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Of course, pandemic is terrible but we can rewrite the story of our happiness.

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Of course, pandemic is terrible but we can rewrite the story of our happiness.

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Even though lock-downs, self-isolation, quarantine, and social distancing sound tragic, this post explains why we could still be happy, and maybe happier than before.

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Americans are considered to be a generally happy people, both among themselves and by foreigners, but the story of happiness in this country is in fact not an especially pretty one. Self-doubt, insecurity, and uncertainty have been tightly woven into the narrative of happiness, a major source of frustration for those seeking to be happier people. In conjunction with our achievement- and money-oriented society that is often the source of what Alain de Botton called "status anxiety," the belief that we are a chosen people and a shining example to others around the world to follow have set too high of a bar of happiness for most individuals to actually realize.

Our core mythologies grounded in specialness and superiority have been instrumental in leading Americans to assume they are entitled or have an inherent right to happiness, the basis for a rude surprise when life does not turn out that way. Our expectations for happiness have far exceeded its realization, in other words, suggesting our way of life rooted in consumer capitalism has major flaws in terms of emotional fulfillment. In a nutshell, happiness has proven to be an elusive and often futile pursuit in this country over the last century, something that has held true across the social divisions of race, gender, and class.

One thus has to question Americans' inclination to work harder to make more money in order to become happier. Inscribed in our national charter, happiness is no doubt a very American idea, but the ways in which most of us pursue it are not very well suited to creating it. Our system of free-market capitalism (the "American way of life") and aspirational ethos (the "American dream") are actually better designed to generate stress than happiness, I believe, with the pressures of modern life not conducive to promoting a state of well-being. Those who have dropped out of the "rat race" are more likely to find a sense of inner peace, history shows, implying that our competitive society is at best not ideal and at worst fundamentally flawed in terms of seeding the possibility of happiness.

The coronavirus pandemic is a terrible thing, of course, but it has presented us with a singular opportunity to rewrite the story of happiness. Our priorities have realigned, in the process laying a foundation for a happier future, both individually and collectively. We have become less acquisitional and consumptive, a very good thing given the detrimental role that the endless pursuit of stuff has played in our lives. We're more appreciative and grateful for what we have and less concerned for what we desire. Our orientation has shifted more towards relationships with family, friends, and neighbors, which research study after research study has shown to be the ideal basis for nurturing happiness. With our interconnectedness now readily apparent, we appear to be caring more for each other, this too a main ingredient of happiness. We've become more patient and reflective, a precious asset that most of us have undervalued. Our slower pace has provided the time to focus, a far richer luxury than anything we could purchase with money.

Amidst all the bad news, then, a new narrative of happiness is emerging, one grounded in the simple pleasures of life, the most important one being love. Let's embrace this once-in-a-lifetime chance to transform ourselves into a truly happy people.

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Why the Pandemic Could Make Us Happier People

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Americans are considered to be a generally happy people, both among themselves and by foreigners, but the story of happiness in this country is in fact not an especially pretty one. Self-doubt, insecurity, and uncertainty have been tightly woven into the narrative of happiness, a major source of frustration for those seeking to be happier people.

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Self-isolation made us staying home for days, maybe weeks but it also gave us more time with loved ones, also has increased creativity. Here is an example.

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"I'm Happy to Self-Isolate with You" A Pandemic Love Song

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Psychological creativity, inner journey and peace leaves COVID out

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Psychological creativity, inner journey and peace leaves COVID out

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Many places ordered lock-downs, shot-downs, and we did #stay home to stay safe. We became a hairdresser, a cheese-maker, and we baked incredibly tasty bread when it was all sold out. Furthermore, we developed new interests, and skills, and we finally have started that craft hobby. Let's take a look at how creativity keeps us happy.

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more-lifestyle Updated: Jul 29, 2020 10:56 IST

Man is a social animal, and constantly being confined can cause a lot of negative feelings, stress, anxiety and even depression.(Pixabay/Unsplash)

Most of us are battling boredom or chore duties while quarantined and isolated indoors, thanks to the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, but unlike those of us who while away staring at the walls, let alone do anything of value, the Bard wrote supposedly some of his greatest works while quarantined during the plague in the 1500s. It is believed, mostly according to internet legends, that literary genius William Shakespeare not only wrote King Lear during an endemic of 1564, but also got a head start on Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra. On the opposite end of the creativity spectrum, mathematician and physicist Sir Isaac Newton's work in the late 1660s, while he was quarantined at home on account of the bubonic plague, is considered to be his best, including discovering differential and integral calculus, formulating a theory of universal gravitation, and explored optics, experimenting with prisms and investigating light (as per a report in the Washington Post).

Getting inspired in the times of adversity and uncertainty, and exploring creative outlooks is not a new concept. Whenever we think of creativity, the first thing that comes to our mind is painting, singing, dancing, and more. However, there is a lot more to the concept, than just that.

According to cognitive scientist Margaret Boden, such work would be termed as "historical creativity", that is, creation of something new and surprising to the world. But there is another type of creativity, "psychological creativity", which is the capacity of an individual to create something that is valuable and surprising to themselves.During these month of isolation and quarantine, many of us have surprised ourselves with our newfound skills, and have experienced some form of "psychological creativity".
Also read | Dalgona coffee, #UntilTomorrow: Instagram trends in the times of lockdown
The novel coronavirus has spread across the world, ravaging country after country, for more than the past five months, and has put all our lives on hold, forcing us indoors, afraid to venture out unless absolutely essential. However, the human spirit is unbeatable, and people across the world have come up with innovative devices, products, services and more to tackle the pandemic, and get used to the 'new normal' and maintain safety. Classes are being taught online to ensure social distancing, masks are being made at home, as are sanitizers; scientists, doctors, public policy makers, company heads, teachers are all trying to find ways to make things work in the midst of this pandemic. Necessity, truly is the mother of invention.

Before the pandemic, all of our lives had structure and routine, and people have been so accustomed to living their lives by the clock. However, the coronavirus pandemic completely reassigned all pre-conceived concepts of structure and routine, and people were left grappling to adjust to the 'new normal', one that allows more time with one's family and self. Before the virus, our lives were so fast paced that we weren't living, simply existing, and many people have discovered that the pandemic is the best time to stop this madness and take a moment to connect with our inner selves. This is where creativity comes in.

Since the past few months, you may have noticed your social media feeds cluttered with 'creative' posts, with people having taken up painting, dancing, singing, baking, learning how to play musical instruments, making TikToks, calligraphy and much more. We are doing everything because there are fewer distractions and with no commute or going outdoors, we have a lot of free time to do things we couldn't before.
ALSO READ | Life in the times of Coronavirus: Why I regret buying that Zara dress over a kettle
People have come together in the balconies of Italy to sing or have come together, across the world, to make TikTok challenges. But ever wonder why we are all being creative while the world is dealing with a pandemic, inappropriately so as some may think. Well, a research done in 2016 says that engaging in a creative activity can lead to a positive state of mind. Dealing with the pandemic does not only mean taking care of one's physical health, but mental health too. As we acknowledge the heightened atrocities of the world, it's equally important to look out for the silver linings for our own sanity and our mental well-being.

Staying at home in isolation means countless and aimless hours of sitting, and is accompanied by two things: constraints or restrictions and boredom.

According to an article by Harvard, while we tend to believe that constraints restrict creativity, it actually has the opposing effect. In situations where there are no constraints, people follow what psychologists call the "path of least resistance", rather than investing in developing new ideas. But constraints force us to rethink and look for new solutions for our problems. For example, using technology as a means to connect to our friends, even our neighbours. According to another study, there are different levels of boredom that can be mapped on the axis of how negatively we feel and how motivated we are to do something about it. In level three (searching) and four (reactant), people are highly aroused to alleviate the feeling of boredom. It's almost like an itch that you want to get rid of. You require stimulation, so you start looking for it, and that inspires creativity.

Man is a social animal, and constantly being confined can cause a lot of negative feelings, stress, anxiety and even depression. Not everyone can easily navigate through these major lifestyle changes. Creativity helps us feel better. It can be anything- painting, cooking, singing, dancing, knitting, playing, and much more. It is extremely important to express one's self, especially through a creative outlet. Here are some advantages of being creative during this pandemic can be:

* The part of the brain that regulates stress response and emotions is the limbic system and the amygdala prepares us for fight or flight response. Both these centers are bound to be stimulated in this period leading to feelings of fear, anxiety, sadness. But the important thing is to slow things down. To get into the "flow" of things. A state where you're completely absorbed into something. Indulging in creative activities can provide this flow.

* It kills time evidently. An average person has about 60,000 thoughts in a day and during this time, negative thoughts can be overpowering. A creative act can help focus the mind and it has also been compared to meditation as it helps in calming the brain. Even just gardening or cleaning the corners of your house can be very calming.

* Creativity allows us the time to go deeper in ourselves to our core and results in human reflection. It helps to bring out our inner feelings and desires and turn them into commodities and products.

* Any creative act, whether it is artistic or not, successful or not, will lead to a flood of dopamine, the feel-good chemical, in your brain and that will lead to a sense of happiness, accomplishment and confidence.

So, pick up the one thing that interests you, or inspires and motivates you. The one thing that you could never find the time to do or the one thing that you have always made excuses for. Challenge yourself. But don't push yourself too hard. Don't just be artistic but be creative. Create ideas, things, solutions, structures, ways that surprise you and make you happy. Try to indulge once a day. Experience that rush of dopamine that we all need it. When we emerge from this pandemic, we will be equipped with the new ways of doing things to deal with the new normal and that will be our silver lining.
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Creativity in the times of coronavirus: Here's how creative outlets helped Shakespeare, Newton and now, you, amid pandemic

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Amid quarantine and the coronavirus pandemic, we may be struggling to get out of bed, and relive the same day, over and over again, but it won't hurt to get the creative juices flowing, especially for your physical and mental health. Read on about how creativity helped Shakespeare, and can benefit you too.

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In some countries, the pandemic was worse than the other parts of the world and they had really long quarantine, such as Italy's three months of lock-down. How one can stay sane under these conditions? Is it still possible to be happy? Draw, paint, play, cook, imagine, craft, and hold your emotional well-being. DIY ways of beating the pan-xiety.

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pandemic blues: crush it with creativity - cnn

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Pandemic blues: Crush it with creativity

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The world is stressed out, for sure. But many people are also beating those blues by getting their hands dirty with paints, dirt and dough. One way for people to take charge of their feelings and alleviate stress is to try creative activities at home.

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We were not expecting an epidemy but still can be social and happy: long live technology!

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We were not expecting an epidemy but still can be social and happy: long live technology!

