U.K. Ranks Second-Worst for Mental Health in Global Survey
Psychology TodayFeb 27
Report: UK Ranks Second-Worst Globally for Mental Health
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The Facts
According to research group Sapien Labs' annual Mental State of the World report, the UK is the second-most unhappy country globally.
Based on surveys from over 400K people across 71 countries, the report indicates a decline in mental health worldwide since 2020 or the onset of the COVID pandemic.
The Spin
Narrative A
Reports like this show that poor mental health across Europe and North America is an indication that being rich or economically developed doesn't translate to greater life satisfaction. This report is a call to action to take greater care when exposing younger people to certain technologies and to strengthen social and family bonds in order to foster genuine happiness in wealthier countries.
Narrative B
Conflating emotional health with happiness sometimes makes measuring the mental well-being of individuals worldwide tricky. As regards this report, while it shows a lack of recovery from the pandemic's initial mental health toll, there may have been a reporting bias, as only internet-connected populations could respond to the survey.