Others have explained this far better than me. In January, Ellie Shechet of Jezebel wrote a feature piece on how 2017 was a year of total chaos and stress. In October, I specifically wrote this:

“Donald Trump has done something that no president has done since Nixon. He was worn down national morale.”

And now, we are beginning to see evidence. Gallup and Sharecare have released their annual Well-Being Rankings for all 50 US states. They found that for the first time since 2009, the first full year of the "great recession," their well-being index for the USA is down a significant amount - 0.6 percent. That might sound tiny, but in the history of the survey, it is a large drop.

What areas in life did Americans experience a major drop in optimism? Areas like a sense of purpose, enjoying what you do each day, confidence in one's leader (could be political, religious, professional, a teacher - any leader), and confidence in the support of friends and family (social links, Persona fans!) All down.

What was up? "Significant Daily Worry."

Now what could be the cause of that? Anyone want to guess? I will kick back with a drink while you come up with explanations. We have time. Or not.