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Due to the unprecedented outbreak, our schools, favorite restaurants, and coffee stores were all shot down. Schools moved the classes online, we #keepsixfeetdistance, and cafés and restaurant services are restricted for safety reasons but we can still maintain a social life for our well-being and happiness. Here are some tips to stay connected while we are apart.

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With hundreds of millions of Americans hunkered down under widespread work-from-home and social-distancing directives, it can be tricky to sustain your social life (and mental health). Suddenly that dinner with friends you were looking forward to has been cancelled, and forget going to the movies or heading to the gig you scored tickets for months ago. Although maintaining personal and public health and safety is the most important thing, it's still dispiriting to see your social life vaporized.

Here's the good news, and it's something that those of us who were raised on the Internet have known for years: It's possible to have a bustling social life through digital platforms. And in these bizarre times, it's more important than ever to set up those channels sooner rather than later. Here are a few tried-and-true tips for maintaining a social life while still adhering to social-distancing norms.

1. Establish a low-pressure chat environment.

You might already have a group text going with your friends (and possibly one with your family, one with your other friends, a secret one with your siblings that your parents don't know about...), but consider moving to a platform that has more-advanced tools and controls. Slack and Discord are both popular and free (or free enough), and they let you set up channels, so people can talk about specific topics without everything devolving into a head-spinning tornado of GIFs and chatter. That way, if you want to keep politics and COVID-19 talk sequestered to a certain channel, you can, and then have another one for pictures of pets and kids, another for sharing what you're listening to, and so on. One of the most fundamental parts of building a digital community is creating the space for people to gather, talk, and feel safe. These platforms are perfect for that.

2. Share an online-movie night with friends.

For months, I've been part of a group that gathers digitally each week to watch a bad movie together. And though I can't make it every week, when I do it's an absolute delight. It turns out that watching a movie while dunking on it with friends is just as good online as it is in person (plus no arguing over snacks and drinks). How to handle a group watch depends a bit on the platform you're using. You can use a Facebook Watch Party, but the video has to already be uploaded to Facebook, so you'll mostly be limited to public domain titles. On Discord, you can set up a screen share for up to 50 people, so one person can play a movie on their screen, and everyone else can watch it (and play Statler and Waldorf in the comments). There are other options, too-some people use Twitch, or Kast (née Rabb.it). But maybe the easiest thing is for everyone to pull up a movie on Netflix or Amazon Prime and hit play at the same time, while chatting over group text, Discord, or Slack.

3. Take your board games digital.

In 30 years, we might look back at the 2010s' proliferation of "board game night" the way modern society views "fondue parties": with disbelief and mild utterances of "the past really is a foreign country." But until we reach the point of realizing that "meeples" is an absurd turn of phrase, we'll have to move the weekly board game night into the digital sphere. If you already have a board game that you and your friends love to play, the simplest option might just be to look for the digital or mobile edition of it. Most of the board games that Wirecutter recommends ( here and here) have Android and iOS versions, and will let you play cross-platform. These are partly designed for asynchronous play, but if you want to retain the feeling from a true board game night of everyone playing at once, I recommend having a conference call going with your friends on speakerphone, so everyone can make the "wood for sheep" Catan joke again.

If you're looking to branch out, there are a great number of newbie-friendly games that can be played remotely (or semi-remotely). If one of your friends owns any of the astonishingly good Jackbox Party Games for their computer, they can share their screen via Zoom, Discord, Google Hangouts, or another platform, and everyone else can contribute from their phones. Likewise, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes requires that only one person sees the bomb they're trying to defuse-everyone else attempts to guide them using an obtuse bomb-defusing manual.

For more tech-savvy game players, Roll20 is a dedicated platform to play board games and tabletop role-playing games, though the learning curve can be steep.

If you're looking for a more-traditional game-night experience, a number of Wirecutter staffers have used JigsawPuzzles.io to communally work on puzzles. Words With Friends is an old standby. And Wirecutter editor Ria Misra recommends a good game of chess.

4. Have a digital happy hour.

At Wirecutter, we rely on ( and recommend) Zoom for meetings and important communications. But beyond its remote-work functionality, it's also a great platform for having a video chat with your friends. And, failing Zoom, there's also FaceTime, Google Hangouts, Skype, Facebook Messenger, and others. Shifting your after-work drinks, midday coffee run, or other social gathering onto a video platform may take some getting used to if you're more accustomed to sharing an order of mozzarella sticks over a happy hour beer special. But once you adapt, you'll find it's just as fun, and it's much easier to hear one another, compared with talking over the mediocre cover band playing in the corner of your local. Plus no one has to worry about being the designated driver-you're already home!

5. Start a club that meets online.

Clubs based on enjoying activities in your own time and then coming together to chat about them have a natural home online. Book clubs are one of the most straightforward online clubs (the Wirecutter book club just read The Three Body Problem, and its bleakness seems very apropos right now), but you can form one around almost anything. You could all watch the same movie or TV show, cook the same recipe from a cookbook, try the same wine, or talk about your most recent craft project. Whatever the topic, have a list of talking points and questions put together that everyone knows about before you start. That will lend the proceedings a slightly more structured air than a happy hour-but it will also mean that people won't feel pressured to come up with things to talk about on the fly.

6. Shift your group workouts to your home.

If you're a person who thrives in the camaraderie of a workout class, suddenly having to figure out a home workout may sound daunting, as classes are cancelled and people avoid gyms (though it's not clear exactly how infection-prone gyms are). At home, there's no instructor to tell you what to do, no cheering one another on, no sweaty high-fives after a brutally long plank. But many trainers will do online coaching, so reach out to your favorite instructor and see if they'd be willing to do group video sessions (they'll probably be super-grateful to keep their clientele amid a flurry of coronavirus-inspired cancellations). Alternatively, if you already feel like you know what you're doing, you can arrange a group workout at home, structured around exercises that are easy to do in your own space, like the 7-Minute Workout or the r/bodyweightfitness recommended routine.

7. Ask for help when you need it. And give help when you're asked.

Everything is a lot right now. One of the biggest strengths of establishing these social connections digitally is that you have new avenues of asking for help from your friends and loved ones in ways you might not be able to otherwise. Even though you might not be able to meet up with your best friend at a cafe to complain about everything, venting to each other over a DM works almost as well. If you're struggling, if you need a friend, if you need a space to let it all out: Reach out to people. Ask for their help. Let them be there for you. And when they need you, be there for them too.

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Coronavirus: How to Be Social While Social Distancing

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With hundreds of millions of Americans hunkered down under widespread work-from-home and social-distancing directives, it can be tricky to sustain your social life (and mental health). Suddenly that dinner with friends you were looking forward to has been cancelled, and forget going to the movies or heading to the gig you scored tickets for months ago.

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...also for those who have limited access to technology. 

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...also for those who have limited access to technology. 

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Italy was one of the countries that was hit so hard by COVID-19. Here is how they stayed connected without relying on technology.

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Music is one of the oldest human art forms, if not the oldest human art form. We can never actually know which artform holds that distinction, but it seems darned likely that our ancient ancestors, sitting around their fires at night, realized they could bend their voices into pitches that sounded lovely together and turned those pitches into songs.

Which is all to say that music is one of the ways we feel connected. Singing and dancing are present at nearly every life celebration in some capacity or another, and whether you're in the car or hanging out at the beach or just doing nothing, there's no better way to make the time pass than listening to your favorite album. But even better than that is experiencing music with other people, whether at a concert or in a club.

The Covid-19 coronavirus - and the associated social distancing that nearly everyone on the planet is being encouraged to practice - will presumably hinder people from making and listening to music together, but tweets from all over Italy (which is under heavy lockdown) reveal a country where citizens are taking to their balconies and windows to enjoy music together.

They might be performing an impromptu song with instruments and multiple vocalists, as in this video from Sicily:

Or they might be singing a beloved anthem about their fair city of Siena:

Or they might just be dancing to "The Macarena":

There are many more examples of Italians entertaining themselves and each other with balcony concerts in this thread. Looking through it just might make you remember there's something beautiful about our ability to find silver linings even in very dark times. Stay safe, everybody. And if you have a balcony, sing.

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Watch: Quarantined Italians are singing their hearts out. It's beautiful.

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Music is one of the oldest human art forms, if not the oldest human art form. We can never actually know which artform holds that distinction, but it seems darned likely that our ancient ancestors, sitting around their fires at night, realized they could bend their voices into pitches that sounded lovely together and turned those pitches into songs.

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It is okay to to be happy during pandemic but what is it?

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It is okay to to be happy during pandemic but what is it?

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According to Oxford Dictionary happiness is the state of being happy. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as a state of well-being and contentment, a pleasurable or satisfying experience. Here is an in-depth definition of and information on happiness.

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What is happiness?

It seems like an odd question, but is it? Do you know how to define happiness? Do you think happiness is the same thing to you as it is to others?

What's the point of it all? Does it even make a difference in our lives?

In fact, happiness does have a pretty important role in our lives, and it can have a huge impact on the way we live our lives. Although researchers have yet to pin down the definition or an agreed-upon framework for happiness, there's a lot we have learned in the last few decades.

This article will dive into the science of happiness, what it actually is, and why it matters.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Happiness & Subjective Wellbeing Exercises for free. These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients identify sources of authentic happiness and strategies to boost wellbeing.

A Look at the Oxford English Dictionary's Definition of Happiness

First, let's take a look at the definition of happiness so we're all on the same page. Oxford English Dictionary's definition of "happiness" is a simple one: " The state of being happy."

Not exactly what we were looking for, was it? Perhaps we need to dive a little deeper. Oxford English Dictionary's definition of "happy" is a little more helpful: " Feeling or showing pleasure or contentment."

That's better! So, happiness is the state of feeling or showing pleasure or contentment. From this definition, we can glean a few important points about happiness:

1. Happiness is a state, not a trait; in other words, it isn't a long-lasting, permanent feature or personality trait, but a more fleeting, changeable state.

2. Happiness is equated with feeling pleasure or contentment, meaning that happiness is not to be confused with joy, ecstasy, bliss, or other more intense feelings.

3. Happiness can be either feeling or showing, meaning that happiness is not necessarily an internal or external experience, but can be both.

Now we have a better grasp on what happiness is-or at least, how the Oxford English Dictionary defines what happiness is. However, this definition is not the end-all, be-all definition of happiness. In fact, the definition of happiness is not a "settled" debate.

What is the Meaning of Happiness in Positive Psychology?

The meaning of happiness in Positive Psychology really depends on who you ask.

Happiness is often known by another name in positive psychology research: subjective wellbeing, or SWB.

