The association’s annual “Stress in America” poll, published Thursday, found that U.S. adults — already weary from two years of the Covid-19 pandemic — are now overwhelmingly troubled by inflation and the war in Ukraine.
According to the results, 87 percent of those surveyed cited rising costs of everyday items, such as groceries and gas, as a “significant source of stress.”
The same high percentage said their mental health was greatly affected by what has felt like a “constant stream of crises without a break over the last two years.” And 84 percent said the Russian invasion of Ukraine is “terrifying to watch.”
The shared feeling of stress among so many Americans was “startling,” said Lynn Bufka, a clinical psychologist and the APA’s associate chief for practice transformation. While many people can feel stress, she said, they often cite different political or social reasons as the source.
“We don’t usually see 80 percent of people telling us that a particular stressor is stressful for that many individuals,” Bufka said.
