Gallup's annual survey of global emotions has unveiled that last year, Americans experienced anger, stress, and worry at levels eclipsing those observed over the past 10 years.
The data is based on polling of over 150,000 people around the world, including 1,000 Americans.
Americans' stress levels were significantly higher than the global average of 35 percent, leaving the U.S. tied for fourth (alongside Iran, Albania, and Sri Lanka) in Gallup's ranking of the most stressed populations around the globe.
Greece came in first at 59 percent, while Tanzania and the Phillipines followed closely behind.
As far as worry, the U.S. came in at 45 percent, slightly higher than the global average of 39 percent. (Mozambique has the world's most worried population with 63 percent.)
And in terms of anger, although Anericans experienced the emotion at levels on par with the global average of 22 percent, this figure was still higher than in prior years.
In fact, U.S. respondents were about half as likely to report strong feelings of anger as people from the countries topping Gallup's list of the most angry populations in the world. Respondents from Armenia, Iraq, and Iran are the angriest according to the survey -- all in the low to mid 40s range.
Further, U.S. respondents aged 15 to 49 were more stressed angry, and worried than their older counterparts. Those in the lowest 20 percent of the income bracket reported higher stress levels than respondents in the top 20 percent.
The overall "World Negative Experience Index" -- based on measures of stress, sadness, worry, physical pain, and anger -- remained unchanged from the prior year's report thanks to a small decrease in stress levels, which countered a slight uptick in feelings of worry.
Chad was deemed the country with the most negative emotions in 2018, with over 70 percent reporting difficulties paying for food, and more than 61 percent experiencing physical pain.
Paraguay and Panama tied for the most positive countries surveyed, reflecting the tendency of people in the region to focus on family.
Despite reporting high levels of negative emotions, Americans said they had more positive experiences -- from learning new things to smiling or laughing -- than the global average.
These findings demonstrate that mental health is crucial to people's happiness, whether they reside in Armenia or the United States.
It's critical we do our part to keep stress, anger, and worry levels at bay, or we may find ourselves wrestling with debilitating health conditions like depression or anxiety.
The data is based on polling of over 150,000 people around the world, including 1,000 Americans.
Americans' stress levels were significantly higher than the global average of 35 percent, leaving the U.S. tied for fourth (alongside Iran, Albania, and Sri Lanka) in Gallup's ranking of the most stressed populations around the globe.
Greece came in first at 59 percent, while Tanzania and the Phillipines followed closely behind.
As far as worry, the U.S. came in at 45 percent, slightly higher than the global average of 39 percent. (Mozambique has the world's most worried population with 63 percent.)
And in terms of anger, although Anericans experienced the emotion at levels on par with the global average of 22 percent, this figure was still higher than in prior years.
In fact, U.S. respondents were about half as likely to report strong feelings of anger as people from the countries topping Gallup's list of the most angry populations in the world. Respondents from Armenia, Iraq, and Iran are the angriest according to the survey -- all in the low to mid 40s range.
Further, U.S. respondents aged 15 to 49 were more stressed angry, and worried than their older counterparts. Those in the lowest 20 percent of the income bracket reported higher stress levels than respondents in the top 20 percent.
The overall "World Negative Experience Index" -- based on measures of stress, sadness, worry, physical pain, and anger -- remained unchanged from the prior year's report thanks to a small decrease in stress levels, which countered a slight uptick in feelings of worry.
Chad was deemed the country with the most negative emotions in 2018, with over 70 percent reporting difficulties paying for food, and more than 61 percent experiencing physical pain.
Paraguay and Panama tied for the most positive countries surveyed, reflecting the tendency of people in the region to focus on family.
Despite reporting high levels of negative emotions, Americans said they had more positive experiences -- from learning new things to smiling or laughing -- than the global average.
These findings demonstrate that mental health is crucial to people's happiness, whether they reside in Armenia or the United States.
It's critical we do our part to keep stress, anger, and worry levels at bay, or we may find ourselves wrestling with debilitating health conditions like depression or anxiety.
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