Some believe happiness is one of the core components of SWB, while others believe happiness is SWB. Regardless, you'll frequently find SWB used as a shorthand for happiness in the literature.

And speaking of the literature, you will find references to SWB everywhere. A quick Google search for the word "happiness" offers over 2 million results (as of January 6th, 2019). Further, a scan for the same term in two of psychology's biggest online databases (PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES) returns 19,139 results from academic and other journals, books, dissertations, and more.

Is it difficult to define scientifically?

With so many takes on happiness, it's no wonder that happiness is a little difficult to define scientifically; there is certainly disagreement about what, exactly, happiness is.

According to researchers Chu Kim-Prieto, Ed Diener, and their colleagues (2005), there are three main ways that happiness has been approached in positive psychology:

1. Happiness as a global assessment of life and all its facets;

2. Happiness as a recollection of past emotional experiences;

3. Happiness as an aggregation of multiple emotional reactions across time (Kim-Prieto, Diener, Tamir, Scollon, & Diener, 2005).

Although they generally all agree on what happiness feels like-being satisfied with life, in a good mood, feeling positive emotions, feeling enjoyment, etc.-researchers have found it difficult to agree on the scope of happiness.

However, for our purposes in this piece, it's enough to work off of a basic definition that melds the OED 's definition with that of positive psychologists: happiness is a state characterized by contentment and general satisfaction with one's current situation.

Pleasure vs. happiness

With the close ties between pleasure and happiness, you might be wondering how to differentiate between them. After all, the OED definition of happiness describes it as a state of feeling pleasure!

The association between the two makes sense, and it's common to hear the two words used interchangeably outside of the literature; however, when it comes to the science of positive psychology, it is important to make a distinction between the two.

Happiness, as we described above, is a state characterized by feelings of contentment and satisfaction with one's life or current situation. On the other hand, pleasure is a more visceral, in-the-moment experience. It often refers to the sensory-based feelings we get from experiences like eating good food, getting a massage, receiving a compliment, or having sex.

Happiness, while not a permanent state, is a more stable state than pleasure. Happiness generally sticks around for longer than a few moments at a time, whereas pleasure can come and go in seconds (Paul, 2015).

Pleasure can contribute to happiness, and happiness can enhance or deepen feelings of pleasure, but the two can also be completely mutually exclusive. For example, you can feel a sense of happiness based on meaning and engagement that has nothing to do with pleasure, or you could feel pleasure but also struggle with guilt because of it, keeping you from feeling happy at the same time.

Happiness vs. meaning

Happiness and meaning have an even more distinct line between the two. Rarely are happiness and meaning confused or used interchangeably, and for good reason-they describe two very different experiences.

Humans may resemble many other creatures in their striving for happiness, but the quest for meaning is a key part of what makes us human, and uniquely so.

Roy Baumeister et al. (2013)

Unlike happiness, meaning is not a fleeting state that drifts throughout the day; it's a more comprehensive sense of purpose and feeling of contributing to something greater than yourself.

As the quote from Baumeister and colleagues (2013) suggests, there are important distinctions between the methods of searching for and the benefits of experiencing happiness and meaning. Scott Barry Kaufman at Scientific American (2016) outlines these distinctions that Baumeister and his fellow researchers found between the two:

Finding one's life easy or difficult was related to happiness, but not meaning;

Feeling healthy was related to happiness, but not meaning;

Feeling good was related to happiness, not meaning;

Scarcity of money reduced happiness more than meaning;

People with more meaningful lives agreed that "relationships are more important than achievements;"

Helping people in need was linked to meaning but not happiness;

Expecting to do a lot of deep thinking was positively related to meaningfulness, but negatively with happiness;

Happiness was related more to being a taker rather than a giver, whereas meaning was related more to being a giver than a taker;

The more people felt their activities were consistent with the core themes and values of their self, the greater meaning they reported in their activities;

Seeing oneself as wise, creative, and even anxious were all linked to meaning but had no relationship (and in some cases, even showed a negative relationship) to happiness (Kaufman, 2016).

Basically, although the two overlaps and each can contribute to the experience of the other, the two can be mutually exclusive (Baumeister et al., 2013).

Relevant reading: 19 Cliché Happiness Quotes & The (Lack Of) Science Behind Them

The origins and etymology of happiness (Incl. root words)

According to Etymology Online (n.d.), the word for "happy" in most languages came from the word for "lucky." This suggests an interesting trend-perhaps our ancestors believed that happiness was largely a by-product of luck?

It also points to a possible difference of general opinion between earlier generations and our own 20th and 21st-century generations: that happiness was not a vital factor in a good life, but essentially a bonus that some lucky individuals got to experience.

Here's what author Darrin McMahon writes about the origins and root words of the word "happiness:"

"It is a striking fact that in every Indo-European language, without exception, going all the way back to ancient Greek, the word for happiness is a cognate with the word for luck. Hap is the Old Norse and Old English root of happiness, and it just means luck or chance, as did the Old French heur, giving us bonheur, good fortune or happiness. German gives us the word Gluck, which to this day means both happiness and chance."

(McMahon, 2006)

What does self-happiness mean?

Although the term is not used very often, "self-happiness" refers to a sense of happiness or satisfaction with one's self. It is often associated with self-confidence, self-esteem, and other concepts that marry "the self" with feeling content and happy.

In general, it means that you are pleased with yourself and your choices, and with the person that you are.

The Psychology Behind Human Happiness

Now that we know what happiness is, let's dive a little deeper. What does psychology have to tell us about happiness?

There are many different theories of happiness, but they generally fall into one of two categories based on how they conceptualize happiness (or well-being):

1. Hedonic happiness/well-being is happiness conceptualized as experiencing more pleasure and less pain; it is composed of an affective component (high positive affect and low negative affect) and a cognitive component (satisfaction with one's life);

2. Eudaimonic happiness/well-being conceptualizes happiness as the result of the pursuit and attainment of life purpose, meaning, challenge, and personal growth; happiness is based on reaching one's full potential and operating at full functioning (AIPC, 2011).

Some theories see happiness as a by-product of other, more important pursuits in life, while others see happiness as the end-goal for humans. Some theories state that pursuing happiness is pointless (although pursuing other important experiences and feelings may contribute to greater happiness), and some assume that happiness can be purposefully increased or enhanced.

Although they differ on the specifics, these theories generally agree on a few points:

It's good to be happy, and people like being happy;

Happiness is neither a totally fleeting, momentary experience nor a stable, long-term trait;

At least some portion of our happiness is set by our genetics, but the amount varies from about 10% up to 50%;

The pursuit and attainment of pleasure will rarely lead to happiness;

There are many sources that contribute to or compose happiness (AIPC, 2011).

What sources create true personal happiness?

Taking together all the various theories and findings on happiness, we know that there are at least a few factors that are very important for overall happiness:

Individual income;

Labor market status;

Physical health;

Family;

Social relationships;

Moral values;

Experience of positive emotions (AIPC, 2011).

All of these factors can contribute to a happy life, but research has found that good relationships are a vital ingredient (Waldinger & Schulz, 2010).

When we are happy in our most important relationships (usually our spouse or significant other, our children and/or our parents, other close family members, and our closest friends), we tend to be happier.

We have some control over how our relationships go, so that leads us to an interesting and important question: can we increase our own happiness?

Can individuals learn how to be happy?

The answer from numerous studies is a resounding YES-you CAN learn how to be happier.

The degree to which you can increase your happiness will vary widely by which theory you subscribe to, but there are no credible theories that allow absolutely no room for individual improvement. To improve your overall happiness, the most effective method is to look at the list of sources above and work on enhancing the quality of your experiences in each one of them.

For example, you can work on getting a higher salary (although a higher salary will only work up to about $75,000 USD a year), improve your health, work on developing and maintaining high-quality relationships, and overall, find ways to incorporate more positive feelings into your daily life. This does assume basic access to safety as well as social equality.

8 Examples That Describe What a Happy Life Looks Like

Given our definitions, what does a happy life look like?

Of course, what it looks like will depend on the individual-a happy life for one person may be another's nightmare!

However, there are a few examples that can display a wide range of lives that can be conducive to happiness:

1. A woman who lives alone, has excellent relationships with her nieces and nephews, gives to charity, and finds meaning in her work;

2. A man who is happily married with three healthy children and a relatively low-paying job;

3. A widow who enjoys regular visits with her children and grandchildren, along with volunteering for local charities;

4. A cancer patient who has a wonderful support system and finds meaning in helping others make it through chemotherapy;

5. A social worker who works 70-hour weeks with no overtime pay, to ensure the children on her caseload are in good hands;

6. An unmarried man in a monastery who has no earthly possessions and no salary to speak of, but finds meaning in communing with his god;

7. A teenager in a foster home who has several close friends and enjoys playing football on his school's team;

8. A man who lives with several pets, enjoys a high salary, and loves his job.

Each of these was pulled from real-world examples of people who are happy. They may not seem like they have it all, but they all have at least one of the ingredients from the list of sources mentioned earlier. We don't need to have everything we want in order to be happy-true happiness can be obtained by finding joy in what we already have, however much or little that may seem.

What are some visions you associate with happiness? Are there any similarities with these dreams?

Why is Happiness So Important?

You might be wondering why happiness is considered such an important aspect of life, as there are many components of a meaningful life.

In some ways, science would agree with you. It appears that life satisfaction, meaning, and well-being can be linked with happiness, but happiness is not necessarily the overarching goal for everyone in life. It is still important because it has some undeniably positive benefits and co-occurring factors.

June Silny at Happify outlines 14 answers to the question, " What's so great about happiness, anyway? "

1. Happy people are more successful in multiple life domains, including marriage, friendship, income, work performance, and health.

2. Happy people get sick less often and experience fewer symptoms when they do get sick.

3. Happy people have more friends and a better support system.

4. Happy people donate more to charity (and giving money to charity makes you happy, too).

5. Happy people are more helpful and more likely to volunteer-which also makes you happier!

6. Happy people have an easier time navigating through life since optimism eases pain, sadness, and grief.

7. Happy people have a positive influence on others and encourage them to seek happiness as well, which can act as reinforcement.

8. Happy people engage in deeper and more meaningful conversations.

9. Happy people smile more, which is beneficial to your health.

10. Happy people exercise more often and eat more healthily.

11. Happy people are happy with what they have rather than being jealous of others.

12. Happy people are healthier all around and more likely to be healthy in the future.

13. Happy people live longer than those who are not as happy.

14. Happy people are more productive and more creative, and this effect extends to all those experiencing positive emotions.

