Uptight? Haggard? Edgy? Full of doubt? Then you must be one of the 500 or so candidates up and down the country putting yourself before the electorate in 48 hours.
As endgame approaches, consultant psychiatrist and former Labour TD, Dr Moosajee Bhamjee, said yesterday that now was the time when panic and anxiety feelings developed and candidates lost their taste for food.
Well placed to comment on the mental health of wannabe TDs as the election campaign draws to a close, Dr Bhamjee remarked that "feelings of doubt now intensify while tempers become frayed both at home and in party rooms.
"During a canvass, candidates have to appear confident and able, but inside they are wracked by anxiety. They look uptight and haggard. Sleep is fitful, the candidate is edgy. There is no time for family and children, everything is taken up with politics.
"The day is long, "the home is in turmoil and the family is roped in taking messages, handing out pamphlets, answering the phone."
A campaign to become elected skewed candidates' views of people, according to Dr Bhamjee.
"The candidates stops seeing people as they are and instead sees them as votes only. The self-esteem of a candidate is all wrapped with how he or she is doing politically . . . most people could be earning much more money if they stayed outside politics, yet they want to remain or become TDs. Why?"
Dr Bhamjee said candidates enjoyed canvassing "because the adrenaline is flowing, there is a party of atmosphere and an air of suspense and drama. But there is a flip side due to the pressure: hands are tired and sore. Questions are asked of yourself. Did I make a mistake? Should I have answered that question another way?"
He concluded: "The primary thought is 'I must win this seat, that is the primary goal as it means the future for myself and my family'."
