Happiness is an U curve according to some research.
As death approaches, happiness increases.
It’s true, suicidal people have a strange phenomenon where they seem happy for a short time, because they know they don’t have to worry about their lives anymore, just before they take them
That was 13 years ago, I’m also curious how much that relates to world events vs age
I don’t know about others, but as I grow older and realise I have progressively less time left, I grow less patient of other people’s bullshit. Some people may consider it a symptom of diminished happiness, but it’s more a degradation of my social filters.
the older you get, the more health problems you have, and let me tell you, health problems can make you involuntarily unhappy.
This study https://www.spring.org.uk/2024/12/age-most-depressed.php shows people getting more miserable towards middle age, then getting happier. The happiness graph makes a smile shape of course.
I wonder how the happiness in old age is seperated by wealth. like those on public assitance in homes compared to those with enough wealth to stay in their homes till death.
I thought I saw something about income increasing happiness but only up to a certain level (and then saw more studies that disagreed), i always thought it’s probably more correlated in Western countries where status and income are almost synonymous.
We present evidence that psychological well-being is U-shaped through life. A difficulty with research on this issue is that there are likely to be omitted cohort effects (earlier generations may have been born in, say, particularly good or bad times). First, using data on 500,000 randomly sampled Americans and West Europeans, the paper designs a test that can control for cohort effects. Holding other factors constant, we show that a typical individual’s happiness reaches its minimum - on both sides of the Atlantic and for both males and females - in middle age. Second, evidence is provided for the existence of a similar U-shape through the life-course in East European, Latin American and Asian nations. Third, a U-shape in age is found in separate well-being regression equations in 72 developed and developing nations. Fourth, using measures that are closer to psychiatric scores, we document a comparable well-being curve across the life cycle in 2 other data sets (1) in GHQ-N6 mental health levels among a sample of 16,000 Europeans, and (2) in reported depression-and-anxiety levels among 1 million UK citizens. Fifth, we discuss some apparent exceptions, particularly in developing nations, to the U-shape. Sixth, we note that American male birth-cohorts seem to have become progressively less content with their lives. Our results are based on regression equations in which other influences, such as demographic variables and income, are held constant.
I dont’ think its status as much as a decent basic necessitites thing along with security. If you have the money to live in a decent, clean, healthy environment with food and knowing health needs or such will be met and then further know that will be the case until you die. Then its much easier to be happy. I get the studies though but im always suspect. Like how much of the U is specific to a sorta point in time and is it eroding for people getting to those ages.
I’d take it further to say having enough income for a reasonable number of desires also increases happiness.
But this is harder because you’re more miserable if you can’t moderate or your desires outgrow your resources or it turns into greed
We’re all familiar with happy to have the freedom to buy x but the emptiness of chronic shopping
certainly. Im in a zero disposable income situation and it drives me crazy the little things I have to forgo that while not strictly necessary are niceties or conveniences.
Under late-stage capitalism, yes.
Aged 32, finding each year more enjoyable as I grow into a career and have more disposable income
Until the current generation, happiness was generally a u-shaped curve, with happiness going down around their early 20’s and coming back up around the 60’s.
Gen Alpha doesn’t seem to have a happy childhood.
Gen Alpha doesn’t seem to have a happy childhood.
In some regions, yes. But not everywhere. They mostly seem happy to me
For parts of the world with data going back to boomers and earlier, there is a quantitative slide.
The older i got, the happier i became. Despite physical aches and decline. Mentally, i’m much stronger now. And i don’t care should people not really like me, or have whatever opinions about me. Also, being kind to others makes you happier.
I am not. My life is progressively happier since my early 20s and really starting getting better at 35+ when I started focusing on myself and excluding more friends/partners who were dragging me down.
But everyone around me is getting more miserable, old or young. And I hate it and I hate them for it.
Increasingly I just detest socialization, because all it is is me listening to other people complain, and them telling I’m a jerk for being happy when the aren’t. All weekend I had to listen to people whine about their bodies, whine about their kids/spouses, and then brag about how rich they are and then lecture me how ignorant and stupid I am for not being as rich as they are.
I feel you. I have felt myself become more capable as I age. I used to fantasize over having a redo of my youth and young adult years but I’m happy with who I am and what I have become. We aren’t rich, but we love each other and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
Jeez man, sounds like more pruning of people is needed.
In general, yes.
From my anecdotal perspective, it seems to me like lots of people around me stopped prioritizing their own interests and needs in their late 20s.
I did not.
I enjoy the life I’ve built.
They, apparently, do not.
YMMV
Not in my case - I’m 73 and despite physical challenges I’m happier than I’ve ever been. What makes me happy is having wonderful friends, plenty of interests and all my marbles.
I look back on my anxious 20-something self with pity. Why was I so bloody worried what everyone would think of me?
Not necessarily, but for the last couple decades the world has been getting progressively shittier, so it might feel that way, especially when you have chronic depression due to the world getting progressively shittier.
(Also the people you care about get older and sicker, and will eventually die, and you can’t really do much about that, which isn’t particularly fun either. It all builds up into the chronic depression.)
I am more content with who i am now but I am also quite restless and I’m finding it difficult to connect to people
Idk, am 43 and more happy with each year that goes by
🌻
Very much no, it’s easier to be happy when you’re older if you do the work to be happy in general. Being happy and naive to your surroundings isn’t the same as being aware of your situation and confident in yourself.