The relationship between mental health and happiness

As you can probably assume from the list above, there is a strong relationship between mental health and happiness! When happy people are healthier, have better relationships, make friends more easily, and find more success in life, it's easy to see why happiness and mental health are related.

The sources that contribute to happiness are the same as those that provide people with a buffer or protection against mental illness, which explains the close relationship between the two.

A recent study explored the association between happiness and mental health in college students and found that a relatively strong, positive correlation connects the two factors (Shafiq, Nas, Ansar, Nasrulla, Bushra, & Imam, 2015). This correlation held, even when gender and socio-demographic variables were added to the mix.

The close tie between mental health and happiness is reason enough to make happiness an important priority for parents, educators, researchers, and medical professionals alike, along with the simple fact that we all like to feel happy!

6 Videos That Explain Happiness

If you're interested in learning more about happiness from a scientific perspective, there are a few videos you might want to check out, including:

Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness by Professor Tal Ben-Shahar from WGBH Forum.

Shawn Achor - The Happiness Advantage: Linking Positive Brains to Performance TEDTalk from TEDx Talks

Positive Psychology - Happier by Professor Tal Ben-Shahar, Ph.D. from FightMediocrity

How to be Happy - The Science of Happiness and Feeling Positive in Life from Memorize Academy

The Surprising Science of Happiness TED Talk by Dan Gilbert from TED

How to Be Happy - The Secret of Authentic Happiness - Martin Seligman from Practical Psychology

A Take-Home Message

I hope this piece was helpful and informative for you, and that you learned something new about the scientific study of happiness. It's a fascinating area of research, and new findings are coming out all the time. Make sure you stay up to date on the happiness literature, as the findings can be of great use in helping you to live your best life!

What are your thoughts on happiness? Would you define it differently? What do you find is the most important ingredient for your own happiness? Let us know in the comments section below!

Thanks for reading, I hope you are all finding happiness in all your life journeys.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don't forget to download our three Happiness Exercises for free.

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What Is Happiness and Why Is It Important? (+ Definition)

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It's an odd question, but can you define happiness? Do you think happiness is the same to you as it is to others? Find out what happiness is!

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Happiness begins on the inside and can be increased by external factors 

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Happiness begins on the inside and can be increased by external factors 

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"Personal connection creates mental and emotional stimulation, which are automatic mood boosters, while isolation is a mood buster,” says Robert Waldinger, the Harvard professor and the researcher of the longest running study. Here is what his 75 year-long study revealed about the secrets of happiness.

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What Makes a Good Life? Lessons from the Longest Study on Happiness | Robert Waldinger | TED

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Even though it is a state of mind and can change over time, some conditions can determine the level of happiness. Mark Holder, the happiness doctor, states five approaches to measure happiness.

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My university students came to me with a concern. They informed me that another professor had told them that you can't measure happiness. This is a real concern for me; if you can't measure happiness, then I'm out of a job. As a researcher, I can't study something that can't be measured.

"You can't measure happiness." I hear this a lot. What is interesting to me is that professors, researchers, and the general public never doubt that you can measure depression, anxiety, and stress. But many are reluctant to accept that happiness is measurable.

Researchers have attempted to measure happiness with five approaches:

1. Biological. If you come to my lab and I offer you a Popsicle, don't take it. Our freezer is filled with frozen specimens of undergraduates' saliva and urine. We're looking for the biological markers, such as hormones and neurotransmitters, for happiness. So far, researchers have had only minimal success in identifying the biological markers of happiness. What we do know is that the markers for happiness aren't the same as for depression. For example, if low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin predict depression, high levels of serotonin don't predict happiness. This is important. It suggests that happiness and depression are not opposite ends of a single continuum, but are better thought of as related, but independent, dimensions.

2. Behavioral. Researchers have used behaviors to estimate happiness. Behaviors such as frequency of smiling, laughing, and helping others have been examined. When the use of emojis is studied, the results suggest that Hawaii is the happiest state, and Louisiana the least happy. When hundreds of tweets are analyzed, researchers find that Mondays are linked to low levels of happiness, and daylight saving time results in a happiness boost.

3. Implicit Measures. Disguised measures, in which people don't even know that their happiness is being assessed, have been developed. These have been successfully used to assess racism. Implicit measures typically assess reaction times in connecting positive and negative terms to oneself and others. However, implicit measures haven't proved to be effective in assessing happiness.

4. Other Reports. Asking others to rate a person's happiness has been useful. For example, for young children, we ask their parents and teachers to rate their children's happiness.

5. Self-Reports. By far the most common way that researchers assess happiness is through self-reports. Using multiple-item scales or a single question, we simply ask people about their level of happiness. People think about their happiness, and it is a subjective state, so it makes sense to ask them about it. But this approach presents challenges: For example, when people were asked, "Looking back at your life as a whole, overall how happy are you?" the answers they gave changed if they found a few coins at a photocopy machine that the researchers had planted there. Now, finding a few coins shouldn't have a significant impact on one's happiness when considering the decades of one's life. But it does change the answers people give. We are disproportionately impacted by the most recent events of our lives.

The development of measures of happiness has allowed researchers to assess happiness. But measuring happiness is neither simple nor easy.

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Measuring Happiness: How Can We Measure It?

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My university students came to me with a concern. They informed me that another professor had told them that you can't measure happiness. This is a real concern for me; if you can't measure happiness, then I'm out of a job. As a researcher, I can't study something that can't be measured.

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...So, here is the ranking of happiness across the globe

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...So, here is the ranking of happiness across the globe

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Happiness comes from within and  social environments impact to maintain a happy life. Let's take a look at the global rankings revealed by World Happiness Report (WHR) using six key variables:

GDP

social support

healthy life expectancy

freedom to make life choices

generosity

perceptions of corruption

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Introduction

About 4.2 billion people, more than half of the world's population (55.3 per cent), are living in urban areas today. By 2045, this figure is estimated to increase by 1.5 times, to more than six billion. There were 371 cities with more than one million inhabitants at the turn of the century in 2000. In 2018, there were 548, and in 2030, a projected 706 cities will have at least one million inhabitants. During the same time, the number of so-called mega cities - cities that have more than ten million inhabitants, most of which are located in the Global South - is expected to increase from 33 to 43, with the fastest growth in Asia and Africa. Today, Tokyo (37.4 million), New Delhi (28.5 million), and Shanghai (25.6 million inhabitants) are the most populous cities worldwide.

Cities are economic powerhouses: more than 80 per cent of worldwide GDP is generated within their boundaries. They allow for an efficient division of labour, bringing with them agglomeration and productivity benefits, new ideas and innovations, and hence higher incomes and living standards. They often outperform their countries in terms of economic growth. City dwellers are often younger, more educated, and more liberal than their rural counterparts. They are more likely to be in professional and service jobs, and less likely to have kids. With urbanisation set to increase, by 2050, seven in ten people worldwide will be city dwellers.

Rapid urbanisation, however, also imposes challenges: a lack of affordable housing results in nearly one billion urban poor living in informal settlements at the urban periphery, vulnerable and often exposed to criminal activity. A lack of public transport infrastructure results in congestion and often hazardous pollution levels in inner cities. By one estimate, in 2016, 90 per cent of city dwellers have been breathing unsafe air, resulting in 4.2 million deaths due to ambient air pollution. Cities account for about two-thirds of the world's energy consumption and for more than 70 per cent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. Urban sprawl and inefficient land use contribute to biodiversity loss. Rapid urbanisation also puts pressure on public open spaces such as parks and urban green areas, which provide space for social interaction and important ecosystem services.

Given the speed and scale of urbanisation, with all its benefits and challenges, how do city dwellers fare, on balance, when it comes to their subjective well-being? How did their well-being change over time? Which cities around the world promote a higher well-being amongst their inhabitants than others, conditional on the same development level? And how does well-being and well-being inequality within cities relate to that within countries? This chapter explores these questions, by providing the first global ranking of cities based on their residents' self-reported well-being.

Our ranking is fundamentally different from existing rankings of cities in terms of quality of life, such as The Economist's Global Liveability Index, which ranks cities according to a summary score constructed from qualitative and quantitative indicators across five broad domains. Rather than relying on a list of factors that researchers consider relevant, our ranking relies on city residents' self-reports of how they themselves evaluate the quality of their lives. In doing so, it emancipates respondents to consider and weigh for themselves which factors - observable or unobservable to researchers - they feel matter most to them. Arguably, this bottom-up approach gives a direct voice to the population as opposed to the more top-down approach of deciding ex-ante what ought to matter for the well-being of city residents. Importantly, leveraging well-being survey responses is an approach that allows us to get a more holistic grip on the drivers of happiness. In fact, employing well-being surveys allows to figure out the relative importance of different domains in shaping well-being, thus providing evidence-based guidance for policymakers on how to optimize the well-being of their populations.

The importance of cities for global development has long been recognised in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities, which includes targets with clear relevance for citizens' life satisfaction, such as strengthening public transport systems to reduce congestion and commuting times, reducing ambient air pollution, and improving access to green and public open spaces for all citizens. Our chapter aims to make an important contribution to benchmarking progress towards this goal and its targets in an integrated fashion by studying the current state of how cities are actually doing when it comes to their citizens' subjective well-being and, in doing so, by casting an anchor for continuous future benchmarking.

In what follows, we first describe the methodology behind our ranking and present our findings on cities' happiness around the world. Then, we analyse whether and how cities' happiness has changed during the past decade, whether there exist significant differences between cities and their countries, and whether there are substantial happiness inequalities within cities relative to countries.

Ranking Cities' Happiness Around the World

Methodology

As is the case for the ranking of countries in this World Happiness Report, our ranking of cities' happiness around the world relies on the Gallup World Poll, an annual survey that started in 2005 and that is conducted in more than 160 countries covering 99 per cent of the world's population. It includes at least 1,000 observations per country per year, covering both urban and rural areas, with a tendency to oversample major cities. The survey is nationally representative of the resident population aged 15 and above in each country. To increase sample size for the US, we complement the data with the Gallup US Poll, a survey which sampled US adults aged 18 and above nationwide between 2008 and 2017. It included at least 500 observations per day and, importantly, asked respondents a similar set of questions as does the Gallup World Poll. To ensure that it is appropriate to merge the data coming from different surveys, we calculated the 2014-2018 average current life evaluation score for the Gallup US Poll and the World Poll, and found them to be almost identical: 6.96 for the US Poll and 6.97 for the World Poll. This and other checks make it possible to integrate the Gallup US Poll data without the need for re-scaling.

