Why Americans are the world’s most stressed-out people

Americans are among the most stressed people in the world, according to a new survey. And that is 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 1,50,000 people around the world, released on Thursday. “What really stood out for the US is the increase in the negative experiences,” said Julie Ray, Gallup’s managing editor for world news. 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 US, about 55% of adults said they had experienced stress during “a lot of the day” prior, compared with just 35% globally. Statistically, that put the country on par with Greece, which had led the rankings on stress since 2012. About 45% of the Americans surveyed said they had felt “a lot” of worry the day before, compared with a global average of 39%. 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%. Gallup found that being under 50, earning a low income and having a dim view of President Donald Trump’s job performance were correlated with negative experiences among adults in the United States. “We are seeing patterns that would point to a political explanation, or a polarisation explanation, with the US data, but can we say that definitively? No,” Ray said. The findings were not all bleak for the US. Despite having widespread negative experiences, Americans also generally reported more positive experiences, on average, than the rest of the world did. Globally, just 49% of those interviewed said they had learned or had done something interesting the day before. In the US, however, 64% of adults said the same. The two sets of questions about negative and positive experiences, are unconnected, says Ray. An individual can feel both stressed and wellrested in a given day. NYT NEWS SERVICE

Source: Times of India, 26/04/2019