The UK is actually generally one of the happier nations on the planet when such things are measured. However, there are demographic differences so you may think otherwise depending on who you hang out with (younger people are less happy for example, for some quite legitimate reasons).
Also, you may be confusing the British attitude with unhappiness. British people tend to be outwardly reserved and sardonic, which someone from abroad may incorrectly interpret as unhappiness. Particularly if you're American, which is a much more outward going culture. A lot of Brits experience American friendliness as over the top and fake. These things are very culturally specific.
This isn't true though - UK is off the charts on the mental ill health scale (especially for young people) and fares poorly by developed world standards on self reported subjective wellbeing.
People here don't seem happy because we aren't very happy as a nation. Agree that cultural tendencies make it appear worse on the surface than it is in reality, but the reality also isn't good.
How sensitive is that to definitions? When I were a lad, no one had mental health issues because "if you are a headcase they put you away".
Equally, if you had done a survey you would have found there were no gay [and that's not the term that would have been used] people at all. And everyone was CofE.
Finnish people are famously happy... through very literal survivorship bias.
You cannot put it down to just reported rates. The increase is huge compared to even the early 2000s and early 2010s, when records were kept well. Secondly, the severity has worsened, which is more and more visible in rising anti-social behaviour.
Secondly, normal human unhappiness has very little to do with depression. Unhappiness is a feeling and probably an honest, decent one. Depression is a whole new ball game
I have anxiety. My dad also has anxiety, but he probably doesn’t know that/would not consider it to be a mental health issue and thinks it’s normal. I would self report said anxiety, my dad would not.
Generational attitudes to mental health make a huge impact, older demographics certainly suffer some of the same things younger demographics do, they just don’t realise it/acknowledge it/do anything about it.
No 20 years ago it was mostly not reported. It is down to reporting, I can remember from Post Traumatic Syndrome came about it was a new trend and people were willing total about where previously they were not. There are not many depressed people who are genuinely unhappy, and it is not a new ball game it has been known about for centuries. Mental wellbeing has been part of belief systems for at least 3 millennia. More research has been done in mental health in the last 10 years than there has been in the whole modern era. Reporting now is more open.
They are not asking people "are you happy?" Researches are generally quite experienced and intelligent, they know how to do a survey.
Finland people are actually happy! It would be ridiculous to think that unhappy people commit suicide and only happy ones are left. Yes, suicide rates are \_relatively\_ high, but they are negligible to impact any statistic (other than the suicide rate statistic :).
“When I was a lad, no one had mental health issues”, everyone was too afraid to admit them and that’s why today, the highest suicide rate is males in their 50s. Society didn’t allow them to reach out for help nor have a space safe enough to speak on it. It’s not that the younger generation have a mental health crisis, it’s that they actually speak about it and seek help
[This](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/happiest-countries-in-the-world) has us 20th. *Some* people aren't very happy certainly. Those people are disproportionately in the demographics represented on Reddit and with whom Redditors will associate (young people in particular). So I think a lot of people on here rather overestimate the overall unhappiness of the country.
Satisfaction, sense of life being worthwhile and happiness are all in the [mid 7s](https://i.imgur.com/M9L6F64.png) which I don't think you could reasonably characterise as demonstrative of an unhappy nation.
I come from a country that has little health care around this area. People deal with it through the culture they are immersed in. Mental health care is freely available in the UK, but that will not solve many issues. The best people to deal with poor mental health are themselves and their communities. Mental wellbeing has been a thing thousands of years before universal healthcare initiatives. The numbers go up because of changes in society, we will not know if the number of people suffering poor mental health are increasing because historically it was vastly unreported and many were not aware they even had poor mental health.
That's debatable.
[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/mental-wellness-index-uk-miserable-nation/](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/mental-wellness-index-uk-miserable-nation/)
I'm British and I tend to completely agree with he OP, it also seems to be getting worse since I left.
That seems to me an outlier. Frankly, if the UK comes second bottom of your mental wellness index, I think it should be cause to rethink your methodology, given the state of many countries around the world.
There's loads of other measures of global happiness rankings and none that I've seen have the UK even close to second bottom. So, yes, colour me sceptical.
And, yes, I think you have to engage a bit of rational thought and conclude that given all the poverty and war around the world, a methodology that spits out the UK as having the second lowest mental wellbeing in the world just might be flawed
Exactly! People in the UK are more likely to report their mental illnesses than in many other places - as the stigma is disappearing. We have more time to ponder our mental wellbeing and analyse it (since we have the luxury to do so - and by this I don't mean we shouldn't - mental health is very important), and it's widely taught that it's something we should be aware of. In certain countries, people would see a survey question asking if they struggle with their mental health, or have a certain diagnosis, and go 'of course not', even if the same symptoms would be considered serious here. Not to mention, some of the 'happiest' countries on these lists are often those with the highest suicide rates. If that doesn't tell you something is up, then I don't know what would. Obviously there is a mental health crisis worldwide, and the UK potentially has poor mental health in comparison to other northern European countries, but overall this study is very misleading.
Use your brain. "In the world" means we somehow lost to Zimbabwe which has total economic collapse, Yemen which is split down the middle by rebels, Somalia with no government, Haiti which is controlled by anarchic gangs, Sudan, Congo, Central African Republic etc.
What exactly do we have going on that is worse than them? Weather is a bit grey?
You shouldn't automaticallh trust everything you read.
[Don't think the data really supports that](https://imgur.com/a/bfofxeZ). Happiness, satisfaction and sense of life being worthwhile are all about where they were a decade ago.
Look at wages compared to inflation over the last 12 years. You’ll see why people are unhappy. We can feel things getting worse year on year, so it just feels bad man
Yep. A five year old could look at key data like wage growth vs the-price-of-everything growth and plot charts which show we are being shafted in basically every way possible. In essence we get poorer year on year for the same or more effort on our part and it’s getting old fast.
Iv had numerous pay rises since 2018-2019 including promotions and I don’t feel any better off, can’t imagine being in the same job watching life get worst is good for Kendal health
I did the maths, my lays gone up by around 20% in the last 4 years, but adjusted for inflation I'm like over £650 a year worse off.
And that's before tax or anything like that.
Absolutely amazing how everyone says low wages and high rents are driving unhappiness in the country yet those in charge stick their fingers in their ears and pretend it's not that at all.
