Nearly half of Americans (49%) were stressed out last year, a more than 30-year high that led to poorer sleep and potential health issues. But, according to a new report, some states were more stressed than others, and Georgia residents had it worse than most.
As reported by CNBC, wellness brand Komowa used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to rank each state based on 16 indicators of stress that ranged from credit card debt to divorce rates. Those indicators were then grouped into four categories of stress: money, work, health and family.
After crunching the numbers, the brand discovered the Peach State is ranked the seventh most stressed place in the U.S. Georgia residents, according to the findings, often work long hours, have tiresome commutes, struggle over paying bills such as credit card debt, face challenges from divorce or single parenting, and struggle without health care.
Georgia was far from the only Southern state to top the list. Tennessee ranked as the most stressed, with Alabama coming in second. They were followed by Oklahoma, Louisiana, Nevada and South Carolina, in that order. After Georgia were Arizona, West Virginia and Indiana, making seven of the 10 most stressed states in the South.
A 2023 survey from the American Psychological Association laid the fault of America’s stress at the feet of the pandemic — citing “post-traumatic effects” that have lingered well into the country’s new post-pandemic “normal.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic created a collective experience among Americans. While the early-pandemic lockdowns may seem like the distant past, the aftermath remains,” APA’s chief executive officer, Arthur C. Evans Jr., Ph.D., said in a news release.
The 2023 data also suggested the long-term stress caused by the pandemic has led to an increase in chronic illnesses and mental health diagnoses, APA found.
“We cannot ignore the fact that we have been significantly changed by the loss of more than one million Americans, as well as the shift in our workplaces, school systems, and culture at large,” Evans added. “To move toward post-traumatic growth, we must first identify and understand the psychological wounds that remain.”
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