Why people in wealthy countries are so miserable

By Joe Morgan via SWNS

People living in wealthy countries feel pressure to be "happy" that actually makes them feel individually worse, suggests a new study.

Some nations ranked high on the World Happiness Index have poorer well-being scores than countries with lower national happiness, according to the findings.

The relationship between societal pressure to be happy and poor well-being was almost twice as high in countries with higher 'happiness scores' than in countries ranked low on the index, including Uganda and Senegal.

For the study, more than 7000 people from 40 countries were asked about their emotional well-being, satisfaction with life, and mood complaints. They were also asked to report their perception of societal expectancies to feel positive.

Almost all countries found people felt they should feel happy with life, but this had higher pressures in countries with higher happiness scores in the index.

Dr. Egon Dejonckheere, of the University of Leuven, Belgium, says high national happiness levels may not necessarily mean all individuals have higher individual well-being.

He said: “The level of happiness individuals feel pressured to achieve may be unattainable and reveal differences between an individual’s emotional life and the emotions society approves of.

"This discrepancy between an individual and society may create a perceived failure that can trigger negative emotions."

He added: "In countries where all citizens appear to be happy, deviations from the expected norm are likely more apparent, which makes it more distressing.”

The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports.