Bloomberg is reporting that a national survey of anxiety finds a statistically significant increase for the first time since it was launched in 2007. Some of the findings are:
- Stress is caused by three primary factors—money, work, and the economy.
- Respondents with incomes below $50,000 reported higher stress levels than those with higher incomes.
- Although stress in American life has been decreasing over the past 10 years, the election caused a spike among both Republicans and Democrats.
- 57 percent said the current political climate was a very or somewhat significant source of stress.
- 70% of blacks report election stress whereas 40% of whites do.
- Two-thirds of respondents to the survey said they are stressed out about the nation’s future.
- Millennials reported more stress than their parents or grandparents.
- The more educated are more stressed than the less educated.
If you’re among the fretting, here are a couple of books I recommend:
- Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest by Ed Welch.
- Anxious: Choosing Faith in a World of Worry by Amy Simpson.
There is also the short booklet:
- Anxiety: Anatomy and Cure by Bob Kellemen.
If you are looking for some verses to calm your nerves, Amy Simpson and Ed Welch suggest the following passages:
- Psalm 20:7-8
- Psalm 23
- Psalm 27
- Psalm 46
- Psalm 56
- Psalm 62:5-8
- Psalm 118:6
- Proverbs 29:25
- Isaiah 7:4, 9
- Isaiah 26:3-6
- Isaiah 40:28-31
- Job 38:4-7
- Matthew 6
- Mark 4:38-40
- Luke 12:22-31
- John 14:1, 27
- Romans 8
- Philippians 4:6-8
- Philippians 4:18-19
- Colossians 3:15
- 2 Timothy 1:7
- Hebrews 13:6
- 1 Peter 5:7
- Revelation 21:1-4