By KRISTI ZALINKA
Contributing Writer
We all know that everyone experiences happiness differently. While positive psychology researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky describes happiness as “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile,” this definition can mean a lot of different things.
With this being a basic definition of happiness, it goes without saying that each person’s happiness is subjective, as each of us find joy in different areas.
Because there is a wide variety of ways to experience happiness based on the simple description by Lyubomirsky, why has the world’s level of happiness plummeted?
According to a Gallup article titled “World Took a Negative Turn in 2017”, the worlds’ negativity level rose significantly. Last year, Gallup’s Negative Experience Index measured that all negative emotions/experiences included in the index — with the exception of anger — have risen.
The index measures experiences of stress, anger, physical pain, sadness, and worry.The overall measure of these variables reached 30, the highest it’s been in 10 years.
General worry and levels of stress each increased by two percentage points compared to the previous year and both physical pain and sadness each increased by one point.
To further the perspective of these numbers, nearly 40 percent of people reported experiencing a lot of stress, and just over 30 percent reported experiencing physical pain.
This trended on Twitter, with a tweet from “TicToc by Bloomberg” stating, “We’re more sad, stressed, and worried than in a long time. Well, at least since 2006, when Gallup started tracking this. The ‘Negative Experience Index’ hit a record level of 30. Nearly half of Americans said they were stressed.”
Out of 146 countries included in the survey, the Central African Republic (CAR) was found to be the most negative country in the world with a high score of 61. Prior to this, Iraq was the country that rated highest on the Negative Experience Index with a score of 59. This was due to the country being in crisis, with a widespread presence of armed forces and thousands of people being forced from their homes.
These issues even prohibited the polling organization from interviewing roughly 40% of the CAR’s population. Widespread issues with healthcare and food are said to be the causes of this increase in negativity. It is also suggested that world leaders pay more attention to this problem and the citizens of the countries experiencing these problems.
The New York Times also discussed the numbers obtained by the Gallup poll. In terms of positive experiences, the poll found that there has been little variation since 2006. Positivity is measured with the variables of “feeling joy, feeling rested, feeling respected, smiling or laughing a lot, and learning or doing something interesting.” At least 70 percent of those interviewed stated that they felt all of the variables listed the day before, with the exception of learning or doing something interesting. Latin America was reported to have the most positive experiences, as such with recent years.
The New York Times article stated that country of origin was a predictor of positive and negative experiences, which gives the suggestion that culture is a factor in “how individuals experience their world,” according to Gallup.
Geographical location seems to be a big factor when it comes to rating positive and negative experiences. Though I think primarily from an individualistic perspective, I found it quite interesting (and saddening) to learn that the Central African Republic is experiencing so much negativity to the point where it affects the lives of its citizens every single day.
While on a much lesser scale, it wouldn’t surprise me if tensions within the United States have also contributed to the decrease in our own happiness level, given our current state. The divide is thickening, student debt is astronomical, and it is only getting more expensive to survive. These aspects have most certainly contributed to the decrease in happiness.
When thinking about geographical and cultural issues paired with the possible existence of personal mental health issues, it is no wonder that world happiness is at its lowest. Because I tend to think mostly from the perspective of the individual, my first thought while learning the contributing factors to the decrease in happiness was mental health.
Issues such as depression and anxiety are on the rise all over the world, and the negativity increasing is likely to either make existing issues worse or create issues that were not there to begin with.
From my own perspective as a graduate student, a decrease in global happiness is not much of a surprise. I certainly find myself stressed constantly about how I’m going to pay back all of my student loans and find a job after completing my program.
I graduated from Saint Rose last year with my Bachelor’s in psychology, but decided to take a year off from school. Work was my main focus, and getting a taste of the “real world” was definitely a struggle. I know thousands of other recent graduates are in the same boat, regardless if they decided to further their education or not.
The results of the Gallup poll were not surprising to me, but I do believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel, even though it may take some time to be seen. Because happiness is certainly subjective, Lyubomirsky’s definition of happiness leaves room for us to experience joy and positivity in the small things, even when it seems like the world is caving in on us.