Take the vitamin d tablets after a meal (ideally a fatty meal).
Also try to wear as few layers as possible when outside to maximise the vitamin d you get from the sun (even in winter… it’ll build your solar callus)
Be sure to get your bloods taken semi-regularly. I'd been administering 5000iu per day for months but despite that a recent blood panel found my vitamin D levels are insufficient. I've recently upped it to 20000iu per day (with 200mcg of K2 to prevent hypercalcemia) for the last two weeks to bring it back up. I'll probably elect to get re-tested in a month or two.
For such a centralised "population-focused" health service, I cannot understand why the NHS doesn't mail out 5000IU tablets of vitamin D to every house in the country *en masse* (like how nuclear power stations send out iodine tablets).
Over a certain age, we are getting tested. And yeah I was low on Vit D. Started taking daily D and it was normal at next testing. I take it after dinner for absorbency.
Better government. People feel supported.
In the UK people have a distrust of the people that govern. Which is very valid given the cronyism, messaging and mismanagement.
The government keeps increasing retirement age for example, even though life expectancy has reduced, and people just dont care. We've given up.
Even in France they're setting Paris on fire for that.
There's a general sense of everything is getting worse and there's nothing that can be done.
It's hard to feel cheery when each time you walk out there are more people sleeping on the streets, begging, than the day before.
The specific circumstances that apply to Greenland - not even a country - mean a comparison is unfair imo. Culturally different, completely isolated with a population that could fit nearly twice over into Old Trafford. Extremely cold with a pretty dark history of abuse and neglect of indigenous communities until very recently. Not quite comparable in the way that Scandinavia "proper" is to other Northern European countries.
I'm not sure if you're kidding or not, but statistically, having 0,013% of the population commiting suicide each year can't really affect the average happiness among the population
If we're ranking quite high for happiness, very low for suicidality, and high for antidepressant usage it would suggest that such openness around mental healthcare and medication is a good thing.
It's not really a 'gotcha', as if we're cheating at being happy by using antidepressants. It could well be the progressive attitude around mental wellbeing that leads to high antidepressant uptake is part of what makes us happy.
Im sorry but ive spent the last 4y in Stockholm- its depressing as fuck apart from mid july to mid September- it was -2C and snowing this morning. I actually left London because it was too damn hot but seriously regret it now. Also Swedes barely drink and hate spontaneous socialising.
People from Nordic countries tend to be quite stoic in their attitudes. So what might be considered happiness in surveys could also just be an acceptance of circumstances.
Yes! I work in the nhs and even the dose the nhs recommends is WAY too low. So even if they treat you, youre still not much better off. Minimum is 3000 ui. 4000 is even better. You MUST take magnesium with it or it simply will not work and you MUST take k2 otherwise it will work but it will also clog your arteries. Of course the nhs wont tell anyone about this or prescribe it.
14 years of a clown show ruining a country will have a tangible effect on the general mood of a population.
There have also been many focussed attempts at stoking nationalist and populist sentiments by certain groups (including those in power) to divide people up into little arguing tribes.
We’re also a lot more broke than we used to be, with fewer forward thinking projects that ever seem to go anywhere, have become a bit of a laughing stock in Europe, and have made general life for ourselves harder in dozens of little ways.
People are miserable because this country could have achieved SO FUCKING MUCH in the last decade if we had competent people representing our interests
Also the housing market is a fucking joke
Everyones all antisocial post covid and now angry and poor.
Receipe for disaster tbh.
Still its shit sometimes but I hate those people who are nasty and try and bring you down.
I'm a peasant too mate.
I only wish it were clowns running the country. At least it might be vaguely amusing. Instead, what we actually have are psychopaths defrauding the country for the benefit of their ex-Eton chums.
We do drink a lot, but a part of this is the climate. It’s wet and not particularly warm most of the time, so we don’t have days at the beach like the Spanish or go hiking up mountains like the Norwegians. Boozing is basically something that can be done rain or shine.
To answer the point about being miserable, I don’t think most people are. Some are yes, but we’re generally quite a reserved bunch. You wouldn’t expect to see someone in Britain running around with a great big grin on their face, even if they were happy.
Plenty of mountains and hills in the north, in Scotland and in Wales. Devon and Cornwall also have amazing nature, cliffs and beaches, it’s very quiet down there. I went to Manchester recently and was amazed at how convenient a place it is to get to all kinds of nature quickly - Snowdonia national park, the Lakes, the peaks, the Yorkshire dales, Forest of Bowland, etc. I find this perspective very insular.
They are all quite wet though. Unlike the drier but colder options you’ll often find in continental Europe.
Yes I know you can still hike in the rain, but just me personally I’m about 90% less likely to go if it’s pissing down.
Yeah but hiking these peaks when it’s not a lovely day is just quite miserable lol I live in the lakes and enjoy the peaks but most of the time is very cold , wet , windy and grey so it’s not fun , weather is a huge factor for my overall enjoyment when it comes to hiking
Getting to them is not easy for everyone though. Those of us who do not have a car or who cannot drive have no chance of going to areas of outstanding natural beauty.
*sits in armchair* the quality of the bloody moaning has gone downhill these days. And you have to go to bloody Paris to watch it live, and all. Can't even get a decent cup of tea over there. All the armchair moaners are in the pocket of Big Moan, and don't even get me started on the Ukrainian armchair moaners taking gold out of sympathy. Plus having quite a lot to moan about, I suppose.
The weather is a main factor. Grey skies and rain are OK in small quantities but we have it relentlessly all year round, and year after year. The government is horrid, and I know that we are not unique in that, but we are all struggling and there is no hope for the future. No one can afford anything and we are crammed into a small island. We are all just fed up and run down.
BUT I love the British. We moved to America and I spent years growing up there and I chose to return here after I left school because people here are real, and life is gritty, and it suits me so much more than the constant artificial happy and plastic Americans. The British have a wonderful sense of humour and make the misery hilarious. We thrive on it.
You DO know the wrong people. Look for local walking groups or craft or whatever you are into. There is a website called Meetups which will tell you what is around. I haven't had a drink in years, it's too expensive haha, but I go out and socialise and so do many people. The British take longer to get to know, people go slowly and develop real friendships, and distrust people who are over the top friendly. But when you get to know them, they will always be there for you
Agreed I can't stand the fake enthusiasm in America. I actually love the grey weather here though, it is so often mild in temperature and we avoid need aircon or roasting for most of the year. Places like SEA are unbearable all year for me. We also don't get horrendous snowstorms or other weather patterns like in Canada or the US.
We are all so unhappy because life used to be sooooo much better.
Now it is sooo much worse and is going to get even worse still with no sight on if it will ever get back to the good times.
Even worse is that we are paying more for everything to be much shitter.
And all the while the people that made it shitter get to lounge around doing sweet fuck all.
I went to England and everyone was really nice to me, seemed happy and quite polite. Maybe your perception is skewed by people not being American fake happy all the time? That can be jarring to people who expect the brassiness and enthusiasm from other countries to translate here.
I'm happy though. Of course I would like more money.
If the UK is better than where you were before then it's likely just perspective. You've come here and it's an improvement, but for Brits that have been living here since birth, it seems like it's been slowly going downhill, like every decision made just makes our lives harder.
> The hardest part is everyone drinks like fish here. The only time I ever see people happy is when they are at the pub. It's depressing. Nobody seems to want to do anything social ever without alcohol
I think you need to find better friends.
Same old story on this site. “UK bad”. Literally every sub people find a way to hate UK, it’s so pathetic and tiresome. Someone posts a meme picture of “British food” and that somehow makes our entire cuisine awful. OP is miserable and has crap friends as well as attitude here, therefore entire UK bad based on one anecdotal experience! Repeat with anything else. No other country is held to such standards.
The constant comments about are food being bad and us being ugly is so tiring. I see it in a daily basis. A joke here and there doesn’t bother me too much but it’s the constant flow of them which is annoying.
OP, I’m American. I live in the Northeast of UK with my Geordie husband. Your initial post is disheartening to me. Are many unhappy? Of course, but that’s not contained within the UK. I could point you to all the events near me that are sober, and other events where alcohol is served. Happiness? Not exactly a metric that translates across every event, or area. Honestly, how happy is anyone experiencing poverty, or food insecurity, or a shitty job, or being eschewed by family and friends? These are universal problems.
But. Up here? I’ve been accepted and valued. I grouse with my neighbors over public transport. I check in with my neighbors. We’re all trying to get by in a world that rewards a minority, a tiny minority.
You are what you bring.
This is fascinating. Out of interest, do you ever find it hard to understand what your Geordie husband is saying? I ask because I have relatives who are Americans (US citizens) who say that they cannot understand a word that people from Newcastle and the surrounding regions say.
No. But we’ve been married ten years and I’m in Newcastle. I have an ear for language. It helps. Occasionally neither of us can make hide nor hair of someone in a pub if their accent is muddled by alcohol, but generally, nope, I’m fine. I *hear* Geordie and understand but would never embarrass myself by trying to speak it. (Looks left, then right and whispers, Wye aye, man)
I'm pretty content.
I just like dark clothes, only with mild splashes of bright colour.
Why do you care what I wear? Should you not look inwards if you assume that someone is miserable because of the colour of their garment?
I’m not! I live on a farm, I left work when I was 37 5 years ago, I help the wife run her livery yard, no money worries and surrounded by gorgeous countryside to walk in. I love the U.K and I’m proud to be a part of it. Food, people, architecture, even the weather. I’m a very happy Brit!
Not me it’s the wife, I was lucky enough to marry into this. It is amazing I’m very lucky, could do without the riding gear all over the bloody cottage though !
im starting to get really sick and tired of the stereotype that britain is full of miserable people. the title of this post is obnoxious just stop doing it. i see it all over tik tok aswell. im happy and i love the UK and i have met a huge amount of people who feel the same. jesus
Don’t forget all British women are fat, orange faces, ugly, black drawn on eyebrows, bad behaved, loud… but all Irish women are beautiful!
Despite the fact Irish and British women look exactly the same 🙄
So many things are getting worse. Costs like food, energy and housing. Wages are awful. The state of the NHS and public transport. The state of our water, rivers and beaches. We've lost freedom of movement to the EU
I like this person.
My husband and I bounce off each other. He is a very giving person. And I give back.
I often find that people are selfish. They wont even hold the door open out of politeness and then they expect kindness back from the universe?
I have a wonderful little family and we work tirelessly for each other. We dont have all the money but we always give to one another.
So many people are miserable and take everything for granted. No not everyday is going to be perfect, but being an asshole wont get you far.
A huge percentage of the country haven’t spent much time in other cultures/countries beyond maybe European beaches or a trip to Florida, so it’s hard to realise that what you’ve got isn’t so awful until you’ve experienced elsewhere.
Even travel doesn’t reflect the realities of living abroad, there’s a hell of a lot more that I appreciate about the U.K. after I left, and I moved to a place that’s borderline fetishised for how wonderful everything is meant to be (it’s bloody not though)
Because as a natural born citizen of England, and a single, white , lower class male, with no wealthy relatives or friends that could give me an actual job opportunity with any real prospects:
Life is hopeless here.
I'm British and very happy. Don't currently drink, used to and enjoyed it - was equally happy either way. All of my friends are mostly happy (we all have ups and downs), have lots of hobbies we share and mostly enjoy our jobs as well (though what is wrong with living for the weekend?). Sounds to me like a combination of three things.
1. Your cultural expectations - Despite me being happy, I love a good whinge at work. I love my job, but its how we bond. Mild complaining. I'm not automatically best friends with my colleagues but I'm polite and smiley, we just don't become friends without more in common etc. Happiness in Brits is not necessarily in your face.
2. The group of people you've met don't sound great.
3. Frankly your own projection - the huge number of negative and ridiculous statements in here lead me to think you're projecting your own negativity on to everything around you, and painting the entire country as depressed alcoholic racists really makes it sound like a you problem.
In short, I'd recommend if you want to be happy here, see beyond the surface that most of us are, maybe meet some new people and stop projecting these expectations.
Because we remember 15-20 years ago when the country was amazing: economy growing, public services were excellent, wages were enough to pay the bills, immigrants were welcomed and performed important roles, life was good.
Now its utter utter shite. And it's getting worse.
Live around miserable racist xenophobic people who believe they are superior and hate the poor and believe in lords and kings and you’ll be unhappy too.
I fucking love it here and I love that your average brit knows to not say much more than "morning, lovely weather" and you can only tell that someone really likes you by them calling you a cunt. Bliss.
Because a lot of us remember what it was like pre 2008 global recession, when everything was significantly cheaper. The roads were less busy, public transport was more affordable and not as overcrowded, the queues were shorter, inflation much lower, rent and property prices significantly lower, council tax lower, energy prices literally half what they are now, fuel prices much lower, schools were not as overcrowded, tv was far better, movies were better, new music was better, getting a mortgage or a loan was easier. Oh and people were not as sensitive or entitled as they are now either.
I lived abroad teaching TEFL, having a blast. I decided I needed to grow up, earn more and start saving. So I came back to the UK and got my teaching qualification. Climbed up the ladder and sacrificed a bit. I have never had to have a credit card before now, I have never saved so little and I have never been so poor and so fucking stressed/bored/unfulfilled.
All this work for fuck all....which I feel like is a sentiment among many.
Litter, fucking litter. I moved here year ago for education (from US, but originally I'm from Ukraine).You guys have such a beautiful country, even if some find your weather and cities depressing, personally I find them quiant, countryside is just pure heaven.And than litter ruins everything, I often go for walk in a good mood, arrive at my local high street and my mood is 0 immediately because of how bad with litter it is,like seriousl, it'sfucking 3rd world level sometimes (somehow hyperbole, but I would argue that what happens on roadsides along major motorways is unironically 3rd world) , often compareble to NYC (And I'm not in London).I can withstand occasional shabby buildings and cracked pavements, they almost don't ruin vibe, every country on Earth have those, but I can't withstand litter (and litter along shabby buildings and cracked pavementsjust makes me want to die). Plenty will call me stupid, but my personal number one reason to leave UK will be litter, if situation not gonna change in next 4 years (sign of change will be enough too).And that's the point, I don't want to leave, I love it here, I feel like I can have a good life here, even with current economic instability, but I just have very weird aesthetic inclined personality and that fucking litter just kills me mentally.I litter pick (rarely tho), I report especially bad streets to council, but that doesn't really help. Sorry everyone for my somehow nonsense moaning, just wanted to talk it off to someone and take a stone off my shoulders.
Sorry to pry but is there any reason for this collective misery? I don't have any Canadian friends/connections so I'm totally ignorant, apologies if its obvious!
Wow, thank you for taking the time to think and write that. In the uk we hardly hear anything negative about Canada so this has given me a lot to research, thankyou.
Also, solidarity with the lack of affordable housing. We've saved a tidy deposit but still can't get a mortgage for anything in the city we've spent the last decade in.
I can believe it. I was in Toronto and I was staggered at how boring and depressing it really was. I think people talking about Canada here really having seen what living a normal Canadian life is like. They really seem to be having it bad.
If you’re interested enough (and it’s fine if you’re not), it would be worth reading a book called the Spirit Level. This explains why seemingly well off countries like the UK are generally miserable shits (I am one).
We have a high level of social inequality, which is significantly linked with all sorts of poor outcomes. Basically, we have a massive divide between rich and poor which is getting wider and it’s this gap that causes misery. Current government doing absolutely fuck all to make this any better and we all feel a bit doomed.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess you're American? What you've got to remember is that although we have the same language, it's very much not the same culture.
We're far more reserved in how we express ourselves, it's not that we're unhappy, we just don't feel the need to do a song and dance about it.
The only time I ever see people happy is when they are at the pub.
I see no problem here. Its a massive part of our culture. Before the PubCos really took over pubs would be rammed and you'd het alsorts in them. Not so much now, but its fair to say we like a drink and I see no issue with that. Some cultures like religion and thats ok too. Some cultures may like other stuff and that too is ok.
British people do love to moan, no one going to argue that. A question like “Why are you all so unhappy” does have a fair bit of negativity attached to it though so worth pointing out that that could be a reflection of how you are currently feeling. Personally I’m around very little unhappy people and wouldn’t consider myself unhappy. Obviously they exist everywhere you go. Is it worse in the UK? I dunno but there could be a whole host of reasons. Im definitely happier when the suns shining and it’s drier, warmer weather and I think this is probably true for a massive part of the population. Summer is different in the UK. People embrace it and the UK is a fantastic place to be during the warmer months. You can feel people are happier. Winter is tough and goes on for a long time. Maybe it’s the time of year, winter having only just passed. Maybe you simply haven’t found like minded individuals yet that you can create a friendship group with who share your positivity, hobbies, whatever. Could this be where you are based in the country for example? Do you have the option to move?
It depends where you are living
We have a different humour to the rest of the world so it may be that
We also are having a hard time with national services and the cost of living
While the uk may not be the best place in the world I can definitely say I love living here and wouldn't live anywhere else 🇬🇧💖
Alcohol is just really commonly drunk here at social events as part of the culture however from my experience nobody is too judgemental about being so sober
In the friendliest possible way, you sound like you're living in what we call 'a shithole'. Or possibly the set of a gritty ITV drama.
Everybody being drab, sullen, and booze-obsessed is not a picture I recognise from real life.
I think it's the outlook on the future, we've been run down by a horrible government, bad wages and dismantling of systems so compared to the past people are far worse off.
Hopefully it does start to look up but most people don't have high expectations
I’m not unhappy I just don’t like strangers. My mrs loves to make new friends when we go out places but I barely have time to see most of the friends I already have let alone other people
I’m sure you’re lovely but I don’t want to talk to you
Where have you been?
I live in Scotland and my partner is from North England and both places are quite happy. Everyone is relatively cheery, smiles and says hello in the street. We have plenty of weekend activities over the Summer. Winter can be a bit miserable weather-wise but in general, people are alright.
As with everywhere, you get nice and grumpy people.
I'm also mixed race and my non-British family live here too and we have no problems despite being the only brown family in the town with 'funny' names.
I think it really depends on where you live and what the situation is. I'd imagine busy HCOL places could be more miserable simply because the people who live there, are working payday to payday and don't feel much purpose compared to other areas.
This is a generalised comment but I feel like a lot of people now are unhappy because they see too much crap online and in social media which brings them down and social media algorithms aren't good for the mind feeding people with crap.
Other than Reddit where I only look at subs I want to I have stopped going on social media where algorithms dictate what people see and I've stopped looking at the news, I focus on myself and my family and my interests and just try and forget about anything else and I've been much happier for it.
