Half of Americans are calling 2021 the “worst year of their lives so far,” according to research from OnePoll. 

Another poll from USA Today and Suffolk University shows that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe the U.S. is in the grips of a full-blown mental health crisis.

“Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought a rise in depression, anxiety, stress, addiction and other challenges, almost nine in ten registered voters believe there’s a 'mental health crisis' in the nation,” according to USA Today.

But the good news is, seven in 10 have high hopes that 2022 will be an improvement over the previous year, according to a survey of 1,000 adults conducted by OnePoll on Dec. 13. 

More than half (53%) said 2021 had been a very unpleasant year for them. Three-quarters of men (75%) and two-thirds of women (67%) are hopeful for 2022.

Millennials (ages 25 to 40) were the most dismissive of 2021, with 66% saying it was a tough year. Sixty-two percent of Gen-Zers (ages 18 to 24) and 43% of Gen-Xers (ages 41 to 56) also shared that 2021 wasn’t their best year, while 56% of boomers (ages 57+) say they struggled.

When asked about their overall outlook on life, nearly eight in 10 of those surveyed (78%) describe themselves as optimists, while 61% identified as idealists, who “envision things as they could be,” while 19% preferred to be realists, who “see things as they are.”

Of those polled, male respondents considered themselves more optimistic (83% vs. 75%) and more idealistic (67% vs. 57%) than female respondents. 

The USA Today poll had similar findings. Searching for the words to convey just how awful 2021 was, close to half (46%) of Americans say the one word that best describes their mood about 2022 is "hopeful."

The proportion who feel that way is more than double the number who picked less optimistic options.

Asked their view of the year ahead, respondents to the USA Today/Suffolk University Poll say they are worried (19%) and exhausted (18%).

At opposites are the 8% who say they are "enthusiastic," and the 7% who describe their dominant emotion as “fearful."

The survey of 1,000 registered voters, taken by cellphone and landline Dec. 27 to Dec. 30, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

“In a poll that finds the nation's familiar fractures over politics and COVID-19, there is overwhelming unity about one thing: Nearly everyone is glad to see 2021 in the rearview mirror,” per USA Today.