The survey company used their annual Global Emotions Report, which measures people’s positive and negative experiences worldwide. The report is split into two indexes: the Negative Experiences Index and the Positive Experience Index.

After talking to participants in 122 countries and areas in 2021, Gallup found that 4 in 10 adults said they experience worry (42%) or stress (41%). It also found that more than 3 in 10 adults said they go through a lot of physical pain (31%). More than 1 in 4 experience sadness (28%).

Worry, stress and sadness are on an upward trend since 2006, slowly going up each year, including in 2020, which marked the start of the pandemic. Worry rose two points in 2021, and stress and sadness increased one point each.

Moreover, the Positive Experience Index, which polls people on positive experiences, dropped from 71 in 2020 to 69 in 2021.

Seven in 10 people said they felt well-rested (69%), experienced a lot of enjoyment (70%) or smiled and laughed a lot (72%). Nine in 10 felt they were treated with respect (86%).

Participants were less likely than the previous year to say they learned or did something interesting the day before they were interviewed.

According to The Hill, the Positive Experience Index is just one point higher than the lowest result recorded in the survey’s history. The decrease shows that the negative impact of the pandemic took more of a toll in its second year than its first.

However, there is a silver lining. Fewer participants (23%) reported experiencing anger in 2021, dropping one percentage point since 2020.