Geography of Despair

Does it suck to be in Kentucky?



U.S. Mood Map: Kentucky Saddest, Hawaii Gladdest? from National Geographic News:

A team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), through telephone surveys, asked American adults about their mental health.

This county-by-county map shows the percentages of residents who reported "frequent mental distress" (FMD)—defined as 14 or more days of emotional discomfort, including "stress, depression and problems with emotion," during the previous month. Three days of mental distress is considered average, the researchers say.

The bad news is that Kentucky had the highest level of frequent mental distress. It doesn't look so good for West Virginia or Mississippi either, but they say life is good in Hawaii.

HT to Gwen