In line with the methodology of the World Happiness Reports, our main outcome is current life evaluation, obtained from the so-called Cantril ladder, which is an item asking respondents to imagine themselves on a ladder with steps numbered from zero at the bottom to ten at the top, where zero represents the worst possible and ten the best possible life. While life evaluation is our primary measure of subjective well-being, we also take into account well-being measures of how people experience their lives on a day-to-day basis. To do so, we turn again - in line with the methodology applied in the World Happiness Reports - to the Gallup World Poll and the Gallup US Poll, which include items on positive and negative affect, constructed from batteries of yes-no questions that ask respondents about their emotional experiences on the previous day. For positive affect, we include whether respondents experienced enjoyment and whether they smiled or laughed a lot. For negative affect, we include whether respondents often experienced feeling sadness, worry, and anger (apart from the US where we do not have data on anger for 2014 onwards). Indices are then created by averaging across items, and are bound between zero and one. Finally, to elicit respondents' expectations about their future, we look at future life evaluation, which is a future-oriented Cantril ladder survey item asking respondents where they think that they will stand in terms of their quality of life in five years from now.

We restrict our analysis to the period 2014 to 2018 and in order to reduce statistical noise, to cities with at least 300 observations recorded during this five-year span. Leveraging the US Poll, we added the ten largest American cities. Our definition of what constitutes a city (for the US) is based on the notion of functional urban areas: territorial and functional units with a population of a particular size in which people live, work, access amenities, and interact socially. It is preferable over definitions of cities based on, say, administrative boundaries, in that it is much more representative of the life realities of most people living in a city. Taken together, our methodological approach leads our ranking of cities' happiness to cover 186 cities across the globe.

Ranking

In our ranking of cities' happiness around the world, we first look at current life evaluation - an evaluative measure of subjective well-being and our main outcome - and then contrast our findings with those on expected future life evaluation of cities' inhabitants. We also compare our findings with those on positive and negative affect on a day-to-day basis, which are experiential measures, in the follow-up discussion section.

Current Life Evaluation

Figure 3.1 shows the complete list of cities according to how positively their inhabitants currently evaluate their lives on average.

Figure 3.1: Global Ranking of Cities - Current Life Evaluation (Part 1)

Figure 3.1: Global Ranking of Cities - Current Life Evaluation (Part 2)

Figure 3.1: Global Ranking of Cities - Current Life Evaluation (Part 3)

As can be seen in Figure 3.1, the top ten are clearly dominated by Scandinavian cities: Helsinki (Finland) and Aarhus (Denmark) are ranked first and second, Copenhagen (Denmark), Bergen (Norway), and Oslo (Norway) fifth, sixth, and seventh. Stockholm (Sweden) comes out ninth. Thus, more than half of the top ten cities worldwide according to how positively their inhabitants currently evaluate their lives are located in Scandinavia. Two of the top ten cities are located in Australia and New Zealand: Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is ranked third and Brisbane (Australia) is ranked tenth. The only top ten cities that are not located in either Scandinavia or Australia and New Zealand are Zurich (Switzerland) and Tel Aviv (Israel).

Figure 3.1 also shows that the bottom ten cities are less clustered geographically, but more correlated in terms of common themes. Although most cities at the bottom are located in some of the least developed countries worldwide, mostly in Africa and the Middle East (with India as a notable exception), they are distinct from other less developed countries around the world by having experienced recent histories of war (Kabul in Afghanistan and Sanaa in Yemen, which are at the very bottom of our global ranking); continuous armed conflict (Gaza in Palestine, which comes third from the bottom); civil war (Juba in South Sudan comes fifth, Bangui in the Central African Republic ninth); political instability (Cairo in Egypt comes tenth from the bottom); or devastating natural catastrophes with long-run impacts (Port-au-Prince in Haiti comes fourth from the bottom).

Besides their low economic development levels, therefore, these cities are also located in countries with high political instability, a strained security situation, and reoccurring periodic outbreaks of armed conflict. The impacts of (threat of) war, armed conflict, and terrorism on subjective well-being are well-documented in the literature.

The other cities in the bottom ten according to how positively their inhabitants evaluate their current lives are Dar es Salaam in Tanzania (which comes sixth from the bottom), New Delhi in India (which comes seventh), and Maseru in Lesotho (which comes eighth).

Expected Future Life Evaluation

Figure A1 in Appendix replicates Figure 3.1, but reports on expected future rather than current life evaluation. It presents our global ranking of cities according to how positively their inhabitants evaluate their expected future lives, as raw means.

Although the top ten according to how cities' inhabitants evaluate their expected future lives feature familiar faces such as Aarhus (Denmark), Copenhagen (Denmark), and Helsinki (Finland), which rank sixth, seventh, and eighth, and which also feature in the top ten of current life evaluation (ranking second, fifth, and first, respectively), it is fascinating to see that the top ten in terms of optimistic outlook also includes new cities. Many of them originate from Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as many regions in Africa. In fact, places two, three, and five in terms of future life evaluation are populated by San Miguelito (Panama), San Jose (Costa Rica), and Panama City (Panama), whereas places four and ten are populated by Accra (Ghana) and Freetown (Sierra Leone). The most optimistic outlook is found in Tashkent (Uzbekistan). The finding for optimism of city dwellers in the Latin American and Caribbean region is mirrored by high levels of subjective well-being found in Latin American societies more generally. Atlanta (US) is also found in the top ten of optimistic future outlook.

While the top ten feature many new faces, the bottom ten feature rather familiar ones: city dwellers in Kabul (Afghanistan), Gaza (Palestine), and Port-au-Prince (Haiti) - places torn by recent war, continuous armed conflict, and devastating natural catastrophes - are the least optimistic worldwide. Sanaa in Yemen, another war-torn city, is ranked sixth, whereas Beirut in Lebanon (bordering Syria) is ranked fourth from the bottom. As with current life evaluation, New Delhi (India) scores rather low when it comes to the optimistic outlook of its inhabitants (ranked fifth from the bottom). Likewise, cities in Egypt (here Alexandria, which is ranked eighth from the bottom) are quite pessimistic places when it comes to the future, and so are cities located in Iran (Tehran, the capital, is ranked ninth and Mashhad is ranked tenth from the bottom). These are places that have seen economically difficult times recently. The only European city in the bottom ten cities of how positively their inhabitants evaluate their future lives is Athens in Greece, which may be explained by the recent economic crisis in the country.

Is there predictive power from these self-predicted future scores? To check this, we regress current life evaluation on life evaluation scores pre-2014 and expected life evaluation scores pre-2014. In this multivariate regression, we find that life evaluation scores pre-2014 are highly significant, while expected future life evaluation scores pre-2014 are not significant. Even when doing a univariate regression of current life evaluation scores on expected life evaluation only, we find that it is not significant. This perhaps shows that people are not quite able to accurately predict their future life evaluation and the best indicator of the future is current life evaluation.

Positive and Negative Affect

Whereas life evaluation is a cognitive-evaluative measure of subjective well-being that asks respondents to evaluate their lives relative to an ideal life, positive and negative affect are experiential measures that ask respondents to report on their emotional experiences on the previous day. They are thus less prone to social narratives, comparisons, or issues of adaptation and anticipation. Contrary to life evaluation, they also take into account the duration of experiences, arguably an important dimension when it comes to people's overall quality of life. Figure A2 in the Appendix replicates our global ranking of city happiness for positive affect, Figure A3 for negative affect.

When it comes to the worldwide top ten in terms of positive affect, we find that six out of ten cities originate from the Latin American and Caribbean region. For some of these places, these scores may come as a surprise, given the difficult economic situations in the countries in which these cities are located. Yet to some extent this finding mirrors our finding on expected future life evaluation: city dwellers in the Latin American and Caribbean region are not only looking more optimistically into the future than their current levels of life evaluation would predict, but also report higher levels of momentary happiness and joy. The generally high level of affective well-being in the region is well-documented in the literature and may be due to, for example, stronger family relationships, social capital, and culture-related factors. Note that since the Gallup World Poll is nationally representative, it is unlikely that self-selection of survey respondents who are exceptionally happy are driving our results.

We find cities in areas that are in current or past conflict zones at the bottom in terms of positive affect. Somewhat surprising is the large number of Turkish city dwellers reporting low positive affect, including people living in Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir. Perhaps less surprising, most cities that score low on positive affect also score high on negative affect, as seen in Figure A3.

Further Analysis

Changes Over Time

So far, our global ranking of cities' happiness has looked at a snapshot of happiness, taken as the average happiness across the period 2014 to 2018. Naturally, the question arises how cities' happiness has changed over the years. To answer this question, in Figure 3.2 we calculate the change in life evaluation for each city against its average life evaluation in the period 2005 to 2013. The Gallup World Poll was initiated in 2005, which is the earliest possible measurement we can use for our purposes.

Figure 3.2: Global Ranking of Cities - Changes in Current Life Evaluation (Part 1)

Figure 3.2: Global Ranking of Cities - Changes in Current Life Evaluation (Part 1)

Figure 3.2: Global Ranking of Cities - Changes in Current Life Evaluation (Part 1)

Some cities have experienced significant positive changes in their citizens' happiness over the past decade: changes above 0.5 points in life evaluation, which is measured on a zero-to-ten scale, can be considered very large changes; a change of 0.5 points is approximately the change when finding gainful employment after a period of unemployment. The top ten cities in our global ranking in terms of change have experienced changes of 0.75 points or more. They are predominantly in Africa, Eastern Europe, or Central Asia. The city with the largest positive change is Abidjan (Ivory Coast). Other cities that have experienced large positive changes in Africa are Cotonou (Benin), Dakar (Senegal), Conakry (Guinea), Niamey (Niger), and Brazzaville (Congo), which are ranked fifth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth in our global ranking of changes. Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and Almaty (Kazakhstan) - two former Soviet republics located in Central Asia - are ranked second and fourth, respectively. Strong improvements are also found in Vilnius (Lithuania) and Sofia (Bulgaria), two capital cities in countries that are now part of the European Union. Other cities in or at the fringes of the European Union that have made substantial progress (of 0.5 or more points on the zero-to-ten life evaluation scale) are Riga (Latvia), ranked 13, Belgrade (Serbia), ranked 17, Bucharest (Romania), ranked 22, and Budapest (Hungary), ranked 23.

