Pity those poor New Yorkers. Slammed by Wall Street’s meltdown, alarmed by a photo shoot for a presidential plane, and struggling with more cases of swine flu than the rest of the U.S. combined, is it any wonder the populace is feeling stressed?

Now the rest of the country may be sharing the pain (think Detroit or South Carolina or Oregon), but in typical New York fashion the city’s workers believe they have it worse than anyone, anywhere else.

In a survey by — of all companies — the maker of Tiger Balm, 74 percent of New York office workers say they feel more stressed than those who live elsewhere. In addition, the survey reports that six in 10 of the surveyed office workers are spending six or more hours a day at their desk, “and more than half (53 percent) say that this time at work causes stress and physical pain, particularly in the neck and shoulders.”

(Guess what product is good for easing that pain. Helpful hint here.)

Also contributing to that stress, say 62 percent of the workers, is the beating their savings and retirement accounts have taken.

So how do New Yorkers cut expenses? Says the survey, “… more than half (57 percent) of residents report cutting down on ‘self-pampering’ indulgences, such as massages, hair maintenance, and manicures, while looking for more affordable alternatives to manage and relieve their stress-related pain. Despite cutting down on such luxuries, over two-thirds (69 percent) still believe that a massage can help relieve stress-related pain.”

In Middle America, that would be called a Cadillac problem. Here’s how they cut expenses in Omaha.