As someone who spent roughly half my life in the US and the other half in EU, this is very accurate as to my experience in each place. In the US my life constantly felt balanced on a knife edge like everything could fall apart at any moment. When I moved to the EU, even though I didn't speak the language or grow up there, I breathed a big sigh of relief. I felt like my life was finally manageable.

I think this causes a ton of mental illness in the US that we just don't see in the EU. Most people I know in the US are on the constant verge of a breakdown and basically just disassociating themselves from reality (usually using drugs, alcohol, religion, or some combination thereof). I think this is why Americans so badly need to put on a happy face. If they didn't, they'd all have a simultaneous mental breakdown.