Recently, the World Happiness Report released the ranking of the world's happiest countries in 2021, with the Nordic countries ranking as always, and Finland once again winning the championship. Correspondingly, the mainland ranked 82nd, an improvement over last year.
As we all know, the Nordic countries are generally very rich, and social welfare is a model for the whole world. In addition to that, they do have a unique lifestyle. For example, the hygge culture in Denmark has even become a way of life for people in many countries to learn, hoping to experience happiness from it.
But the question is, are people living in happy countries really that happy?
Recently, Brock Bastian, a professor at the University of Melbourne's School of Psychological Science, and his team published a new study in Science Reports, in which they pointed out that people living in these happiest countries as a whole do live more comfortably than people in other countries. However, if we pay attention to individuals, we will find different situations.
In the latest study, the researchers surveyed 7,443 people from 40 countries, covering everything from emotional health to satisfaction with life (cognitive health) to emotional complaints (clinical health). Subsequently, the researchers learned about the life pressures that these people need to take on in order to achieve a satisfactory life.
They found that for some residents of so-called happy countries, happiness seemed to be a passing line in their lives, and they needed to work hard to do so. Once the so-called "happiness" standard is not met, some people feel stressed. They also seem to pay more attention to their own image in the eyes of others, and care about which of their emotions will be noticed by others.
Bastian noted that they have another important discovery before, which may also be related to this study. They found that the more people were under pressure to feel happy, the more likely they were to experience symptoms of depression! That said, on the whole, living in these countries is indeed very happy. However, for those in these countries who have not yet reached the happiness "indicator", they may instead bear greater psychological stress and even psychological problems.
So happiness itself is indeed a good thing. But if happiness becomes a goal, it can put pressure on people and reduce their happiness.
In conclusion, the researchers argue that the indicators referenced in the current ranking of the world's happiest countries are not sufficient to comprehensively measure whether a country's citizens are happy. To make this ranking more accurately reflect the actual situation, it is necessary to take into account all aspects of people's response to negative emotions, finding meaning in life and interpersonal relationships. Perhaps after taking these factors into account, this ranking will change dramatically.
So, are you happy? Do you think we're ranking higher or lower? Let's talk about it in the comments section
