


Terry Cullen
Mar 22, 2022
Worldwide
Categories:
Mental Health
The World Happiness Report marked its 10th anniversary this month and issued its findings on the state of happiness worldwide.
Mental health experts have long recognized the physical and psychological benefits of being happy. Public officials now understand this translates collectively into large populations. So much so that public policymakers, particularly in Europe, are making it part of public policy. Nearly all members of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) measure the happiness of their people, and several countries are putting the wellbeing of their people into public policy design.
The World Happiness Report is a publication of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, powered by the Gallup World Poll data. A team of independent experts prepared the report, with funding from a coalition of non-profit organizations worldwide.
The report identifies six key factors used to measure happiness: GDP (gross domestic product) per capita; social support; healthy life expectancy; freedom, generosity; and corruption. Finland is ranked as the happiest nation on earth for the fifth straight year, and Afghanistan is ranked the least. The bottom-ranking countries typically have extreme poverty and conflict. Raising people out of poverty and establishing peace would go a long way to changing the outlook for these countries. The two variables are not mutually exclusive.
The top five countries are all European ones: Finland (1), Denmark (2), Iceland (3), Switzerland (4), and The Netherlands (5). These countries have extensive social welfare programs to equalize access to education, healthcare, childcare, and financial stability. All have had extended periods of peacetime, and all have relatively high GDP per capita.
The researchers did their work for this report during the COVID pandemic. It was a dark time for many countries, yet notwithstanding, the work reported some bright spots. Yes, economic factors were negatively impacted, such as average household income falling and unemployment rising during the pandemic. Data on benevolent actions increased in the last survey, helping strangers, and increases in donations and volunteering. Worry and sadness increased too but, interestingly, anger remained stable.
The report is fascinating, and you can read it in much detail at the source below. However, the collective happiness of a nation does not need to dictate the individual happiness of a person. Unfortunately, so many of us worldwide are missing one or more of the variables identified above to measure happiness. Is it possible to find happiness in the face of unrelenting misery? Perhaps. Many turn to spirituality and religion to find happiness in the present time. About ten years ago, the Himalayan mountain country of Bhutan was said to be the happiest nation on earth, a small nation isolated from the rest of the world. It is poor, relatively peaceful with an average lifespan. Bhutan is also the last standing Buddhist nation, and they measure GNH, gross national happiness. Bhutan isn’t on the list in the 2022 Happiness Report.
Psychologists define happiness as an emotional state characterized by feelings of joy, contentment, a sense of wellbeing, and fulfillment. Apparently, it is an inside job. Yes, external factors influence happiness, but they do not determine them. Abraham Lincoln supposedly once said, “Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.”
Is that an excuse to ignore the pain and suffering of others? Absolutely not. In fact, studies show that service work, getting out of ourselves to help another, is an affirmative action we can all take to elevate our own happiness.
Look around your community. Where is the pain and suffering in your community? Homelessness, poverty, violence. Just for today, what can you do to help someone in need? Perhaps you will find freedom from the bondage of your own unhappiness.
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