NUT-JOB NATION: A mental-health therapist named Steven Stosny in Washington, D.C., is enjoying his 15 seconds of fame after coining the phrase “Election Stress Disorder” to describe the national affliction of toxic emotions arising from the vicious and bitter presidential race during the Year of Trump.
The Beltway headshrinker blames the campaign for high levels of “irritability and resentment” he’s seeing in many patients, manifest as road rage, ranting at work, snarling at the kitchen table, and increased consumption of alcoholic beverages. “It’s hard to tell if you have it,” he tells the Washington Post. “Ask your spouse and kids if they’ve noticed a difference.” Sic temper tyrannis.
INITIATIVES FOR DUMMIES: Great news for solid citizens wading through the 18 gazillion pages of the Official Voter Information Guide before November 8 in lieu of, oh say, reading the complete works of Marcel Proust: Democratic activist Damian Carroll, who doubles as a literary stylist, has written 17 haiku stanzas that clearly summarize the bewildering collection of state ballot measures. Example: using the three-line, 5/7/5, 17-syllable Japanese poetic form, Carroll analyzes two conflicting death-penalty initiatives this way: