Stressed out? Not Connecticut 

New research has revealed the least stressed states, with Connecticut finishing in the top 10. 

The study conducted by mental health facility Onyx Behavioral Health explored data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to see which states had the lowest rates of people reporting stress. Connecticut finished ninth, with 14.50% of adults reporting mental distress in more than half of the last 30 days and 11.60% of adults reporting physical distress in more than half of the last 30 days, for an average of 13.05%. These figures are below the U.S. averages for mental distress (15.90%) and physical distress (12.40%) for a combined 14.15%. 

The study found that Hawaii had the lowest mental and physical distress rate, making it the least stressed state. The data reports that only 11.50% of citizens suffer from frequent mental distress, and 9.50% of citizens suffer from frequent physical distress. Combining these statistics, it comes at an average of 10.50%, the lowest of any state. 

South Dakota came in second, with an average percentage of 11.15% for physical and mental distress. This is due to only 12.80% of citizens suffering from frequent mental distress and 9.50% suffering from frequent physical distress.  

Coming in third place was Nebraska, with the state seeing 12.10% of citizens suffer from frequent mental distress in the study, and 10.30% suffer from frequent physical distress, an average of 11.20% for both in the state. 

Iowa was fourth on the list. In the state, 13.50% of citizens reported suffering from frequent mental distress, and 10.80% reported suffering from frequent physical distress, which is an average of 12.15%. 

Rounding out the top five was North Dakota, with 14.10% of citizens reporting frequent mental distress and 10.50% reporting frequent physical distress for average of 12.30%. 

The rest of the top 10 were Maryland (sixth), New Jersey (seventh), Massachusetts and Minnesota (tied for eighth) and Illinois (10th). 

Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson from Onyx Behavioral Health said: “While these states may have low rates of stress compared to other areas, an interesting thing to note is that the newest 2022 data shows an increase on average across the U.S. in mental and physical distress. While there may not be an exact reason for this, factors may include a rising cost of living through inflation and increasing tensions around the world, and it will be interesting to see if this increasing trend continues in further editions of this data.”