To clarify, the word "recession" has a strongly defined meaning. It does not mean "things are bad" although bad times are strongly associated with recessions. Things can seem bad even without a recession.

Historically speaking, each time we climb out of a recession over the last 50 years it's been a bit slower of a climb than the previous climb out. That is a worrisome trend in its own right. I believe that's the kind of bad you feel people are experiencing -- a barely perceptible improvement starting from a bad situation.