While some cities have experienced large increases in their citizens' happiness over the past decade, others have experienced tremendous reductions, often by more than an entire point on the zero-to-ten life evaluation scale. The strongest reduction is found in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, which has seen current life evaluation decrease by more than two points. Maracaibo and Caracas, the second largest city and the capital of Venezuela, are placed second and third from the bottom, respectively. Other cities that have seen large decreases are Pristina (Kosovo), Sanaa (Yemen), and Kabul (Afghanistan), which come fifth, sixth, and seventh from the bottom, respectively. Perhaps less surprising, most of these cities - together with New Delhi (India), ranked ninth, and Mexico City (Mexico), ranked tenth from the bottom - also score low when it comes to expected future life evaluation. People living in these cities are not optimistic about their future. Somewhat new on the radar are Kumasi (Ghana) and Larnaka (Cyprus), which have also experienced strong reductions in happiness over the past decade.

In sum, there have been winners and losers in terms of changes in cities' happiness over the past decade. On a global scale, has happiness in cities increased or decreased? On average, there has been a decrease in mean city happiness over the past decade. However, this decrease is driven by very strong reductions in city happiness at the very bottom of our global ranking. If we were to exclude Maseru (Lesotho), Maracaibo and Caracas (both Venezuela), Sanaa (Yemen), Kabul (Afghanistan), and Gaza (Palestine) - cities which have been facing exceptional challenges - from our global ranking, we could say that happiness in cities worldwide has increased in recent years.

City-Country Differences

Another interesting question is whether or not our global ranking of cities is determined by something different than the mean happiness of the counties in which they are located. One way of testing this is to use country mean happiness scores to predict city rankings, and then to look for significant outliers. As Figure 3.3 suggests, residents of cities are somewhat happier than the mean happiness of their respective country populations suggests. This global difference amounts to, on average, 0.2 points on the zero-to-ten life evaluation scale. What stands out from this analysis, however, is that this difference is greater for city residents at the lower end of the well-being scale before it diminishes and often reverses at the top-end: residents of cities at the lower end are about 0.5 points happier than the average populations in their respective countries. This observation appears to corroborate Morrison's model, which suggests such a skewed relationship for reasons that are considered in more detail in chapter 4 of this report.

Figure 3.3: Subjective Well-being in Cities and Countries

Following Morrison, we split the sample into high-income and low-income countries in order to get a better sense for the different slopes in the relationship between city residents' happiness and their respective country average happiness. Figures 3.4 and 3.5 illustrate these different slopes at different levels of economic development: for low-income city-country pairs we can confidently reject the hypothesis that the line of best fit shown in Figure 3.4 is the same as the 45-degree line (F-test = 35.72). The same is not the case for the line of best fit in Figure 3.5, which relates to high-income city-country pairs. Here, we cannot statistically distinguish it from the 45-degree line (F-test = 3.59). These results imply that the average country happiness is a very strong predictor of city happiness at higher levels of well-being and economic development. However, this is somewhat less the case for countries at lower levels. In fact, while the general correlation coefficient between country-city pairs stands at 0.96, the correlation coefficient is slightly lower at 0.90 for the low-income group.

Figure 3.4: Subjective Well-being in Cities and Countries (Low Income)

Figure 3.5: Subjective Well-being in Cities and Countries (High Income)

Generally, we find that the average happiness of city residents is more often than not higher than the average happiness of the general country population, especially at the lower end of the well-being and national income scales. Thus, when contrasting the positive agglomeration and productivity benefits of urbanisation and urban amenities with its disadvantages due to disamenities such as congestion or pollution, it seems that, on balance, city dwellers fare slightly better than the remainder of the population, at least when it comes to current life evaluation as our measure of comparison. Of course, this does not mean that moving into a city makes everybody happier: people living in cities differ in important observable and unobservable characteristics from their rural counterparts, which could very well explain the difference in happiness that we observe. Our analysis is purely descriptive and cannot make causal claims about the effects of urbanisation itself on happiness.

Well-being Inequality in Cities and Countries

A related question asks not so much whether cities are, on average, happier places than their surrounding countries, but rather whether happiness inequality is different within cities as compared to countries. In other words: is the difference between the least happy and the happiest person, on average, greater or smaller in cities than in their respective countries?

Figure 3.6 sheds light on this question by plotting the standard deviation of city happiness relative to the standard deviation of country happiness, both measured in terms of current life evaluation. The standard deviation is a measure of how dispersed a set of numbers is and can hence serve as a simple measure of inequality in this case. As before, the 45-degree line indicates the points at which there is no difference between the standard deviation in country and city happiness scores. If a city lies above the 45-degree line, it has a higher level of happiness inequality than its respective country; if it lies below, it has a lower level.

Figure 3.6: Well-being Inequality in Cities and Countries

As Figure 3.6 shows, the scatterplot is almost evenly spread around the 45-degree line, suggesting that there are no systematic differences in happiness inequality between cities and their countries. In other words, the difference between the least happy and the happiest person is, on average, not much different in cities than in the country at large. Of course, this does not mean that there are large differences on a case-by-case basis: in fact, for some cities and countries, happiness inequality is much larger at the country-level, whereas for others, it is much larger at the city-level. This is an important area for future research, with important policy implications for urbanisation and rural exodus.

Conclusion

In this chapter, we provided the first-ever global ranking and analysis of cities' happiness. Allowing for an efficient division of labour, cities bring with them agglomeration and productivity benefits, inspiring new ideas and innovations, and the generation of higher incomes and living standards. At the same time, however, cities create negative externalities such as urban sprawl, crime, congestion, and often hazardous pollution levels. As half of the world's population is living in cities today, and since this number is expected to rise to two third by the middle of the century, studying how city dwellers fare on balance when it comes to their quality of life is an important undertaking. Casting an anchor, and continuously monitoring and benchmarking city dwellers' quality of life around the world, is also an important step towards implementing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

We rank cities' quality of life fundamentally differently than existing rankings: our ranking relies entirely on city dwellers' self-reported quality of life, measured in terms of their subjective well-being. One might criticise our ranking for relying only on subjective indicators. We argue that this is precisely their advantage. We are not relying on a limited number of objective dimensions of quality of life, often defined ex-ante according to what researchers (or policy-makers) consider important. Instead, our ranking is bottom up, emancipating city dwellers to consider for themselves which factors they feel matter most to them. Arguably, this makes it also a more democratic way of measuring their quality of lives.

Our ranking of cities' happiness does not yield fundamentally different results than existing rankings: Scandinavian cities and cities in Australia and New Zealand score high when it comes to the subjective well-being of their residents; cities in countries with histories of political instability, (civil) war, armed conflict, and recent incidences of terrorism score low. Deploying a diverse set of subjective well-being indicators, including evaluative measures such as current and future life evaluation as well as experiential measures such as positive and negative affect, our ranking paints an internally consistent image. Yet, there are significant differences to other rankings relying on pre-defined dimensions of quality of life. Studying these differences about what matters most for city residents' quality of life is-besides a continuous monitoring and benchmarking of cities' happiness around the world-an important next step.

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Endnotes
Back to the 2020 report

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Cities and Happiness: A Global Ranking and Analysis

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The World Happiness Report is a publication of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, powered by data from the Gallup World Poll, and supported by the Ernesto Illy Foundation, illycaffè, Davines Group, Blue Chip Foundation, the William, Jeff, and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation, and Unilever's largest ice cream brand Wall's.

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This visualization uses WHR data. You can find any chosen country's shape of happiness.

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The increasing number of cases and deaths, social distancing, lock-downs, shot-downs, quarantine, panic buying, uncontrollable spread of the virus, and abandoned streets with disposable masks and latex gloves... All of this does not promise a good future and impacted already rising mental health problems and suicide rates and this study states that it is expected that these attempts will rise after the pandemic.

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Summary

Multiple lines of evidence indicate that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has profound psychological and social effects. The psychological sequelae of the pandemic will probably persist for months and years to come. Studies indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with distress, anxiety, fear of contagion, depression and insomnia in the general population and among healthcare professionals. Social isolation, anxiety, fear of contagion, uncertainty, chronic stress and economic difficulties may lead to the development or exacerbation of depressive, anxiety, substance use and other psychiatric disorders in vulnerable populations including individuals with pre-existing psychiatric disorders and people who reside in high COVID-19 prevalence areas. Stress-related psychiatric conditions including mood and substance use disorders are associated with suicidal behavior. COVID-19 survivors may also be at elevated suicide risk. The COVID-19 crisis may increase suicide rates during and after the pandemic. Mental health consequences of the COVID-19 crisis including suicidal behavior are likely to be present for a long time and peak later than the actual pandemic. To reduce suicides during the COVID-19 crisis, it is imperative to decrease stress, anxiety, fears and loneliness in the general population. There should be traditional and social media campaigns to promote mental health and reduce distress. Active outreach is necessary, especially for people with a history of psychiatric disorders, COVID-19 survivors and older adults. Research studies are needed of how mental health consequences can be mitigated during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus disease pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began at the end of 2019 in China and has quickly spread globally. Millions of people around the world are infected and hundreds of thousands have died. The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 vary from asymptomatic forms to severe clinical conditions characterized by respiratory failure, sepsis, septic shock and multiple organ dysfunction syndromes. Understandably, medical professionals and public health specialists are focused on taking care of individuals who are very sick, while containing the coronavirus's spread in the general population. Less attention is given to the psychiatric consequences of the COVID-19 crisis.

Multiple lines of evidence indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic has profound psychological and social effects., There is a pervasive awareness of uncertainty over the future and an understanding that the pandemic is far from over. It is possible that there will be economic privation and political upheaval. The psychological sequelae of the pandemic will probably persist for months and years to come. In this article, I suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic may increase the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and suicide rates during and after the pandemic.

Previous epidemics and suicide

Nothing in our lifetimes can be compared with the magnitude of the COVID-19 disaster. The last comparable crisis was the pandemic of Spanish Flu in 1918-19 caused by H1N1 viruses with genes of avian origin. About 500 million people or one-third of the world's population were infected with the Spanish Flu viruses and at least 50 million people perished around the world including about 675 000 in the USA. The Spanish Flu epidemic was associated with an increase in death by suicide. It has been proposed that a decrease in social integration and interaction during the epidemic and the fears caused by the epidemic likely increased suicide. It is important to note that social isolation and fears are common during the current COVID-19 epidemic.

There was a significant increase in suicide deaths among people aged 65 and over during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Hong Kong. Research indicates that this increase in suicides can be attributed to fears of contracting the illness, fears of being a burden to the family, general anxiety, social isolation and psychological distress.

The psychological impact of COVID-19

A number of studies have been performed to examine the effect of the COVID-19 crisis on the mental health of the general population, health care professionals and individuals with psychiatric disorders. Wang et al. examined psychological responses during the initial stage of the COVID-19 epidemic in the general population in China. The authors found that 53.8% of 1210 respondents rated the psychological impact of the outbreak as moderate or severe, 16.5% reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms and 28.8% reported moderate to severe anxiety symptoms. Qiu et al. performed a countrywide survey that included 52 730 people in China during the COVID-19 epidemic and found that about 35% of the participants had psychological distress. This is consistent with the results of a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey indicating that 45% of adults in the USA report that their mental health has been negatively impacted due to worry and stress over the coronavirus.

