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The Leading Causes of Stress Worldwide
A new study uncovers top stress causes across Australia, Canada and America with finances, health, and work dominating across all regions and generations.
New research from health insurance comparison service, iSelect, reveals that stress is a universal concern, with Australians, Americans and Canadians alike experiencing it in many forms across their daily lives. Stress can be caused by many factors and felt in different ways such as financial, lifestyle, one’s health, environment, work or studies.
iSelect surveyed more than 3,000 residents across Australia, Canada and the United States of America to find out what’s currently causing them stress, revealing their emotional and financial stressors, generational differences and how they go about managing their stress.
Stress factors are universal
According to the research, Australians, Canadians and Americans all face similar stress factors. Half of all respondents from each country shared that finances were the most significant cause of stress.
More than a quarter reported that health concerns were causing them stress, be it an injury, chronic pain or caring for someone else. While 22% expressed work or school pressures to be their biggest stress, which could be from workload, burnout, deadlines or job changes impacting Australians, Canadians and American’s all the same.
When surveying each country, we asked what financial pressures had caused respondents stress. The cost of groceries was the most significant cause of stress in Canada, with 41% expressing this concern, along with 36% of Australians and 33% of Americans.
However, Australians were the most worried about household utility bills, with 38% concerned with the rising costs, compared to only 20% of Canadians and 19% Americans. Notably, almost one in four (23%) Canadians were concerned with their personal loans or credit card bills, whereas only 19% of Americans and 10% Aussies sharing this concern.
Rent vs mortgage payments
Interestingly, in Australia, almost a quarter of respondents expressed concern about their mortgage repayments, while in only 15% of Canadians and 14% of Americans did the same. On the other hand, 18% of Canadians shared stress for rental payments, which only stressed 12% of Aussie renters and 11% of American renters.
When it comes to how much income each nation spends on rent or mortgages, Australians had the lowest with an average of 25%, followed by Americans with 26%. However, Canadians are spending 31% on average. Almost one in three Canadians (30%) are spending more than 50% of their wages on rent or mortgage, with 22% of Aussies doing the same.
Generational financial divide
When looking at the biggest stress concerns across generations, some clear trends were universally evident. Financial stress was highest, with 58% of Aussies aged 24-44 expressing their concerns for the cost of living, while 58% Canadians aged 35-44 felt the same, alongside 57% of Americans aged 45-54 years old.
There was also a clear trend that as people age, concerns for their health increase. For 40% of those aged 65+, health concerns were their highest cause of stress. At the same time, this was the age group that claimed to be the most stress-free across all three countries.
The younger generations understandably felt more pressure around work and school. With 50% of Aussies aged 18-24 expressing this, as well as 48% of Canadians and 35% of Americans of the same age group, these percentages decreased with age.
Managing stress
Australians, known for their laid-back attitudes, had the lowest number of people without any financial stress, at 17%. Meanwhile, 22% Americans reported the same, suggesting a more stress-free lifestyle than the Aussies.
Managing stress comes differently for everyone. The majority of respondents turn to physical exercise, such as yoga, walking, and keeping active, with 55% of Aussies reporting these activities as key coping mechanisms. Half of all countries listen to music or a podcast, while a third turn to a loved one to talk, connect with nature, garden or read a book.
More than a quarter (27%) of Americans use meditation to de-stress, while only 17% of Aussies said they do the same. Just 7.5% Aussies use therapy to manage stress levels, compared to 12% of Americans.
“This research highlights that while stress is universal, the triggers can look quite different depending on where you live and your stage in life. From rising cost of groceries and household bills to work and study pressures and health concerns, it’s clear that stress continues to touch most aspects of daily life across Australia, the United States, and Canada.
Stress can impact everyone differently, and health insurance can play a crucial role for Australians in times of need. Whether it’s a health concern or support to manage stress, health insurance can ensure you are covered and gives you access to and choice to support. At iSelect we can help you compare a range of different healthcare providers to look for the one that suits your needs and lifestyle.”
Andres Gutierrez
General Manager – Health at iSelect
Written by:
Sarah Grealy
Digital Public Relations Specialist
0413 363 690
Sarah is our Digital Public Relations Specialist, and brings more than a decade of experience in the insurance comparison industry to iSelect.
With a passion for storytelling through data-driven insights, Sarah strives to empower Aussies with practical guides and tips.
About the data
The survey was conducted by Pure Profile in August 2025
– Responses were from 1,005 Canadians, 1,012 Australians and 1,009 Americans across a range of regions and age group.
– Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.
iSelect does not compare all health insurance providers or policies in the market. The availability of policies will change from time to time. Not all policies available from its providers are compared by iSelect and due to commercial arrangements, your stated needs and circumstances, not all policies compared by iSelect are available to all customers. Some policies and special offers are available only from iSelect’s contact centre or website. Click here to view iSelect’s range of providers.
About 
At iSelect, we’re passionate about making Aussies’ lives easier by saving them time, effort and money. We are Australia’s go-to destination for comparison across insurance, utilities and personal finance products made available from our range of providers. Our service is provided at no cost to the customer.
iSelect General Pty Ltd (ABN 90 131 798 126. AFSL 334115) has partnered with Compare the Market (ABN 83 117 323 378. AFSL 422926) to compare a range of car insurers and policies. Not all providers in the market or all policies offered by the partners are compared and not all policies or special offers are available to all customers.
A number of our participating general insurance brands are arranged by Auto & General Services Pty Ltd ACN 003 617 909 on behalf of Auto & General Insurance Company Limited 111 586 353, both of which are related entities of iSelect Limited. Our relationship with those companies does not impact the integrity of our comparison service. Click here to view iSelect’s range of providers.
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