'A train wreck ... I can't stop watching': Canadians grapple with anxiety around Trump's tariff chaos

Natalie Stechyson · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 06, 2025 5:37 PM EST | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Feeling frustrated and helpless successful the look of the chaos surrounding tariffs and authorities successful wide these days? Well, there's a valid crushed for that, and you're not alone. 

Between Canada's current governmental situation and U.S. President Donald Trump boasting about his "swift and unrelenting action" since taking office, his on-again-off-again tariff warfare targeting Canada and his threats to marque this country the "51st state," it's capable to marque anyone consciousness similar they've aged a decennary successful the past fewer months. 

CBC News has heard from plentifulness of radical sharing the anxiety, dread and fears they consciousness about the tariff war, Trump's policies and what seems similar an unending onslaught of atrocious news. 

"I get wholly obsessed with the quality and my anxiousness goes done the roof," said Saskatoon nonmigratory Tracey Collins, 58.

Collins says she wants to enactment informed, but finds the quality truthful upsetting that she has to beryllium cautious not to go consumed by it. Lately, fixed the magnitude of alteration and uncertainty, Collins says she's needed other medicine for anxiety.

"My biggest fearfulness is we are heading toward a dictatorship if Trump remains successful power," she said.

WATCH | Why this dual citizen feels torn betwixt 2 countries: 

In Fort Erie, Ont., straight crossed the borderline from Buffalo, N.Y., dual national Maria Lirio said she feels torn. When she shops successful New York, for instance, she says Americans who announcement her Canadian licence plates apologize to her connected behalf of the country. And in Canada, she says, everyone is conscionable angry.

"I'm torn betwixt the 2 countries that I love," Lirio told CBC News Network.

"I beryllium present and I beryllium there. Please, Mr. Prime Minister and Mr. President, enactment it out. We're neighbours. We emotion each other."

Politics and chronic stress

Recent studies person recovered that vulnerability to political stress is linked with poorer carnal and affectional health, and that most therapists study that their patients sermon politics in their sessions. Other studies person recovered that, after the 2020 statesmanlike election, radical reported election-related post-traumatic stress.

Just past fall, the American Psychological Association (APA) warned that predetermination accent tin harm your health. In the U.S., 77 per cent of adults successful the APA's Stress successful America report cited the aboriginal of their federation arsenic a important root of stress. 

"In general, we cognize that chronic accent harms intelligence well-being and carnal well-being. It takes a toll connected our bodies," Brett Ford, an subordinate prof of science astatine the University of Toronto who studies the nexus betwixt emotions and governmental engagement, said successful the APA's quality release.

"There's a beardown lawsuit to beryllium made that for galore people, authorities is simply a signifier of chronic stress."

Another study of U.S. psychotherapists conducted during Trump's archetypal presidency recovered that they reported their patients who weren't Trump supporters experienced decreases successful affirmative emotions aft the 2016 election. The other improvement was recovered for patients who did enactment Trump.

'Constant threat' tin origin radical to tune out

So, portion governmental anxiousness isn't new, it's arguably been much aggravated lately fixed Trump's "shock and awe" strategy since taking office. As analysts person noted, Trump deed the crushed running in January to enforce his contentious agenda. A recent communicative by U.S. quality firm Axios notes that this strategy of "drama and unpredictability" is investigating people's effect to chaos.

"Our cognitive and affectional systems are not prepared for the changeless inflow of information, which means astatine immoderate fixed infinitesimal we tin cognize each unspeakable and analyzable happening happening successful the world," explained Amanda Friesen, an associate professor of political subject astatine Western University, successful a recent Q&A connected the university's website.

"We are not prepared to brushwood changeless threat. The much radical tune into these imaginable threats the much their intelligence and affectional wellness tin deteriorate."

Annette Buchholz, who lives successful Vulcan, Alta., says she worries every time astir the authorities of affairs successful Canada and abroad "because of Trump and his brutal decisions."

His treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and freezing support for Ukraine, for instance, was "an embarrassment and deplorable," said Buchholz, 76.

"My parents went done the aforesaid with a tyrant named Hitler. I spot the past repeating itself and consciousness helpless to halt it," she said. "Additionally, we arsenic Canadians person not conscionable these tariffs to interest ourselves with, but besides the anticipation of becoming portion of the U.S., a nightmare successful itself."

WATCH | How to negociate the accent of quality overload: 

Balancing staying informed and accusation overload

Western University's Friesen, who is besides the Canada Research Chair successful Political Psychology, precocious told CBC's London Morning that it's understandable that radical would consciousness truthful overmuch anxiousness these days. She admits that she's "pretty stressed, too," adjacent though she's a governmental idiosyncratic who studies governmental science and the tools and strategies to negociate governmental stress. 

People who consciousness overwhelmed tin effort to bounds their vulnerability to the 24/7 quality cycle, Friesen said. For instance, she suggests subscribing to a fewer once-daily newsletters from trusted quality sources, arsenic opposed to perpetually consuming news.

She knows it tin beryllium hard to equilibrium staying informed with avoiding accusation overload — and arsenic a political scientist, she wants people to pay attention — but she says that doesn't mean we have to show the quality constantly.

"Maybe it's absorbing to you, but past you request to abstracted that. 'Am I funny successful this, oregon is this conscionable going to further accent maine out?' "

Janet James, 67, of Elie, Man., says she's tense and edgy, and often feels similar she's experiencing the extremity of the world. And limiting her vulnerability to the quality hasn't precisely helped.

"In a word, my intelligence wellness is shattered. I'm disquieted each the time. I'm frightened and depressed," James said.

"I person constricted my looking astatine the quality to doubly a day. Once successful the greeting — to spoil my time — and erstwhile astatine night, truthful that I can't sleep."