled anxieties.
“It just adds an extra layer to the therapy market,” she said. “I know a lot of people are really struggling right now.”
People are particularly stressed about economics, said Eva García Ferrés, a UF psychology PhD candidate who researches economic inequality.
While there has been a lot of stress in respect to economics before the Trump administration, she said, those concerns have been exacerbated due to the government shutdown, which has lasted for more than 35 days.
“I think that he sold himself as someone who was for the working class,” she said of President Donald Trump. “The policies that are going through are not representative of that sentiment.”
Aside from her research, Ferrés works with UF undergraduate students who take psychology classes. With those undergraduates, and the general U.S. population, she’s found people have outwardly negative opinions about the state of America.
Other professors have noticed those feelings, too.
Colin Smith, a UF psychology professor, has taught political psychology for about a decade. He said the classroom’s environment has changed significantly over time.
He attributed recent political anxiety to the “drama of the day” brought on by an uncertain and tiring presidential administration. Trump’s time in office has transformed the dialogue in the classroom, he added.
“The way that we interact with each other just feels more fraught than it did,” Smith said.
Though the class has conversations together whenever possible, he thinks people are worried about speaking up.
In class, students debate on issues including immigration, mass incarceration and healthcare — all controversial pillars of the Trump administration.
“People are expected to present and talk, and those just have become less fun, I think, over time,” Smith said. “I just have noticed the temperature change over time a little bit.”
Despite the changing political climate and party polarization, Smith said the country has been more divided before, referencing the Civil War in the 1860s.
Chase Fenske is optimistic, despite believing the country is in a political crisis.
The 20-year-old UF political science and statistics junior thinks the political state of the country will improve, despite his pervasive feelings of worry and anxiety.
However, he said a lot of his friends do not share the same positivity.
“I know that things are really bad,” Fenske said. “I’m hopeful they can get better.”
Contact Shaine Davison at sdavison@alligator.org. Follow her on X @shainedavison.
Shaine is the Fall 2025 enterprise editor at The Alligator. She has previously written for the sports and university sections. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, going on runs and trying new coffee shops.
