Americans Are Among the Most Stressed People in the World, Poll Finds
Source: NY Times
Americans are among the most stressed people in the world, according to a new survey. And that's just the start of it.
Last year, Americans reported feeling stress, anger and worry at the highest levels in a decade, according to the survey, part of an annual Gallup poll of more than 150,000 people around the world, released on Thursday.
"What really stood out for the U.S. is the increase in the negative experiences," said Julie Ray, Gallup's managing editor for world news. "This was kind of a surprise to us when we saw the numbers head in this direction."
For the annual poll, started in 2005, Gallup asks individuals about whether they have experienced a handful of positive or negative feelings the day before being interviewed. The data on Americans is based on responses from more than 1,000 adults.
In the United States, about 55 percent of adults said they had experienced stress during "a lot of the day" prior, compared with just 35 percent globally. Statistically, that put the country on par with Greece, which had led the rankings on stress since 2012. About 45 percent of the Americans surveyed said they had felt "a lot" of worry the day before, compared with a global average of 39 percent. Meanwhile, the share of Americans who reported feeling "a lot" of anger the day before being interviewed was the same as the global average: 22 percent. -More...
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/us/americans-stressful.html
Gallup investigated the responses more closely and found that being younger than age 50, being low income and having a dim view of President Trump's job performance were associated with negative experiences among adults in the US. There still isn't enough data to know for certain if any of those factors were related to feelings of stress, worry and anger.
*TIME, Americans Are Among The Most Stressed- Out People in the World, A New Global Survey Says, April 25, 2019
http://time.com/5577626/americans-stressed-out-gallup-poll/
"In the U.S., 55% of respondents told Gallup they’d felt a lot of stress the day before, well above the global average of 35%. Gallup’s research found that lower-income Americans tended to report more stress, as did those who disapprove of President Donald Trump. Prior studies and polls have found that finances, health and health care and politics and current events are leading stressors for Americans, and social media and technology are frequently blamed for stress and mental health issues as well.
Many of the countries experiencing roughly as much stress as the U.S. were embroiled in political turmoil of some kind, whether humanitarian, economic or security-related. Greece, the Philippines and Tanzania were the only countries with stress rates higher than the U.S. Albania, Iran and Sri Lanka were tied with the U.S.
While some stress is normal and even healthy, chronic stress is connected to a range of conditions, including mental health issues, cognitive changes and chronic disease. That makes widespread stress a public-health issue. Americans felt plenty of other negative emotions, too. Forty-five percent said they'd felt worried during the day before the survey, and 22% said they'd felt angry. The global averages for those feelings were 39% and 22%, respectively.
The Gallup report, in keeping with prior studies, found that younger Americans (defined in the report as those between the ages of 15 and 49) were the most likely to feel stressed, worried or angry. The American Psychological Association in 2018 found that Generation Z is the most stressed-out age group due to factors such as violence, political turmoil, finances and health. And Millennials and Gen Z are known to have disproportionately high rates of anxiety, loneliness and depression, which can be tied to stress."
= new reply since forum marked as read
our new "tax plan," insurance rates, day care, utilities, vehicles, etc.) In conjunction with wages that have stagnated for decades. It like Liz Warren sez: It's rigged. And from Carlin: The real owners don't want educated people. They wasn't them just smart enough to run the machines, but not capable of critical thinking. "It's the American Dream. Cause you've got to be asleep to believe it."
Throw in normalized gun violence, opioid epidemic, undermining of our institutions by a Russian asset and his handlers, flaunting the Rule of Law by same, the constant propaganda of Faux News (the real "Fake News" and hate radio, kids in cages, the willful destruction of the environment, the neglect of minorities, indigenous peoples, veterans, immigrants and two incomes not enough to make ends meet....And we're allegedly the richest country in the history of the World so how can all this be happening?
Yeah, wonder why we're stressed.
a class action against the administration for emotional distress. 
The well known 'Divide and Rule' of the Brits in India, and 'Divide and Conquer' since the Romans. Stress is a well known killer as you say. I used to think several years ago that better media was key to informing and educating people. Like others I hoped the creation of another quality pro-democracy news outlet, accessible in print, cable and online would help combat the pervasive influence of Fox and Hate Radio over the last 30 years. We know Americans are busier than ever and overwhelmed. They don't read much now, or live and breathe news 10 hours a day, on TV or online. It's also difficult to know which news outlets are best, especially beyond well known mainstream sources.
Divide and Rule/ 'divide et impera.' Tradition attributes the origin of the motto to Philip of Macedonia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divide_and_rule
Enlisting the efforts of someone like Tom Steyer was one of the most interesting suggestions to surface. But by now it appears another left news source won't happen, from a lack of interest, or will. With the internet it may be too late. Opinions on this topic ranged from how cable news, mainly MSNBC and CNN, and even PBS/NPR, were sufficient; late night comedy shows effectively countered falsehoods; the right would always fund more outlets and dominate so additional effort was pointless. Some said, "we should never interfere with the 'freedom of speech'" of right media! which was never advocated. The strongest opposition maybe originated with stage moms and fans with a lot at stake for all I know.
In the meantime, movements have formed from the grassroots like Me Too, March for Our Lives and others which have successfully organized and engaged all over the country. It's encouraging to see, like GOTV and action at the ballot box. But the daily news and this latest Gallup poll affirm how fast we're becoming a very unhealthy, sick and dangerous country of declining status. To those paying attention, it's devastating to watch and a serious threat to freedom and democracy. 2020, can't get here fast enough.
