Americans Are More Stressed Than Ever — & Yes, The Election Is To Blame

Last year many of us seemed to be under the impression that the stress we felt over the election would dissipate once it was over. Boy, were we wrong. According to data published by the American Psychological Association, Americans are more stressed than ever after the results of the election. In running its annual "Stress In America" survey, the APA found that the current political climate is taking a huge toll on our well-being. According to the survey, conducted by Harris Poll, 49% of Americans reported feeling anxiety over the election's outcome, 57% were stressed over the current political climate, and 66% were stressed out about the future of the country.

Not only that, our stress levels are now at a historic high. Over the last 10 years that the APA has been running the survey, stress had been caused primarily by three factors — money, work, and the economy. And over the course of the decade, stress levels had been gradually decreasing. But the 2016 election took us all for a turn. "The results of the January 2017 poll show a statistically significant increase in stress for the first time since the survey was first conducted in 2007," the report reads. The report, which surveyed 1,019 Americans from January 5 to January 19, also found that the results were pretty stark when broken down by political party — 76% of Democrats reported that the outcome of the election was a significant source of stress for them, while only 26% of Republicans did. And while stress was an equalizer across different races and ethnicities, women reported higher levels of stress than men did. Researchers noted that this may have been caused by the negative rhetoric of the election, including issues of sexual assault and reproductive rights. We may not be able to do away with stress completely (unless you're lucky), the APA does have a few recommendations to keep stress from taking over your life. And if you're trying to keep your stress at bay while remaining politically active, we have you covered, too.