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Survey: Angelenos Work Harder Than Everyone Else at Reducing Stress, But We're Still Pretty Wigged Out
Photo by Eric Demarcq via the LAist Featured Photos pool
Four out of ten Angelenos are more stressed out than they were five years ago, according to the American Psychological Association's annual survey on "Stress in America." But there's a silver lining: we are working harder than the rest of the nation to tackle that stress.We're more likely to consider going to a shrink helpful (68 percent) than other Americans (58 percent), and 7 percent of us are actually seeing a shrink—that's more than double the national rate of 3 percent. True to those California health nut stereotypes, we've been successful at eating more healthfully (48 percent vs. 44 percent), exercising more (45 percent vs. 39 percent) and losing weight (39 percent vs. 38 percent).
But we're still pretty wigged out (last year Forbes called us "America's Most Stressful City" and we fared pretty poorly on earlier APA surveys). About 4 out of 10 Angelenos say they are more stressed now than they were 5 years ago, which the survey is about on par with the rest of the nation. However, 22 percent of us say we are less stressed than 5 years ago compared with 27 percent of the rest of the nation.
So what is it that is stressing us out so much that a better diet, exercise and therapy aren't making much of a dent (besides condescending yogis)? The survey says we're stressed about money (74 percent), work (73 percent) and the economy (64 percent).
"While many Los Angeles residents recognize the impact that stress has on the body, the numbers who are stressed about money, work and the economy continues to be cause for concern,'' Dr. Michael Ritz, a Los Angeles-area psychologist, told City News Service.
The APA said its Stress in America survey was conducted online in August and September by the market research consultant Harris Interactive among 281 Los Angeles residents and 1,226 adult residents of the United States, according to City News Service. You can find the rest of the stats on wigged-out Angelenos and other Americans here.
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