Braving the Hot Mess
Check out Braving the Hot Mess on Facebook
  • Blog
  • My Story
  • Documentaries and Videos Worth Your Time
  • Books I Love
  • Vegan Recipes
  • Meditations
  • Affirmations
  • Tracy's Upcoming Events
  • Contact
  • Testimonials

Happiness And Well-Being Decreases In The United States

3/20/2019

2 Comments

 
Picture
The 2019 World Happiness Report was recently released and the United States (U.S.) again dropped in its ranking falling to 19th, down from 18th in 2018 and 14th in 2017. In the U.S., income per capita has increased in the past decade and yet happiness has declined.

Finland takes the number one spot for the happiest country in the world. The top 10 happiest countries are, as in previous years, dominated by the Nordic countries of Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Sweden, as well as Finland. All but two of the top 10 countries, New Zealand and Canada, are in Europe.

Not only is our happiness suffering, but so is our health (partially due to the critical link between happiness and health). Life expectancy in the U.S. has declined for the first time in decades. The average life expectancy for Americans is 78.7 years, which puts the U.S. behind other developed nations and 1.5 years lower than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average life expectancy of 80.3. Not only is it decreasing, but it’s consistently behind other developed countries. Addiction and emotional well-being are considered two key reasons. 

Why is it that these countries consistently rank high in happiness? Why is it that the U.S. is dropping in the happiness ratings? What do the Nordic countries do differently that causes them to consistently rank happier? What can we learn from them?

According to an article in the HuffPost, "It’s not hard to understand why Finland is doing so well. The northern European country has a strong social safety net, including a progressive, successful approach to ending homelessness. It also has a high-quality education system, and its commitment to closing the gender gap is paying off. With a population of just over 5.5 million people, it’s the only country in the developed world where fathers spend more time with school-aged children than mothers." 


Finnish society has been built in such a way that people are supported but still feel like they have control over their lives, said Anu Partanen, the author of The Nordic Theory of Everything. Partanen recently moved back to her native Finland after a decade in New York, along with her American husband and one year-old daughter.


According to Partanen, “Most people would like a life where they can get health care if they get sick, where their children get a good education, where they can work and hopefully feel fulfilled in that work, while still being able to spend time with loved ones. It’s not that Finns are necessarily looking to become immensely rich. I think Finland just does a pretty good job of helping people achieve this lovely, ordinary life.”

Partanen, said her time in the U.S. was defined by anxiety. “It takes immense energy to find the right day care, find the right school, find the right doctor, then figure out the right insurance plan and how you’re going to pay for everything, as it’s so expensive.”


High economic growth and increased income per capita does not necessarily translate into increased happiness. In reality it can come at the expense of our social connections and happiness in our daily lives. The U.S. would do well to take this message on board, said co-editor Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. “We keep chasing economic growth as the holy grail, but it’s not bringing well-being for our country. We should stop our addiction to GDP growth as our sole or primary indicator of how we’re doing.”


Besides advocating and voting for change, what can we personally do to bring more happiness and well-being into our lives? Join me for my next workshop, Living A High Vibration Life, to learn how to bring health and happiness into your life. This 3 part workshop is on April 7th, 14th and 28th from 3:00-5:30 pm. Learn more and register at https://perennial-yoga.com/living-a-high-vibration-life. Let's do what we can to right the trend of happiness and overall well-being in our lives!

Here is a look at well-being index (includes happiness) by state:
Picture
2 Comments
academic writing services reviews link
4/8/2019 10:01:11 am

2019 World Happiness Report is accurate because people behind them have been taking this study seriously. There are several factors why United States once again dropped from the ranking. One of these is because of how people perceive happiness. As the year passes by, our standards for happiness is getting higher, thus people tend to complain more when they failed to get it. I see that most of the countries from Europe are on the top. I couldn't be happier for them!

Reply
Tracy link
4/8/2019 01:48:38 pm

I agree that our standards for happiness are getting higher. Thank you for your comment.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Archive 

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015

    Picture

      Please sign up to receive weekly new blog posts. 

    Submit
Proudly powered by Weebly