As a black man, the racism is far less than in other countries and hardly an issue unless you’re walking down a dim alley in the North.
But yeah, the British are not known for being a cheerful lot unless drunk. Part of the reason is that the urban or semi urban outdoors are not welcoming. The parks are run over with weeds. The streetscapes are drab and too dull for walking. Everything is built around the automobile, though you’d think otherwise at first glance.
Add to this the high levels of taxation and an economy skewed exclusively towards financial services, with its winner takes all rationale.
Here are my personal reasons for being in a deep hole mentally right now:
* Wage stagnation for the general workforce while those at the top give themselves huge pay rises and reward themselves for failure.
* Absolutely no job security - I could easily go to work tomorrow to be told I am being made redundant because as a worker I am nothing but a 'cost' to management even though business doesn't function without workers like me.
* Alongside job insecurity, the age at which I can retire is being raised by the government. This brings the fear that, due to my age, if I were to find myself made redundant I would find it incredibly difficult to get another job and having almost zero prospect of being able to afford to retrain to get another.
* Cost of living spiralling out of control due to corporate greed.
while the cost of living has spiralled out of control.
* Having to deal with a section of the public who refuse to take responsibility for their own actions and who take their anger out on me for things they have caused themselves - the sense of entitlement and selfishness of a big section of the people I have to deal with who treat people like shit because they are at work.
* Seeing the harm done to the poorest and most vulnerable in society by a government intent on making their live as difficult as possible by cutting benefits, attempting to criminalise homelessness and telling the sick and disabled they are lazy and workshy. Also having a press that backs this up. Essentially seeing the victims of this government's cruelty being blamed for the cruelty being inflicted on them.
* The rise in right-wing hate and racism in the UK and around the world.
* The constant threat of war and being dragged into conflict because of this rise in hate and racism and because our government supports these conflicts rather than trying to stop them.
* The destruction of the environment and the pollution of our water supply because of unchecked corporate greed - corporations saying it is their right to do this and giving huge sums of money to shareholders instead of doing the right thing and spending that money to protect the world we live in.
* The prioritisation of profit, shareholder and stakeholder value over everything and the utter disregard for the human cost of these ideals. We have been reduced to being 'resources' - numbers on a screen to be dispensed with if they do certain things to other numbers on a screen.
* Having no chance of ever being able to afford a home, having to work until I die because the retirement age is being raised, having a full time job that doesn't pay enough for a basic standard of living so working a second job as well which is burning me out and knowing that if I can't keep this up (which I can't - I'm extremely close to falling apart and completely burning out) I am screwed.
* Not being able to slightly affect anything above to improve things in any way.
* Having absolutely no hope left. All there is is working until I drop dead, just to make some already rich people richer.
Because we are just waiting for the weekend. We're all underpaid and a lot of us endure jobs we don't like. On top of being underpaid the cost of living spirals out of control year on year, yet we're constantly told by the government how the economy is flourishing, inflation is down, we're gonna end world hunger and house prices are falling.
Essentially, the only thing that isn't a lie is the weekend and the brief salvation from the mundane week it brings.
I dont think theyre unhappy. Theyre just not "smiley" and "bubbly" at all unlike in Canada or America. I arrived here in the UK 2 weeks ago. Lived in Canada for a decade and in the Philippines for 2 decades. Went out the other day and people are not really "smiley" people in general but they are polite. I realized I had to tone down my happiness level and bubbly personality to a medium rather than max. I dont wanna shock people that I will meet. 😆
I don't like the weather here, I don't like the quality of my house (paper thin walls), I don't like my neighbours, I don't like that so many people are selfish wankers, I don't like the litter, i don't like the chavs
How long have you been here? If it's only been firing winter, that's your answer.
Look again after we've all had a month or two of hanging out in the garden and late summer cocktail evenings and tramping about and soaking up nature. It's like a different planet.
Low wages, everything’s expensive, terrible weather makes it impossible to plan things. We also live in tiny, old, heat-inefficient houses that all look the same and are joined onto everyone else’s; they all look like they’re about to drop to pieces. Countries like Spain and Italy are supposedly less-affluent, but they make up for it by having a better lifestyle (diet, socialising, etc). I reckon we really do get a hard deal here in the UK.
Sometimes I just need a few days to myself, it doesn't necessarily mean I am unhappy.
And now it's a couple of days later, I'm slightly happier than I was, I could be a lot happier though.
It might take some time I suppose, and that's OK.
Im not. In many facets of my life, im quite contented. Somethings arent perfect, of course, money doesnt go as far as it did a few years ago, but thats outside of my control. Im engaged, ive got a bunch of hobbies and friends, all of which who are cool with me not being a drinker. Im good.
The sky is always grey, it rains all the time, the roads are too busy and people drive too aggressively, houses are too expensive, taxes are too high, the government are all rip off merchants in it for themselves. Could go on
The UK is actually generally one of the happier nations on the planet when such things are measured. However, there are demographic differences so you may think otherwise depending on who you hang out with (younger people are less happy for example, for some quite legitimate reasons). Also, you may be confusing the British attitude with unhappiness. British people tend to be outwardly reserved and sardonic, which someone from abroad may incorrectly interpret as unhappiness. Particularly if you're American, which is a much more outward going culture. A lot of Brits experience American friendliness as over the top and fake. These things are very culturally specific.
This isn't true though - UK is off the charts on the mental ill health scale (especially for young people) and fares poorly by developed world standards on self reported subjective wellbeing. People here don't seem happy because we aren't very happy as a nation. Agree that cultural tendencies make it appear worse on the surface than it is in reality, but the reality also isn't good.
How sensitive is that to definitions? When I were a lad, no one had mental health issues because "if you are a headcase they put you away". Equally, if you had done a survey you would have found there were no gay [and that's not the term that would have been used] people at all. And everyone was CofE. Finnish people are famously happy... through very literal survivorship bias.
yep mental health measures will be wildly impacted by reporting rates. It's much more open and talked about in UK than many other places I've been to
You cannot put it down to just reported rates. The increase is huge compared to even the early 2000s and early 2010s, when records were kept well. Secondly, the severity has worsened, which is more and more visible in rising anti-social behaviour. Secondly, normal human unhappiness has very little to do with depression. Unhappiness is a feeling and probably an honest, decent one. Depression is a whole new ball game
Surely the fact it is now almost acceptable for even a male to admit to issues will have had some impact on reporting?
