New York — Members of the American Psychological Association visited New York from Washington the other day to talk about stress. They came to the right place. Traffic in Midtown was such a disaster that day that the only anxiety-free soul would have been someone riding in the back of a hearse. The purpose of the psychologists’ visit was to announce the findings of an online survey that they had commissioned. The results were not encouraging, even if you may question (as some people we know do) the reliability of online polling. One-third of Americans in this survey described themselves as extremely stressed. About half said the situation had worsened over the last five years. In response, many do things that are plainly not good for them. They smoke, they drink, they eat junk food, all to excess. They feel fatigued, and get headaches. Why, some become so disoriented that they talk to pollsters. Not that any of this comes as a shock. You would have to be living pretty far off the grid not to notice that the modern world can rattle you down to your toes. In this survey, work and money were listed […]