Science has an idea of when you’ll stop feeling so horrible about the election

Here at HelloGiggles, we’ve been pretty transparent about our opinions on the election results. Because we pride ourselves on being an inclusive, positive space for women and men of all backgrounds, there’s no room for President-elect Donald Trump’s misogyny in our America. So frankly, we’re a little bummed out.

And a quick glance on our social media feeds reveals that a lot of people are feeling the same feelings.

It’s been five days since election day, and the anti-Trump messages are still coming through loud and clear. Which leads us to wonder: Will it ever end?

 Luckily, Brit + Co did a little digging and found out that there might be light visible at the end of the tunnel. Apparently studies have been conducted on how long it takes for post-election depression to wear off.

According to the Journal of Experimental Political Science, "elections strongly affect the immediate happiness/sadness of partisan losers." Yet, "the effect...appears to dissipate within a week after the election."

These findings were gleaned after the 2012 election. Researchers followed 210 Republicans and 111 Democrats in the weeks after the polls. The voters whose candidate lost immediately reported a 30 to 60 percent decline in happiness. But after seven days, the study showed that their depression had faded.

However, there is one caveat. There’s no scientific evidence to support this opinion, but it seems that there’s a lot more at stake after 2016’s turbulent election than in 2012.

Protests against Trump are rampant across the nation. The reasons for that cover far more than just partisan policies — many people’s rights are also at stake.

Only time will tell how long post-election depression will continue, and it’s possible that this study might be correct. But in this unusual election cycle, we’re going to guess it’s going to take much longer than a week.