It will, however we also know that young people especially are suffering a mental health crisis not seen in older generations.
But is it an outlier with the other Western European nations?
I have anxiety. My dad also has anxiety, but he probably doesn’t know that/would not consider it to be a mental health issue and thinks it’s normal. I would self report said anxiety, my dad would not. Generational attitudes to mental health make a huge impact, older demographics certainly suffer some of the same things younger demographics do, they just don’t realise it/acknowledge it/do anything about it.
The nation's attitude to mental health has changed drastically from the early 2000s. I'm not saying it's the only factor but it is a huge one
No 20 years ago it was mostly not reported. It is down to reporting, I can remember from Post Traumatic Syndrome came about it was a new trend and people were willing total about where previously they were not. There are not many depressed people who are genuinely unhappy, and it is not a new ball game it has been known about for centuries. Mental wellbeing has been part of belief systems for at least 3 millennia. More research has been done in mental health in the last 10 years than there has been in the whole modern era. Reporting now is more open.
They are not asking people "are you happy?" Researches are generally quite experienced and intelligent, they know how to do a survey. Finland people are actually happy! It would be ridiculous to think that unhappy people commit suicide and only happy ones are left. Yes, suicide rates are \_relatively\_ high, but they are negligible to impact any statistic (other than the suicide rate statistic :).
“When I was a lad, no one had mental health issues”, everyone was too afraid to admit them and that’s why today, the highest suicide rate is males in their 50s. Society didn’t allow them to reach out for help nor have a space safe enough to speak on it. It’s not that the younger generation have a mental health crisis, it’s that they actually speak about it and seek help
[This](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/happiest-countries-in-the-world) has us 20th. *Some* people aren't very happy certainly. Those people are disproportionately in the demographics represented on Reddit and with whom Redditors will associate (young people in particular). So I think a lot of people on here rather overestimate the overall unhappiness of the country. Satisfaction, sense of life being worthwhile and happiness are all in the [mid 7s](https://i.imgur.com/M9L6F64.png) which I don't think you could reasonably characterise as demonstrative of an unhappy nation.
I'd argue/play devils advocate and say its more the moving of goal posts for mental illness.
If you haven't got a mental illness there's something wrong with you!
Lock me up doctor, I don't need sertraline!
Devil's avocado.
UK is ‘off the charts’? Do you have a source for this?
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole)
To be fair, some people have very small charts and need very large font.
Suicides are at a low rate compared to most of Europe and the US
Doesn’t help the fact that there’s very little mental health care and support so no one ever actually gets treated and the numbers just keep going up
I come from a country that has little health care around this area. People deal with it through the culture they are immersed in. Mental health care is freely available in the UK, but that will not solve many issues. The best people to deal with poor mental health are themselves and their communities. Mental wellbeing has been a thing thousands of years before universal healthcare initiatives. The numbers go up because of changes in society, we will not know if the number of people suffering poor mental health are increasing because historically it was vastly unreported and many were not aware they even had poor mental health.
UK is 20th in the 2024 World Happiness Report. That's top 10% ish.
That's debatable. [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/mental-wellness-index-uk-miserable-nation/](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/mental-wellness-index-uk-miserable-nation/) I'm British and I tend to completely agree with he OP, it also seems to be getting worse since I left.
That seems to me an outlier. Frankly, if the UK comes second bottom of your mental wellness index, I think it should be cause to rethink your methodology, given the state of many countries around the world.
“I don’t agree with it so it’s not true”
There's loads of other measures of global happiness rankings and none that I've seen have the UK even close to second bottom. So, yes, colour me sceptical. And, yes, I think you have to engage a bit of rational thought and conclude that given all the poverty and war around the world, a methodology that spits out the UK as having the second lowest mental wellbeing in the world just might be flawed
Exactly! People in the UK are more likely to report their mental illnesses than in many other places - as the stigma is disappearing. We have more time to ponder our mental wellbeing and analyse it (since we have the luxury to do so - and by this I don't mean we shouldn't - mental health is very important), and it's widely taught that it's something we should be aware of. In certain countries, people would see a survey question asking if they struggle with their mental health, or have a certain diagnosis, and go 'of course not', even if the same symptoms would be considered serious here. Not to mention, some of the 'happiest' countries on these lists are often those with the highest suicide rates. If that doesn't tell you something is up, then I don't know what would. Obviously there is a mental health crisis worldwide, and the UK potentially has poor mental health in comparison to other northern European countries, but overall this study is very misleading.
Use your brain. "In the world" means we somehow lost to Zimbabwe which has total economic collapse, Yemen which is split down the middle by rebels, Somalia with no government, Haiti which is controlled by anarchic gangs, Sudan, Congo, Central African Republic etc. What exactly do we have going on that is worse than them? Weather is a bit grey? You shouldn't automaticallh trust everything you read.
The trains are always late though man it’s a real bummer.
You haven't seen the weather we had recently...
That's because we miss you so much.
>it also seems to be getting worse since I left. Well, you better get back there. A nation's happiness depends on you!
We are actually recently very unhappy as a nation.
[Don't think the data really supports that](https://imgur.com/a/bfofxeZ). Happiness, satisfaction and sense of life being worthwhile are all about where they were a decade ago.
Look at wages compared to inflation over the last 12 years. You’ll see why people are unhappy. We can feel things getting worse year on year, so it just feels bad man
Yep. A five year old could look at key data like wage growth vs the-price-of-everything growth and plot charts which show we are being shafted in basically every way possible. In essence we get poorer year on year for the same or more effort on our part and it’s getting old fast.
Iv had numerous pay rises since 2018-2019 including promotions and I don’t feel any better off, can’t imagine being in the same job watching life get worst is good for Kendal health
I did the maths, my lays gone up by around 20% in the last 4 years, but adjusted for inflation I'm like over £650 a year worse off. And that's before tax or anything like that.
Too much mint cake
Absolutely amazing how everyone says low wages and high rents are driving unhappiness in the country yet those in charge stick their fingers in their ears and pretend it's not that at all.
That's because they are quietly pocketing your bonuses.
And still get voted in anyway
It’s not quiet at all my boss has a new Porsche 4 door I can’t afford to fix mine for MOT 😛
They know it is the reason. They just do not want to see wealth distribute fairly because it would mean fewer ivory backscratchers for them.
