Three in four people in the U.S. say that “stress is just something I have to live with,” and that, “Bad news no longer shocks me the way it used to.”

Welcome to the New Normal for people in America: Stress for All (or most), quantified and detailed in Stress in America 2026: The Stress of Uncertainty from the American Psychological Association.  

 

 

 

 

 

Two in three people also say they have become accustomed to living with uncertainty.

The APA conducted research online in July-August 2026 among 3,132 adults 18 years of age and over with The Harris Poll to assess peoples’ perspectives on stress.

APA has conducted the Stress in America survey for many years; I’ve covered this study perennially in the Health Populi blog, with links below the Hot Points).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People feel stressed by many factors in daily life: in the APA poll, most Americans cited every one of the stress-items surveyed in the study, with 3 in 4 noting the cost of living, the economy, the future of the nation, and money — thus, three of the four most-cited stress factors had to do with financial matters. But even the lowest-mentioned stressor, global tension and conflict, got 56% of consumers noting that source of stress, so geopolitics are also stressful for most people in America in late summer 2026. 

 

 

 

 

See that 3 in 5 U.S. consumers say health care is a significant source of stress: for sandwich caregivers, that spikes up to 82%. a challenge duly noted and attended to by my colleague and friend, Alexandra Drane in her work with ARCHANGELS. (Check out her latest TEDx Talk here on, Sex, Drugs, and… Caregiving?)

There are some social and mental health issues that consumers are dealing with caused by the stress they are feeling. For example, one-half of U.S. adults are withdrawing from social participation due to stress, such as 37% pulling back from social activities or gatherings, 27% reducing participation in hobbies or activities they had previously enjoyed, and 16% reducing participation in community activities.

The coping mechanism for replacing connection could be AI — with 49% of U.S. adults using AI to engage in conversations as a friend, 49% using AI to discuss relationships, and 47% using AI to act as a mental health professional. These behaviors are more commonly adopted by younger people 18-29 years of age compared with those over 30.

Health Populi’s Hot Points:  For more insights into APA’s Stress in America research, you can read my past years’ takes on this always-informative, insightful research:

2024 – America in a World of Turmoil

2023 – Everyone Is Stressed in America

2022 – Mental Health Risks in 2022

2021 – Stress in America, One Year Into the Pandemic

2020 – Stressed Out by COVID-19 and Civil Unrest