Li et al. analyzed online posts made by 17 865 Chinese social media customers before and after the declaration of COVID-19 in China on 20 January 2020. The authors observed that negative emotions including anxiety, depression and anger rose, whereas the positive emotions and life satisfaction diminished. Xiao et al. studied a relationship between social capital as measured by the Personal Social Capital Scale 16 and sleep characteristics in person who were isolated during the COVID-19 epidemic. Researchers observed that anxiety was associated with stress and reduced sleep quality, and the combination of anxiety and stress reduced the positive effects of social capital on sleep quality. Xiao et al. wrote that 'anxiety and stress of isolated individuals were at high levels, whereas the sleep quality was low.'

Ahmed et al. did an online survey of 1074 Chinese people and found elevated rates of anxiety, depression, harmful alcohol use and decrease in mental wellbeing. Rates of anxiety and depression were higher among young people aged 21-40 years in comparison to other age groups. Huang and Zhao conducted a web-based survey of 7236 individuals in China. The overall prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder, depressive symptoms and sleep abnormalities were 35.1%, 20.1% and 18.2%, respectively. This study also showed that health care professionals were more likely to have poor sleep quality in comparison to other occupational groups.

Lai et al. examined a state of mental health of 1257 health care professionals in China. 50.4% of study participants reported depression, 44.6% anxiety, 34.0% insomnia and 71.5% distress. Frontline health care professionals who were taking care of patients with COVID had a higher risk of having symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia and distress in comparison to other medical professionals. In March 2020, Ahmed et al. did an online study to examine anxiety and fear of getting infected among dentists. The authors received responses from 669 dentists from 30 countries. An overwhelming majority of study participants reported anxiety and fear of contagion. Some dentists closed their practices for an indefinite period of time.

Hao et al. compared the psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on individuals with or without mood and anxiety disorders. Worries about their physical health, anger, impulsivity and suicidal ideation were significantly higher in psychiatric patients than in healthy controls.

Probably, alcohol consumption increases during the COVID-19 crisis., According to a market research firm Nielsen, US sales of alcoholic beverages rose 55% in the week ending 21 March 2020 compared with the same period last year. Online alcohol sales jumped 243%.

Multiple cases of COVID-19-related suicides in the USA, UK, Italy, Germany, Bangladesh, India and other countries have been reported in mass media and psychiatric literature. For example, a 19-year-old waitress in England died in a hospital after a suicide attempt because of fears of the 'mental health impacts' of isolation. A 66-year-old man with throat cancer hanged himself in a New York City hospital after testing positive for the coronavirus. A man in Illinois who feared that he and his girlfriend contracted the coronavirus fatally shot his girlfriend and then killed himself. They tested negative for the coronavirus. A 36-year-old Bangladeshi man killed himself because he and people in his village thought that he was infected with COVID-19 because he had fever and cold symptoms. A postmortem examination showed that he did not have COVID-19. The 49-year-old head of the Emergency Department in a New York City hospital died by suicide after telling her family about the tremendous suffering and death she witnessed while taking care of coronavirus patients. Also, there is a huge increase of calls to suicide prevention hotlines in the USA during the current COVID-19 epidemic.

In summary, studies indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with distress, anxiety, fear of contagion, depression and insomnia in the general population. Health care professionals are especially distressed.

Suicidal behavior in the COVID-19 era

Social isolation, anxiety, fear of contagion, uncertainty, chronic stress and economic difficulties may lead to the development or exacerbation of stress-related disorders and suicidality in vulnerable populations including individuals with pre-existing psychiatric disorders, low-resilient persons, individuals who reside in high COVID-19 prevalence areas and people who have a family member or a friend who has died of COVID-19 ( Figure 1)., Individuals with pre-existing psychiatric disorders include not only patients who are treated by mental health professionals but also a very large number of people with psychiatric conditions who do not receive psychiatric treatment., For example, an international study that included the data from countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia showed that the median untreated rates for schizophrenia, major depression and alcohol use disorder were 32.2%, 56.3% and 78.1%, respectively. Community epidemiological research in the USA shows that a majority of individuals with mood disorders are either untreated or undertreated.

Social isolation contributes to the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders and suicidal behavior., In his famous book on suicide, Durkheim emphasized that social connectedness is a critical factor in emotional health and social stability. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing as well as other research investigations demonstrated that social isolation and loneliness are associated with major depression and generalized anxiety disorder., Studies have shown that both objective social isolation (e.g. living alone) and subjective sense of being alone are associated with suicidal ideation and behavior. These observations are consistent across diverse cultures and populations. For example, the Quebec Health Survey showed that living alone and having no friends were associated with both suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Social disengagement played a role in the increased suicide rate during the 2003 SARS epidemic in Hong Kong. One-third of SARS-related suicide victims experienced social isolation during the SARS outbreak. From a suicide prevention perspective, it is troubling that the most important public health approach for the COVID-19 epidemic is social distancing.

Anxiety and fear of contagion during the COVID-19 crisis may be related to uncertainty, fear of unknown and panic-inducing stories in traditional and social media., Repeated exposure to reports about the COVID crisis can intensify anxiety. Worries and fears cause various mental and physical symptoms and may lead to the development of anxiety disorders, depression and sleep disorders. Studies suggest that the relationships between insomnia and depression and insomnia and anxiety are bidirectional. Sleeplessness contributes to symptoms of depression and anxiety and contrariwise, symptoms of depression and anxiety disturb sleep. Sleep disturbances are a stand-alone risk factor for suicidal behavior.

Uncertainty, especially economic uncertainty is associated with stress-related disorders and suicide.,,, It has been shown that uncertainty is a more stressful state to be in than really knowing something bad will happen. Uncertainty is associated with depression and anxiety. In one research investigation, daily suicide data from England and Wales were matched to a daily economic policy uncertainty index over the period 2001-15. The authors found that a spike in daily economic uncertainty lead to an immediate impact on suicides which suggest that economic uncertainty may lead to an increase in the risk of suicide.

The impact of economic problems related to the COVID-19 crisis on mental health may be severe. Millions of people around the world lost their jobs.,, Measures required to contain the virus, including self-isolation by workers and consumers, shutting of plants and stores and prohibitions on sports and entertainment events are detrimental for economy. Historically, economic downturns were associated with mental health disorders and suicides. Studies observed that increases in the unemployment rate were associated with higher prevalence of depression, alcohol and other substance use disorders and suicide deaths. Both perceived job insecurity and unemployment constitute significant risks of increased depressive symptoms in prospective observational studies. In the USA, suicides increased during the Great Depression. Suicide mortality peaked with unemployment, in the most recessionary years, 1921, 1932 and 1938. Suicide rates also increased in other countries during the Great Depression. For example, Varnik reported a rise in suicide death in Estonia in the early 1930s. Reeves et al. observed that almost all European countries have experienced rising suicide rates during the 2008-10 recession. The authors estimated that, in total, there were at least 10 000 more economic suicides during the recession in the European Union, Canada and the USA than would have been expected. Economic decline during and after the COVID-19 pandemic will probably have a powerful and harmful effect on mental health and result in an increase in the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and suicidal behavior. It is important to note that financial problems may reduce access to psychiatric treatment.

There is a high probability that the COVID-19 survivors especially survivors who had severe COVID-19 are at elevated suicide risk. Stressful experiences such as learning about the diagnosis of COVID-19, fear of infecting others, symptoms of the illness, hospitalization, especially admission to an intensive care unit, and loss of income may lead to the development of anxiety, depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder., A recent study in China indicated that 96.2% of recovering COVID-19 patients had significant posttraumatic stress symptoms. Around 50% of recovered patients remained anxious after the 2003 SARS epidemic in Hong Kong. COVID-19 infection is associated with neurological conditions including acute ischemic stroke, headache, dizziness, ataxia and seizures. A recent review of the impact of the COVID on the brain show that neurological conditions are present in about 25% of the COVID-19 patients. Many recovering COVID patients have physical symptoms including pain for a long time. Neurological disorders such as ischemic stroke, headache and seizures are associated with suicidal behavior. Physical symptoms, especially pain also increase suicide risk.,

Psychiatric conditions including mood, anxiety, sleep and substance use disorders are associated with suicidal behavior. Studies in the USA suggest that >90% of suicide victims have a psychiatric disorder., For example, depression is a major risk factor for suicide, accounting for up to 60% of suicide deaths. Mental health consequences of the COVID-19 crisis including suicidal behavior are likely to be present for a long time and peak later than the actual pandemic.

There is a high probability that suicide rates will increase in many countries of the world. This problem may be especially difficult in the US. Suicide rates have been steadily growing in the USA over the last two decades. From 1999 through 2017, the age-adjusted suicide rate in the USA grew 33% from 10.5 to 14.0 per 100 000. For women, the rate grew 53% from 4.0 in 1999 to 6.1 in 2017. For men, the rate grew 26% from 17.8 in 1999 to 22.4 in 2017. If suicide rates increase in the USA, it will add to the trend of rising national rates of suicide. An increase in suicide rates may become a significant public health issue in other countries.

Suicide prevention in the COVID-19 era

In 1994, the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine) Committee on Prevention of Mental Disorders suggested that prevention of psychiatric conditions should be divided into three categories: universal preventive interventions, selective preventive interventions and indicated preventive interventions., Suicide prevention efforts during the COVID-19 crisis can also classified as either universal, selective or indicated.

A universal approach is designed for everyone in the general population regardless of their risk for suicide. To reduce suicides during the COVID-19 crisis it is imperative to decrease stress, anxiety, fears and loneliness in the general population. There should be traditional and social media campaigns to promote mental health and reduce distress. People need to be encouraged to stay connected and maintain relationships by telephone or video, get enough sleep, eat healthy food and exercise. It is vital to deliver community support for those living alone and to encourage families and friends to check in. Screenings for anxiety, depression and suicidal feelings ought to be employed. Transparent, timely and responsible media reporting is absolutely necessary. Community or organizational gatekeepers including clergy, first responders, pharmacists, geriatric caregivers and school employees may have an opportunity to identify individuals at risk for suicide and direct them to proper evaluation and treatment. Suicide prevention helplines should be available and may be very useful in preventing suicides. Integration of basic mental health services into outpatient primary care may help to minimize the harmful psychological effects of the COVID-19 crisis. Whenever possible, governments and non-governmental organizations should provide financial support for people in needs. This may include direct cash payments, postponement of loan repayments, tax credits etc.

