Are we really happy?

This is a post about the myth behind the happiest country in the world: Finland.

Once again, Finland has been declared the happiest country in the world, based on the low corruption, working healthcare, the way our government dealt with COVID-19, welfare, and so on.

With 74,2% of the territory covered in forest, it's not difficult to understand that Finns are literally surrounded by nature, and the woods are the places where they find refuge. Finns are not social animals or not as much as people in other countries could be. It's a very individualistic society, which brings people to keep their distances from each other even without the risk posed by the pandemic

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People in Finland do not enjoy being close to other people, particularly if they are not close family members. It wasn't any action taken by the government the reason behind the low contagion; it's because of the Finns' way of living. To be honest, our government received many criticisms for its clumsy way of dealing with the pandemic. Loneliness, darkness, long winters bring two problems every year, suicide and chronic depression. 715 people suicide yearly. In 2018, over 6000 people between the age of 16 -24  were declared unfit for work because of chronic depression (and this is not taking into account those who suffer from depression in older age). 

Their number is destined to grow.

Natality has also reached a screeching halt, people don't see life as something worth giving, and the uncertainties seem to bring people to that decision. It's not an economic problem to stop Finns from having children; it's the fear of having them dying by suicide or falling into the spiral of depression and alcoholism or drug abuse.

Now to the question, are we, the Finns, really happy? And why are we?

Happiness is a weird concept and changes meaning depending on who you ask. Finns are indeed happy because they can connect to nature around them. They know that after a long, dark winter comes the summer, and with the changes of seasons, the forest offers food for the body and the spirit, and Finns rely on that healing power, despite the statistics. They also have been taught since a young age not to complain and see the positive things in life. If you can't find them, then it's time to work harder to get them. They trust law enforcement and governmental institutions, and so far, their trust met very few disappointments. This is the reason why, when you ask a Finn: are you happy? Even if the world is collapsing, they will answer yes.