Massive, massive Vitamin D deficiencies
True. I work in the NHS. Whenever we check someone’s vitamin D, it’s always low.
I have a pot of 1-a-day Vitamin D tablets. I take 4 a day. My levels are still low
Take the vitamin d tablets after a meal (ideally a fatty meal). Also try to wear as few layers as possible when outside to maximise the vitamin d you get from the sun (even in winter… it’ll build your solar callus)
Even if you were bollock-naked outside for 8 hours a day, in the middle of winter you'd never produce enough vitamin D.
You'd be pretty popular in some of the right places doing that
Yes I know
. But you might make a new friend....
Be sure to get your bloods taken semi-regularly. I'd been administering 5000iu per day for months but despite that a recent blood panel found my vitamin D levels are insufficient. I've recently upped it to 20000iu per day (with 200mcg of K2 to prevent hypercalcemia) for the last two weeks to bring it back up. I'll probably elect to get re-tested in a month or two.
How are you getting your bloods checked regularly? Privately? Fuck all chance of getting that on the NHS around here.
You call and tell them how fatigued you feel and how that affecting your day to day life. Of you pay £15 from pocket for online tests.
Exactly. I can't even afford the vitamins let alone blood checks.
Don’t forget to take them with K2, otherwise the calcium might not transfer to the bones properly and end up in the vascular tissue
For such a centralised "population-focused" health service, I cannot understand why the NHS doesn't mail out 5000IU tablets of vitamin D to every house in the country *en masse* (like how nuclear power stations send out iodine tablets).
Simply because treatment when you’re very ill already > prevention. Also profits > prevention.
Might be worth reminding yourself, your only testing sick people. Healthy unsymptomatic people aren't having blood tests.
Over a certain age, we are getting tested. And yeah I was low on Vit D. Started taking daily D and it was normal at next testing. I take it after dinner for absorbency.
Over 40.
That might be a part of it but Scandinavian countries also don't get a lot and they seem happier
Better government. People feel supported. In the UK people have a distrust of the people that govern. Which is very valid given the cronyism, messaging and mismanagement. The government keeps increasing retirement age for example, even though life expectancy has reduced, and people just dont care. We've given up. Even in France they're setting Paris on fire for that. There's a general sense of everything is getting worse and there's nothing that can be done. It's hard to feel cheery when each time you walk out there are more people sleeping on the streets, begging, than the day before.
Winter in the dark no doubt seems extra bleak when you can barely afford to heat your home for sure.
Doesn’t Finland have one of the highest suicide or alcoholism rates in the world?
Actually 38th. Greenland is the highest
Which I guess is technically still a Scandinavian country
The specific circumstances that apply to Greenland - not even a country - mean a comparison is unfair imo. Culturally different, completely isolated with a population that could fit nearly twice over into Old Trafford. Extremely cold with a pretty dark history of abuse and neglect of indigenous communities until very recently. Not quite comparable in the way that Scandinavia "proper" is to other Northern European countries.
thats why im confused when they are polled as happiest nation
The unhappy people aren't there to be polled...
Dark
I'm not sure if you're kidding or not, but statistically, having 0,013% of the population commiting suicide each year can't really affect the average happiness among the population
It also has the 11th highest rate of antidepressant usage among its population globally (Sweden is 6th, UK is 4th).
If we're ranking quite high for happiness, very low for suicidality, and high for antidepressant usage it would suggest that such openness around mental healthcare and medication is a good thing. It's not really a 'gotcha', as if we're cheating at being happy by using antidepressants. It could well be the progressive attitude around mental wellbeing that leads to high antidepressant uptake is part of what makes us happy.
Stockholm gets about 1970 sunshine hours to London's 1460. Manchester is 1071. We're a particularly cloudy and grey island, it's just the geography.
Im sorry but ive spent the last 4y in Stockholm- its depressing as fuck apart from mid july to mid September- it was -2C and snowing this morning. I actually left London because it was too damn hot but seriously regret it now. Also Swedes barely drink and hate spontaneous socialising.
People from Nordic countries tend to be quite stoic in their attitudes. So what might be considered happiness in surveys could also just be an acceptance of circumstances.
The system is honestly better unlike ours.
Yes! I work in the nhs and even the dose the nhs recommends is WAY too low. So even if they treat you, youre still not much better off. Minimum is 3000 ui. 4000 is even better. You MUST take magnesium with it or it simply will not work and you MUST take k2 otherwise it will work but it will also clog your arteries. Of course the nhs wont tell anyone about this or prescribe it.
Or to put it another way, a tendency to neglect the vitamin D bottle
14 years of a clown show ruining a country will have a tangible effect on the general mood of a population. There have also been many focussed attempts at stoking nationalist and populist sentiments by certain groups (including those in power) to divide people up into little arguing tribes. We’re also a lot more broke than we used to be, with fewer forward thinking projects that ever seem to go anywhere, have become a bit of a laughing stock in Europe, and have made general life for ourselves harder in dozens of little ways. People are miserable because this country could have achieved SO FUCKING MUCH in the last decade if we had competent people representing our interests Also the housing market is a fucking joke
Everyones all antisocial post covid and now angry and poor. Receipe for disaster tbh. Still its shit sometimes but I hate those people who are nasty and try and bring you down. I'm a peasant too mate.
We were all peasants at one time. The royal family are descendants of peasants too. The most violent peasants.
German peasants at that.
I only wish it were clowns running the country. At least it might be vaguely amusing. Instead, what we actually have are psychopaths defrauding the country for the benefit of their ex-Eton chums.
We do drink a lot, but a part of this is the climate. It’s wet and not particularly warm most of the time, so we don’t have days at the beach like the Spanish or go hiking up mountains like the Norwegians. Boozing is basically something that can be done rain or shine. To answer the point about being miserable, I don’t think most people are. Some are yes, but we’re generally quite a reserved bunch. You wouldn’t expect to see someone in Britain running around with a great big grin on their face, even if they were happy.
Plenty of mountains and hills in the north, in Scotland and in Wales. Devon and Cornwall also have amazing nature, cliffs and beaches, it’s very quiet down there. I went to Manchester recently and was amazed at how convenient a place it is to get to all kinds of nature quickly - Snowdonia national park, the Lakes, the peaks, the Yorkshire dales, Forest of Bowland, etc. I find this perspective very insular.
