High social tension in a "normal" economy: why we feel insecure

On paper, everything seems relatively fine – growth is "within limits", unemployment is not record high, institutions speak of stability. And at the same time, the general feeling is different: people live as if "something will break" at any moment. The high index of social tension does not always have to do with dry macro indicators – it feeds on everyday life.

One of the most powerful sources of this tension is the series of accidents and incidents. Fires, train crashes, industrial accidents, collapsed roads – even when statistically they are "rare", the feeling is different. When we watch footage of another accident for the umpteenth time, the conclusion we draw is simple: "it could be me tomorrow". Rational probability does not matter – the emotion is important.

Natural disasters add another layer of uncertainty. Floods, storms, landslides, droughts – they hit not only houses and infrastructure, but also the psyche. People who have experienced a disaster often describe how they start looking at the world through a different lens: everything seems more vulnerable and unstable. Even those who are not directly affected feel that "safe" is no longer guaranteed.

To this is added the constant pressure of prices. Even when official inflation slows down, the bills for food, electricity, fuel and rent remain painfully specific. When you make the same account every month and see how the "remaining" decreases, it is difficult to believe in diagrams and soothing speeches. Even if there is work, if the feeling is that "it is never enough", the tension remains high.

The media and social networks play a complex role in this picture. Many studies show that economic news in recent years sounds more negative than what the indicators themselves suggest. Negative stories are clicked more, spread faster and create a background in which even good news looks like an exception. The constant flow of alarming headlines turns "individual cases" into a feeling of constant crisis.

In this background, the index of social tension logically grows. Analyses for Bulgaria show that it is social burdening topics – a series of incidents, natural disasters, concerns about prices and dissatisfaction with institutions – that push up the feeling that "everything is on the edge". Officially, there may be no political or financial crisis, but society reacts to the accumulation of daily shocks.

Low trust in institutions also has an impact. When people do not believe that the system can prevent accidents, respond adequately to disasters, or control price pressure, any new bad news is taken as proof that "no one is holding the steering wheel". This turns even formally "manageable" situations into a source of lasting anxiety.

This is how the paradox is created: macroeconomic indicators indicate relative stability, but the social climate speaks of something else. People do not live in graphs, but in everyday life – with bills, news, personal stories of losses and small fears. And as accidents, disasters, price pressure and media negativity continue to accumulate, the feeling of instability will remain high, even when official reports say "normal".