America, the stressed, pissed and worried.
According to survey data released Thursday by Gallup, America ties for 4th out of 143 when it comes to the most stressed-out nations. Currently more than half of Americans (55%) say they experience stress during a large part of the day. These levels are the highest that Gallup has found since it began doing this survey.
Most stressed-out nations on earth
% experienced stress a lot during previous day Greece 59% Philippines 58% Tanzania 57% Albania 55% Iran 55% Sri Lanka 55% United States 53% Uganda 52% Costa Rica 52% Rwanda 52% Turkey 52% Venezuela 52%
And the news doesn’t get better from there: Levels of anger and worry are also at record or near-record highs. Nearly half of Americans (45%) said they felt worried a lot, and 22% said they felt anger a lot.
“The levels of negative emotions in the past several years are even higher than during the U.S. recession years,” the report reveals.
And though many of us are more stressed, worried and angry than in the past, certain groups have it particularly bad. Among them: Younger Americans. Indeed, those between the ages of 15 and 49 were the most stressed, worried and angry in the U.S.
% stressed % worried % angry Age 15-29 64% 50% 32% Age 30-49 65% 52% 25% Age 50+ 44% 38% 16%
People’s income levels seem to impact their stress levels. Fewer than half of the richest 20% of Americans felt stressed or worried a lot, while significantly more than half of the poorest fifth felt stressed (68%) and worried (56%).
And political persuasion plays a role as well, as “those who disapprove of Trump’s job performance are significantly more likely to experience each of these negative emotions than those who do,” the report reveals.
Why does this all matter? The Gallup researchers highlight the ties between “negative affects like these and physical health and longevity.”
Indeed, long-term stress can exacerbate or create a host of issues. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, long-term stress may “suppress immune, digestive, sleep, and reproductive systems, which may cause them to stop working normally.” It can also cause headaches, sleeplessness, sadness, anger or irritability, and those who are under chronic stress “are prone to more frequent and severe viral infections, such as the flu or common cold.”
So what can you do if you feel a lot of anger stress or worry? To cope with stress, the CDC recommends eating healthy, getting a good night’s sleep, exercising regularly and trying to ensure that you take breaks from what is stressing you out. “Psychology Today” offers this guide to help with chronic worrying; and the Mayo Clinic these tips for chronic anger issues.
