---
title: "New Research: The World Is Sadder, Angrier Than Ever Before"
description: "People are experiencing higher levels of negative emotions such as sadness and anger, according to a survey of adults in more than 140 nations."
date: "2019-04-27"
modified: "2019-04-27"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin.md"
url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/world-sadder-angrier-emotions"
categories:
  - "Health & Medicine"
tags:
  - "anger"
  - "emotions"
  - "saddness"
  - "the digest"
---

# New Research: The World Is Sadder, Angrier Than Ever Before

![People are experiencing higher levels of negative emotions such as sadness and anger, according to a survey of adults in more than 140 nations.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/world-sadder-angrier-emotions.png>)
*\<em\>Image: AbsolutVision via Pixabay/Tag Hartman-Simkins\</em\>*

## Looking Bleak

The world is not a happy place — at least, not according to the people living in it.

This week, analytics firm Gallup shared the [results](<https://www.gallup.com/analytics/248906/gallup-global-emotions-report-2019.aspx>) of a global survey designed to gauge the world's emotional temperature. Their report suggests that people are sadder, angrier, and more worried than ever before recorded — findings that could have profound implications for global health.

## Sad, Mad, and Worried

For its 2018 Global State of Emotions report, Gallup conducted more than 151,000 interviews with adults living in more than 140 countries. They asked survey respondents questions about how they felt the day prior, such as whether they smiled or laughed a lot, and whether they felt [sadness](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/sadness-circuit-brain.md>) or anger.

They found that the number of people who said they'd experienced anger increased by two percentage points over the previous year, while both worry and sadness increased by one percentage point — setting new record highs for all three negative emotions.

## Physical Burden

Research has noted the impact negative feelings can have on a person's physical health — studies have linked [anger](<https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/from-irritated-to-enraged-angers-toxic-effect-on-the-heart>) to an elevated risk of heart attack and stroke, while chronic worry and sadness can be signs of [anxiety disorders ](<https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad/index.shtml>)and [depression,](<https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml>) which carry an increased risk of [heart disease](<https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/anxiety_and_physical_illness>).

If people continue to experience these negative emotions in greater numbers, we could be headed toward a future in which the global population is increasingly unhealthy — a situation that carries its own troubling [side effects](<https://www.who.int/choice/economicburden/en/>).

**READ MORE:** [The world is sadder and angrier than ever, major study finds](<https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/25/health/gallup-world-emotions-index-scli-intl/index.html>) \[*CNN*\]

**More on sadness:** *[Researchers Found What Sadness Looks Like in the Brain](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/sadness-circuit-brain.md>)*

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)

## More

- [Elon Musk Appears to Now Be the Most Hated Person in America, According to New Research](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-most-hated-person-america-gallup.md>)
- [North America Put More Robots to Work in 2018 Than Ever Before](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/robot-workers-north-america.md>)
- [Evidence Indicates That Universal Basic Income Improves Human Health](<https://futurism.com/evidence-indicates-that-universal-basic-income-improves-human-health.md>)
- [The Digest: That Brain-Tingle Sensation Might Have Physical And Mental Benefits](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/asmr-research-therapeutic.md>)
- [“Euphoria” Producer Died After Medical Emergency While Tesla Was on Autopilot](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/euphoria-producer-died-medical-emergency-tesla-autopilot.md>)
- [Biotech Company Says It’s Implanted Dopamine-Making Cells in Patients’ Brains](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/biotech-dopamine-cells-parkinsons.md>)
- [This Startup Is Developing Tea, Coffee Infused With Psilocybin](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/startup-psilocybin-infused-tea-coffee.md>)
- [Cannabis Compound Could Be Latest Weapon in War Against Superbugs](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/cbd-antibiotic-war-superbugs.md>)