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Could You Be Suffering From "Trump Anxiety"?

by Melissa Cruz

Have you had a crick in your neck lately? How about a sore back? Well, some psychologists and massage therapists are claiming that this stiffness may be the result of a newfound illness called "Trump Anxiety." Patients are allegedly citing an increase in stress over Donald Trump's rise in the GOP race as the cause for their doctors visits. Could this "Trump Anxiety" be the first in a line of illnesses ushered in were the Donald to win the GOP nomination? Is it even real to begin with?

In a report from The Washington Post, multiple psychologists claim they have experienced a rise in stress from their patients, all of whom have expressed fear over Trump's rise to power. Their sessions, the psychologists allege, are peppered more frequently with talks of the businessman. They have discussed an acute anxiety with their patients when it's discovered that one of their family members or close friends supports Trump, or with the businessman's recent hesitation in disavowing David Duke, a former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. (Bustle has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.)

Judith Schweiger Levy, a New York-based psychologist who has noticed that talk of the GOP front-runner have increased as of late, says she is also nervous about the prospect of a Trump presidency. She told the Post:

Part of the reason he makes people so anxious is that he has no anxiety himself. It's frightening. I'm starting to feel anxious just talking about him.
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Massage therapists are also saying that their patients are being affected by Trump's rise in politics. Amanda Long, a massage therapist based out of Arlington, Virginia, also told the Post about her clients' anxieties over the GOP frontrunner. She claims she frequently has to calm patients down after they vent about Trump before she can began her massage.

Whether or not "Trump Anxiety" can be called a "real" diagnoses is currently unforeseen. But that doesn't mean people can't experience legitimate anxiety over some of Trump's more heinous proposals. Particularly for Latino and Muslim Americans, his campaign promises turn into threats over their family, home, and rights to citizenship.

Trump's rise in popularity is certainly something the GOP has been stressing over, in any case. His successful push to the Republican nomination has surprised the GOP establishment, who continue to work to block the businessman from gaining any more ground. They have put forth an effort to vet more moderate candidates like Marco Rubio, and 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney recently gave a speech against the boisterous candidate.

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But with the businessman's Super Tuesday wins last week, it looks like there may be a lot more people — particularly those in the GOP establishment — who might be checking into the doctor for "Trump Anxiety."