According to The Harris Poll that surveyed over 2,000 Americans towards the end of January, people state they are feeling more stress in 2021 than they did in the midst of the COVID pandemic last year. Politics is listed as the primary reason for the additional stress.

Study Finds explains:

When it comes to stress, Americans are averaging a 5.6 out of 10 (with one indicating little to no stress and 10 meaning super stressed). Almost unbelievably, that 5.6 score is higher than any average stress level from prior surveys dating back to April 2020. In other words, Americans are feeling more stressed right now than at any time since COVID-19 began.

Over just the past two weeks, 84 percent of Americans admit to feeling at least one negative emotion linked to prolonged stress. Examples include anxiety (47%), sadness (43%), and anger (39%). […]

Most say the general future of the nation (81%) is their biggest stressor. Many others still list the COVID-19 pandemic (80%) or the current combative state of U.S. politics (79%).

READ: Americans’ stress reaches highest levels since start of COVID-19, many blame politics

According to the Mayo Clinic stress can have a profound effect on your health that can result in heart disease, obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure.

In the chart below, the Mayo Clinic provides some of the common symptoms of stress:

On your body	On your mood	On your behavior
Headache	Anxiety	Overeating or undereating
Muscle tension or pain	Restlessness	Angry outbursts
Chest pain	Lack of motivation or focus	Drug or alcohol misuse
Fatigue	Feeling overwhelmed	Tobacco use
Change in sex drive	Irritability or anger	Social withdrawal
Stomach upset	Sadness or depression	Exercising less often
Sleep problems

READ: Stress symptoms: Effects on your body and behavior

The continued lockdowns are also having a serious impact on mental health with the second lockdowns have a bigger impact on men than women. READ: COVID’s second wave has hit men the hardest psychologically, mental health study says