A selective approach is for subgroups at increased risk for suicide, for example, for individuals with a history of psychiatric disorders, persons with symptoms of significant emotional distress, COVID-19 survivors, frontline health care professionals and elderly people. Active outreach is necessary, especially for people with a history of psychiatric disorders, COVID-19 survivors and older adults. People with psychiatric disorders should be advised to continue their treatment regimens and to stay in touch with their mental health professionals. Some psychiatric patients may need adjustments in their treatment and increased frequency of contact with their mental health clinicians. Telemedicine can improve accessibility of mental health care. Also, vulnerable individuals should be advised to limit watching, reading or listening to traditional and social media news stories.

An indicated approach is designed for individuals who have a risk factor or condition that puts them at very high risk for suicide, e.g. a recent suicide attempt. Individuals in suicidal crises need special attention. Some suicidal persons might not seek help because of fear that attending face-to-face appointments with a health care professional might put them at risk of contracting COVID-19 or because of other reasons. Therefore, individuals with a recent suicide attempt history need a follow-up. Clinicians should have well-defined guidelines on how to deal with suicidal individuals.

Suicide prevention in the COVID-19 era is an important and difficult issue. Research studies are needed of how mental health consequences can be mitigated during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. It is to be hoped that the efforts of clinicians, researchers and policy makers will reduce COVID-19 related suicides.

Conflict of interest. None declared.

References

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impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide rates

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Multiple lines of evidence indicate that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has profound psychological and social effects. The psychological sequelae of the pandemic will probably persist for months and years to come. Studies indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with distress, anxiety, fear of contagion, depression and insomnia in the general population and among healthcare professionals.

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The increasing number of mental health problems and suicidal behaviors

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The increasing number of mental health problems and suicidal behaviors

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Besides restrictions in social life and living with a virus that is unpredictable where and when it will affect whom, many lost their jobs and businesses. Due to these conditions, mental health problems, substance use, and suicidal behaviors have been increasing. Not only losing their jobs, but also being exposed to the virus, some jobs are more at risk. This post represents who was impacted more.

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The risk levels of various jobs were calculated using O*NET, a database maintained by the Department of Labor that describes various physical aspects of different occupations. The database assigns dozens of scores to each occupation for things like how often a telephone is used to how often a job requires you to bend your body. (Housekeepers rank highest in this metric.)

As virus cases have grown, many businesses have begun closing offices and stores, and sending workers home to help slow the spread. While many companies have emergency leave policies in place to help protect their employees, there are large portions of the population that have few protections. On Saturday, legislators passed a relief package that includes paid sick leave for workers affected by the coronavirus. But the benefits only apply to employees of companies with fewer than 500 employees, leaving millions of workers uncovered.

For some workers - especially those in low-paying jobs - being furloughed could mean layoffs. In the Seattle area, one small catering company was forced to let go nearly all its employees because of cancellations from big tech clients.

A growing number of companies have also been asking employees to do their jobs from home. But that arrangement is largely available only to white-collar workers. For many occupations, working from home is simply not feasible, including those who are on the front lines of the response and those who are on the lower end of the economic scale.

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The Workers Who Face the Greatest Coronavirus Risk

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The risk levels of various jobs were calculated using O*NET, a database maintained by the Department of Labor that describes various physical aspects of different occupations. The database assigns dozens of scores to each occupation for things like how often a telephone is used to how often a job requires you to bend your body.

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Due to closing schools and moving education online, students also were impacted by these difficulties. 70% of 18 to 24-year-olds feel anxious about the future more often than normal. Since the life is digitalized, an online overload is inevitable for particularly students. This post reveals some possible outcomes of this unknown situation and offers help.

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With an increased reliance on digital technology, students are having to address new mental health challenges and avoid online overload.

We define digital wellbeing as the impact of technologies and digital services on people's mental, physical and emotional health.

"The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically changed students' day-to-day lives," says the Office for Students (OfS) briefing note on supporting student mental health, published on 30 April 2020.

With most teaching moved online, assessments cancelled or delayed, and many students having to move out of campus housing, the landscape in higher education () and further education () has changed in previously-unthought-of ways in mere months.

Because of these mammoth changes, supporting mental health and wellbeing for students has risen to the top of the agenda for many institutions. In fact, a 15 May 2020 ssurvey from the Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH) finds that 70% of 18 to 24-year-olds feel anxious about the future more often than normal, compared with 47% of over-75s.

So, what can universities and colleges do to support learners during this stressful period?

"Clear, accessible and timely" digital communications

Maintaining communications on essential services such as arrangements for teaching and learning, changes to assessments, and adjustments to accommodation costs, is all part of supporting student wellbeing, the OfS says, adding that these communications need to be "clear, accessible and timely".

In fact, many students are relying on regular communication from their institution in order to feel connected. Kelly Housby, a student at Keele University, says she has been comforted by messages from the chancellor, head of school and others. Although at times the messages have expressed uncertainty in the face of the current situation, Kelly says:

"I think everyone I have spoken to is glad to get daily communications, to keep in contact, and there is some comfort that others reflect back their own uncertainty as we all pull together to get through this."

Access to a variety of communication tools is better than at any other time in history, says Chris Thomson, digital practice specialist at Jisc, but sometimes such tools can be a double-edged sword.

"There is a real risk of overwhelming people with too much information,"

he says, and in order to make sure there aren't too many methods of communication, the importance of the message should be a key consideration.

Does it need to go out immediately? Can it be communicated in a more effective way? What response are you expecting? These are all questions to ask before sending out messaging, says Chris.

"Consider what other streams of information people are dealing with at the same time,"

he adds.

"There will be important work- and study-related comms, but equally as important, family connections, too, especially as people are not able to physically visit loved ones."

Understand capabilities

Chris continues:

"I think those responsible for digital comms, whether they're teaching or professional services staff, need to think about what context students are operating in."

As well as life circumstances, such as childcare or other responsibilities, it's worth also considering availability of devices and connectivity to students, as well as their differing levels of digital capability and skills.

"Be aware of which platforms students and staff are required to use,"

adds Chris.

Is it already familiar? Is it easily accessible? Does it require the disclosure a lot of personal data to interact with it?

Rozanna Piddington, a student at the University of Bedfordshire, says that being expected to learn to use new digital platforms right now is just too much, when she is "already feeling so overwhelmed by the amount of work expected in this unprecedented time".

But physical access is also an issue. With many examinations and assessments moving online, Kelly Housby says:

"It's also important not to assume that students have the hardware or internet access that is necessary to receive important messages, support or training."

And even for those who are able to engage with online learning, she thinks it's important not to assume this is easy. She says:

"In the normal course of a degree, there will be some students who engage little with online learning and have rudimentary knowledge of virtual learning environments and online databases.

Now more than ever, these students will need technological support through any channels possible, from YouTube walkthroughs to instructive emails to personal tutor phone calls."

Help students with facing the unknown

As well as ongoing academic and access struggles, students in both and are having to deal with new levels of uncertainty, which is also causing anxiety for many.

Brad Miller, a student at Ravensbourne University London, has been both an and learner at the university, and explains how learners in both sectors are keen to know what effect the pandemic will have on their courses. He explains:

"With more questions being raised by students about the impact this lockdown will have on their qualification and mental health, the need to talk is necessary more than ever before."

Keeping in touch with students to make sure that their questions and concerns are addressed is more important now than ever, Brad adds:

"Right now universities and colleges need the student perspective as courses and health are affected."

Dealing with the pragmatic challenges of the pandemic and resulting lockdown are also adding to student stresses, says Kelly Housby, and echoes the OfS call to maintain informative communication:

"Any messages from universities offering understanding and a willingness to be flexible will be most welcome to students at this time, especially because, understandably, students are suffering higher levels of uncertainty leading to stress and anxiety."

But not all students will respond in the same way to the pandemic, or indeed to the digital technology thrust upon them, and noting these differences between students' reactions to the pandemic is essential.

A recent survey from the National Union of Students () 1 reports that: "students appear to have a moderate fear of contracting coronavirus, with nearly half feeling somewhat scared that they will contract coronavirus and a further 15 per cent very scared."

However, these fears vary between different groups, the report shows, saying: "FE students, those aged 16-17 and males are significantly less likely to feel scared. In contrast, females, those aged 50+ and students in Northern Ireland are significantly more likely to feel scared."

Here is where a personal approach to students' needs is needed. Rozanna says that human contact - even via digital tools - would help allay her anxiety:

"For me, the basic need at the moment is to feel that I am on the right track and progressing. Having a personal academic tutor (PAT) or dissertation supervisor check in on me would be ideal.

Just to check in to make sure I am progressing and to offer any support, whether this be signposting to another service or recommendations to plan for this unusual time."

Moving forward

One possible silver lining to emerge from this situation could be that a new relationship with technology could lead to some positive outcomes, says Chris Thomson.

"If this transition to a greater online presence is managed well," he says, "it could have a really big impact on people's work-life balance in the future."

Kelly Housby also notes that an increased flexibility in learning environments could be a positive outcome of recent forced changes. She says:

"For some in lockdown, an online learning schedule, digital activities, and online lectures and seminars will be a welcome distraction from the pandemic.

For other students, challenges in focus, concentration, energy levels, organisation and fear will make online learning a cause of anxiety. Again, flexibility from universities will be hugely appreciated."

Another potential positive is the general focus that has been placed on mental health and wellbeing during lockdown, says Brad Miller:

"On the upside, in a devastating situation the fact that mental health and wellbeing is so widely discussed online of late is empowering. It's reassuring to witness people really listening to each other."

You can download briefing papers on digital wellbeing for both senior leaders and practitioners from the building digital capability service website.
Mental Health Awareness Week takes place in the UK between 18-24 May 2020. Join the conversation on social media using #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek.

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Towards happy and healthy students: digital wellbeing and COVID-19

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With an increased reliance on digital technology, students are having to address new mental health challenges and avoid online overload. We define digital wellbeing as the impact of technologies and digital services on people's mental, physical and emotional health.

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Maintaining a healthy life has been a struggle for many, since January. All of a sudden a lock-down was ordered. Along with the increasing deaths, the number of conspiracy theorists have been increasing. Hence, approaching everyday life with suspicion, reading or watching those theories do not help anybody who are already struggling and #stayhome to #staysafe as much as they can. Decreasing happiness and increasing suicidal behaviors alarmed the big health organizations and they published tips and strategies to stay sane over the pandemic. Here are some tips from the CDC.