As communities across Western North Carolina continue navigating the long arc of recovery from Helene, a recent Forbes article offers a surprisingly hopeful snapshot of our collective emotional landscape.
Yes, Americans are stressed, overwhelmed, and facing real barriers—but the data also shows something powerful: we haven’t lost our sense of agency, connection, or hope.
At Resources for Resilience, these scientific findings resonate deeply with what we see every day in our trainings and community partnerships. Even in the midst of struggle and strain, people are still reaching for tools that help them regulate, reconnect, and rebuild.
The honesty about hardship and the hope in possibility is at the heart of resilience work, and it’s exactly what the WNC region continues to embody every day.
Stress By The Numbers
Negative Experiences
- 85% see significant barriers ahead
- 52% feel burned out.
- 39% of adults experience a lot of worry.
- 37% feel so overwhelmed they struggle to do their job
- 37% experience significant stress
- 32% of people report physical pain tied to stress
- 26% of respondents report feelings of sadness related to stress
- 22% of people report feelings of anger tied to stress
Positive Experiences
- 88% feel treated with respect
- 77% laugh daily
- 73% experience enjoyment
- 72% feel well‑rested
- 52% learned something interesting the previous day
Hope & Optimism
- 84% believe they can still create a good life, even if it looks different from previous generations
- 73% believe they can shape the future for the better
- 26% doubt they can achieve their dreams
When describing America today, there is more positive sentiment than negative:
- 41% said “freedom”, 37% said “opportunity”, 35% said “hope”
- 38% said “corruption”, 36% said “division”, 32% said “fear”
SOURCES
- https://www.gallup.com/analytics/349280/state-of-worlds-emotional-health.aspx
- https://mhanational.org/news/mha-releases-2024-mind-the-workplace-report-genz-and-millennials-report-the-poorerest-work-health-scores/
- https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/stress-in-america/2025
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2024/5660620?
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11487322/
- https://www.human-ology.com/#human-insights
Resources For Resilience
The Forbes data reinforces what we know to be true: resilience isn’t about avoiding stress—it’s about having the tools and support to move through it.
People thrive when…
- they feel a sense of connection, support, and belonging from family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and community
- they have relationships that help them reflect, name or regulate emotions, and talk through challenges.
- they believe the have the agency and responsibility to shape a better future for themselves.
These are the very skills and practices we teach at Resources For Resilience, and as we can see from the data they’re more essential now than ever.
As we continue supporting communities across WNC, we’re encouraged to see national research echo what our neighbors demonstrate every day: even in challenging times, hope is alive, and resilience is something we can build together.
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