Here’s a fact that might shock and alarm you. People in Venezuela and Iraq feel less stressed than Americans. Venezuela — you know, the poster child of social collapse, and, war-torn Iraq. How can Venezuelans and Iraqis be less stressed than Americans? What the? Just think about that for a second.

I recently took a look at Gallup’s World Emotional Temperature thermometer. It’s a survey about how people feel, all over the world. Feel — not just how much they’re making, Instagramming, tweeting, etcetera — but what their lives really feel like. Gallup didn’t quite see it — or maybe didn’t want to talk about it — but the facts say…surprise, surprise: America’s the most stressed out, angriest, and worried country in the rich world — by a very long way. It’s more stressed than many middle income countries, and even poor ones (like El Salvador, Panama, and Guatemala).

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