Is this really "the lowest point in our nation’s history that they can remember"?
POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Sunday, September 6, 2026 20:05
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Americans Are Officially Freaking Out
Almost two-thirds say this is the lowest point in U.S. history—and it’s keeping a lot of them up at night.
For those lying awake at night worried about health care, the economy, and an overall feeling of divide between you and your neighbors, there’s at least one source of comfort: Your neighbors might very well be lying awake, too.
Almost two-thirds of Americans, or 63 percent, report being stressed about the future of the nation, according to the American Psychological Association’s Eleventh Stress in America survey, conducted in August and released on Wednesday. This worry about the fate of the union tops longstanding stressors such as money (62 percent) and work (61 percent) and also cuts across political proclivities. However, a significantly larger proportion of Democrats (73 percent) reported feeling stress than independents (59 percent) and Republicans (56 percent).
The “current social divisiveness” in America was reported by 59 percent of those surveyed as a cause of their own malaise. When the APA surveyed Americans a year ago, 52 percent said they were stressed by the presidential campaign. Since then, anxieties have only grown.
A majority of the more than 3,400 Americans polled, 59 percent, said “they consider this to to be the lowest point in our nation’s history that they can remember.” That sentiment spanned generations, including those that lived through World War II, the Vietnam War, and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. (Some 30 percent of people polled cited terrorism as a source of concern, a number that’s likely to rise given the alleged terrorist attack in New York City on Tuesday.)
“We have a picture that says people are concerned,” said Arthur Evans, APA’s chief executive officer. “Any one data point may not not be so important, but taken together, it starts to paint a picture.”
The survey didn’t ask respondents specifically about the administration of President Donald Trump, Evans said. He points to the “acrimony in the public discourse” and “the general feeling that we are divided as a country” as being more important than any particular person or political party.
Yet he and the study note that particular policy issues are a major source of anxiety. Some 43 percent of respondents said health care was a cause. The economy (35 percent) and trust in government (32 percent) also ranked highly, as did hate crimes (31 percent) and crime in general (31 percent).
“Policymakers need to understand that this is an issue that is important to people, that the uncertainty is having an impact on stress levels, and that stress has an impact on health status,” Evans said, pointing out that the relationship between stress and health is well-established.
And keeping up with the latest developments is a source of worry all its own. Most Americans—56 percent—said they want to stay informed, but the news causes them stress. (Yet even more, 72 percent, said “the media blows things out of proportion.”)
The APA survey did find, however, that not everyone is feeling the same degree of anxiety. Women normally report higher levels of stress than men, though worries among both genders tend to rise or fall in tandem. This year, however, they diverged: On a 10-point scale, women reported a slight increase in stress, rising from an average 5.0 in 2016 to 5.1 in 2017, while the level for men dropped, from an average 4.6 to 4.4.
Racial divides also exist in reported stress. While the levels among blacks and Hispanics were lower in 2016 than the year before, they rose for both groups in 2017, to 5.2 for Hispanic adults and 5.0 for black adults. Among whites, meanwhile, the average remained the same, at 4.7.
The report also notes that many Americans are finding at least one healthy way to feel better: 53 percent reported exercising or doing other physical activity to cope. Social supNOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
“You Can’t Go Any Lower”: Inside the West Wing, Trump Is Apoplectic as Allies Fear Impeachment.
www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/11/the-west-wing-trump-is-apoplectic-as-a
llies-fear-impeachment
Remember Steve Bannon, Trump's brain? He is worried that Trump's Cabinet, all selected by Trump, will replace him with Pence.
Two weeks ago, according to a source, Bannon did a spitball analysis of the Cabinet to see which members would remain loyal to Trump in the event the 25th Amendment were invoked, thereby triggering a vote to remove the president from office. Bannon recently told people he’s not sure if Trump would survive such a vote. “One thing Steve wants Trump to do is take this more seriously,” the Bannon confidant told me. “Stop joking around. Stop tweeting.”
When crazy man Steve Bannon thinks you’re being too outrageous and need to rein it in, things are getting ugly.
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Yeah. 2005-10 was the worst financially, but I think most people are going to remember 2017 as the "Year of Total Shit".
Between the Trump Circus, living in Man-grope-istan, another damn storm or fire or shooting every day, horrible horrible movies...Oh yeah, and I got hit by a SEMI 
.
Hubby is trying to find a new job AND EVERY PLACE IS RATED TWO STARS OR LESS FOR EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION, so he's considering staying in his awful job (two and a HALF stars 
lest it get WORSE). Reading the Glassdoor reviews, it's amazing most of this country doesn't shoot their bosses more often. I can't believe some of these jobs call for having ANY kind of degree and then pay $10 an hour???
Then, there's the fact that LITERALLY half the people I know have cancer... and whether they have insurance or not it doesn't even matter, because they really CAN'T do much for them either way.
We have new people living on the corner, and in less than six months they've managed to make a cute house look like ghetto town, they never ever turn on lights, talk to people, clean up their leaves...and they sit in their cars for hours in the middle of the night... smoking.
People are just freaking weird these days, man. Not safe to go outside anywhere...
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"the lowest point in our nation’s history that" I can remember
was, probably, Watergate.
That was no doubt more sinister than now, because Nixon was
a professional politician & knew damn well what he was doing.
... oooOO}{OOooo ...
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Quote:
Originally posted by Oonjerah:
I can remember...,Watergate.
I'm pretty sure Trump has crawled beneath that bar several times already. We've yet to find out everything...
And that was just politically. I think we've hit new lows socially as well.
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^@Wishy
Yes, I agree. Nixon may have been a crook, but he knew what he was doing.
Trump is far more scary to me. He doesn't know or care about the Law of
the Land. He's more like a kid running amok in a toy store ... Being PotUS
is fun; he can do whatever he wants.
If the notion of nuclear war appeals to him instead of putting the fear of
God & Hellfire into him, he's dangerous.
Yes, and he's not at all Presidential. Doesn't inspire respect.
... oooOO}{OOooo ...
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Huh.... wouldn't ya know it....
I don't see Russia at all on those graphs.
Take note, Democrats looking to win seats in 2018.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
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Quote:
Originally posted by Wishimay:
...living in Man-grope-istan...
Yanno... Maybe you should talk to a woman living in one of the actual "istans" and see the life they have to lead compared to how women in this country have it.
You are a part of the most privileged women that the history of the planet has ever seen, and you constantly whine and bitch about this every single day.
Is it any wonder why less than 20% of women in the US identify as Feminists, and only 7% of women in the UK do?
Do Right, Be Right. :)
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Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Yanno... Maybe you should talk to a woman living in one of the actual "istans" and see the life they have to lead compared to how women in this country have it.
Yeah, dumbass, we should TOTALLY compare ourselves and aspire to be the armpit of the planet. No woman should EVER complain about being groped or raped because women in Afghanistan have it worse??
Only a COMPLETE IDIOT...oh wait, you are a complete idiot. Never mind...
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Learn how to read you freakin' idiot. Nowhere was it said or even vaguely implied that we should aspire to be one of them.
You are simply the most unpleasant person I have ever known in my life. The only reason I would ever touch you is if you had CTRL ALT DELETE buttons so I could shut you down.
That's probably what your daughter wants to do too.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
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