'Feels deeply personal': Women voters suffering 'high-functioning depression' since Trump victory

Before the United States' 2024 presidential election, liberal/progressive filmmaker Michael Moore predicted that female voters — angry over MAGA Republicans' attacks on reproductive rights — would show up in huge numbers and give Vice President Kamala Harris a decisive victory. But President-elect Donald Trump enjoyed a narrow win, defeating Harris by roughly 1.4 or 1.5 percent in the popular vote (according to Cook Political Report).

According to Statista, Harris received 54 percent of the female vote compared to 44 percent for Trump. But among white women, Trump received 52 percent of the vote, while Harris received 47 percent. And in the end, Harris was unable to cross the finish line — although it was a close election.

Forbes' Elizabeth Pearson, in an article published on December 2, reports that many women who voted for Harris are quite worried about Trump's return to the White House in 2025 and are experiencing a "high-functioning depression" because of it.

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"Donald Trump's reelection has sent ripples through the professional world — particularly among women," Pearson explains. "For many, this outcome has been more than a political loss; it feels deeply personal. Many mental health experts have witnessed a startling trend among their clients: a wave of high-functioning depression. Women are still showing up at work, fulfilling their responsibilities, and appearing outwardly composed, but beneath the surface, they're struggling."

The "immediate online rhetoric from misogynistic men" that followed Trump's victory has, according to Pearson, "left many women feeling downright depressed and anxious."

"If you — or some women you know — have been feeling 'off' since November 6," Pearson reports, "you're not imagining it…. Studies have shown a link between political outcomes and mental health. According to the American Psychological Association, 68 percent of Americans reported the 2020 election as a significant source of stress, with women disproportionately affected."

Pearson adds, "Fast forward to 2024, and the stakes feel even higher, with many women interpreting Trump's return to office as a symbolic and tangible step backward for gender equity, reproductive rights, and workplace equality.

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Read Forbes' full report at this link.