WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- A new national poll indicates that nearly three out of four Americans are scared about the way things are going in the country today . A deputy oversees an eviction in Lafayette , Colorado , last week . Seventy-three percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday say they 're very or somewhat scared about the way things are going in the United States . That 's six points higher than in an October poll . Nearly eight in 10 say things are going badly in the country , with just 21 percent suggesting that things are going well . The survey also says that three out of four Americans are angry about the way things are going in the country . But three out of four questioned say that things are going well for them personally . The poll was released a day before President Obama gives a prime-time address before a joint session of Congress . `` Americans always believe things are better in their own lives than in the rest of the country , '' said CNN polling director Keating Holland . `` But they are realists as well -- they recognize that bad times somewhere else in the U.S. may eventually come to affect them . That 's why so many say they are angry and scared , even though they 're content with their own personal circumstances . `` There is a tiny sliver of good news -- the number of Americans who think things are going very badly has dropped from 40 percent in December to 32 percent now , '' Holland added . `` But since most of those people switched from the very bad category to the pretty bad category , it 's wrong to say that the public is more optimistic -- call them a little less pessimistic at best . '' The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted Wednesday and Thursday , with 1,046 adults questioned by telephone . The survey 's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points .
Nearly eight in 10 say things are going badly in the country . Three of four Americans are angry about the way things are going in the country . But three out of four questioned say that things are going well for them personally .