The American Psychological Association has done an annual survey for the past decade, titled “Stress in America”. However, “it’s the first time since the American Psychological Association started the annual “Stress in America: Coping with Change” survey 10 years ago that this level of anxiety about the political climate and the country’s future has been reported, said Lynn Bufka, associate executive director for practice, research and policy at the APA”.
Though there is no cookie cutter answer as to why there’s more stress, psychologists have found possible sources of stress. Though economy, money, and work are the three main factors of stress in the US, over half (57%) of Americans said the current political landscape was a stress factor as well. In terms of bipartisanship, Democrats were more likely to cite current politics as a stress factor than Republicans (76% vs. 59%). However, these statistics indicate that over half of Americans in general are feeling extra stress from the Trump administration and the future of our country’s political climate.
Additionally, the National Suicide Hotline said that, “the Lifeline saw a higher call volume on the day before, the day of and the day after the election”.
These levels of stress should not be present in one of the countries of the free world. In addition to a disastrous administration that is putting the future of the world in danger, there is also a high volume of fake news being spread throughout social media. When people are unsure of what to believe around them, it causes even higher feelings of anxiety and paranoia and we seem to be stuck in a perpetual echo chamber of uncertainty and fear.
Overall, the American people are over-stressed by this administration, and it is doing more harm than good to Americans as a whole.
