In today’s society there are so many things happening and so many expectations placed upon all age groups that there has been a rise in feelings of inadequacy among Americans, not feeling like they’re enough. This constant search for happiness is what brings the most unhappiness, the unattainable ideal of total happiness. With this push for happiness, 18% of the United States population has an anxiety disorder that may be caused by the nerves that come with jobs, family life, worry about never being good enough to get anywhere in life. Americans spend an average of two billion dollars a year on anxiety and other related pharmaceuticals.

Americans as a whole are an anxious people; Americans try to think about everything all at once, especially since the presidential election is coming up and all the news about bad things happening in the world. A large percentage of Americans report that a new stressor in their lives is the presidential election. Many are afraid of the outcome and how much change will come with a new president and both candidates’ new radical policies.

Others write about how the obsession with happiness is actually killing it and how the endless search can hurt more than help in the long run. The push for happiness ends up making individuals sick. The search is for this specific meaning of happiness, a goal of unattainable perfection, but people need to know that they can be happy without perfection.

It’s not only the adults; today’s teenagers are seeing the highest percentage of anxiety disorders in decades. The stress that schools put on teens causes anxiety to start early. Not only does that affect the teens today; it affects the adults that they will grow up to be.