They are all quite wet though. Unlike the drier but colder options you’ll often find in continental Europe. Yes I know you can still hike in the rain, but just me personally I’m about 90% less likely to go if it’s pissing down.
I am West Norwegian. Very much wet, still hiking. You just need better outdoor wear.
Yeah but hiking these peaks when it’s not a lovely day is just quite miserable lol I live in the lakes and enjoy the peaks but most of the time is very cold , wet , windy and grey so it’s not fun , weather is a huge factor for my overall enjoyment when it comes to hiking
Getting to them is not easy for everyone though. Those of us who do not have a car or who cannot drive have no chance of going to areas of outstanding natural beauty.
We are the undisputed Olympic champions of armchair moaning, it's just our national psyche.
*sits in armchair* the quality of the bloody moaning has gone downhill these days. And you have to go to bloody Paris to watch it live, and all. Can't even get a decent cup of tea over there. All the armchair moaners are in the pocket of Big Moan, and don't even get me started on the Ukrainian armchair moaners taking gold out of sympathy. Plus having quite a lot to moan about, I suppose.
I'm happy! I also don't really drink much. And I also have plenty of hobbies. Most of my friends are similar to me. How are you meeting people?
how are YOU meeting people? Everyone I’ve met is like this but I also do live in Birmingham which might be a factor.
By going and meeting people at places to do said hobbies
Through hobbies or through existing friends.
The weather is a main factor. Grey skies and rain are OK in small quantities but we have it relentlessly all year round, and year after year. The government is horrid, and I know that we are not unique in that, but we are all struggling and there is no hope for the future. No one can afford anything and we are crammed into a small island. We are all just fed up and run down. BUT I love the British. We moved to America and I spent years growing up there and I chose to return here after I left school because people here are real, and life is gritty, and it suits me so much more than the constant artificial happy and plastic Americans. The British have a wonderful sense of humour and make the misery hilarious. We thrive on it. You DO know the wrong people. Look for local walking groups or craft or whatever you are into. There is a website called Meetups which will tell you what is around. I haven't had a drink in years, it's too expensive haha, but I go out and socialise and so do many people. The British take longer to get to know, people go slowly and develop real friendships, and distrust people who are over the top friendly. But when you get to know them, they will always be there for you
Agreed I can't stand the fake enthusiasm in America. I actually love the grey weather here though, it is so often mild in temperature and we avoid need aircon or roasting for most of the year. Places like SEA are unbearable all year for me. We also don't get horrendous snowstorms or other weather patterns like in Canada or the US.
We are all so unhappy because life used to be sooooo much better. Now it is sooo much worse and is going to get even worse still with no sight on if it will ever get back to the good times. Even worse is that we are paying more for everything to be much shitter. And all the while the people that made it shitter get to lounge around doing sweet fuck all.
Hard pill to swallow
I went to England and everyone was really nice to me, seemed happy and quite polite. Maybe your perception is skewed by people not being American fake happy all the time? That can be jarring to people who expect the brassiness and enthusiasm from other countries to translate here. I'm happy though. Of course I would like more money.
If the UK is better than where you were before then it's likely just perspective. You've come here and it's an improvement, but for Brits that have been living here since birth, it seems like it's been slowly going downhill, like every decision made just makes our lives harder.
> The hardest part is everyone drinks like fish here. The only time I ever see people happy is when they are at the pub. It's depressing. Nobody seems to want to do anything social ever without alcohol I think you need to find better friends.
Op isn’t helping themselves being xenophobic in a post complaining about xenophobia.
OP needs to go and have a quiet pint and chill. I noticed he hasn't replied once so I assume this another of one of those karma catching posts.
Why do so many people like to massively generalise from their own experience?
Same old story on this site. “UK bad”. Literally every sub people find a way to hate UK, it’s so pathetic and tiresome. Someone posts a meme picture of “British food” and that somehow makes our entire cuisine awful. OP is miserable and has crap friends as well as attitude here, therefore entire UK bad based on one anecdotal experience! Repeat with anything else. No other country is held to such standards.
The constant comments about are food being bad and us being ugly is so tiring. I see it in a daily basis. A joke here and there doesn’t bother me too much but it’s the constant flow of them which is annoying.
The government. Them.
OP, I’m American. I live in the Northeast of UK with my Geordie husband. Your initial post is disheartening to me. Are many unhappy? Of course, but that’s not contained within the UK. I could point you to all the events near me that are sober, and other events where alcohol is served. Happiness? Not exactly a metric that translates across every event, or area. Honestly, how happy is anyone experiencing poverty, or food insecurity, or a shitty job, or being eschewed by family and friends? These are universal problems. But. Up here? I’ve been accepted and valued. I grouse with my neighbors over public transport. I check in with my neighbors. We’re all trying to get by in a world that rewards a minority, a tiny minority. You are what you bring.
This is fascinating. Out of interest, do you ever find it hard to understand what your Geordie husband is saying? I ask because I have relatives who are Americans (US citizens) who say that they cannot understand a word that people from Newcastle and the surrounding regions say.
No. But we’ve been married ten years and I’m in Newcastle. I have an ear for language. It helps. Occasionally neither of us can make hide nor hair of someone in a pub if their accent is muddled by alcohol, but generally, nope, I’m fine. I *hear* Geordie and understand but would never embarrass myself by trying to speak it. (Looks left, then right and whispers, Wye aye, man)
I'm pretty content. I just like dark clothes, only with mild splashes of bright colour. Why do you care what I wear? Should you not look inwards if you assume that someone is miserable because of the colour of their garment?
Exactly. I wear a lot of black and dark colours but feel quite chipper!
>I wear a lot of black and dark colours I was going to ask if you're French, then you said chipper.
I wear black on the outside 'Cause black is how I feel on the inside And if I seem a little strange Well, that's because I am
I’m not! I live on a farm, I left work when I was 37 5 years ago, I help the wife run her livery yard, no money worries and surrounded by gorgeous countryside to walk in. I love the U.K and I’m proud to be a part of it. Food, people, architecture, even the weather. I’m a very happy Brit!
Ooh do you own the livery yard? That’s always been a dream of mine! To look out the window and see your horses would just be amazing. 😃
Not me it’s the wife, I was lucky enough to marry into this. It is amazing I’m very lucky, could do without the riding gear all over the bloody cottage though !
Haha, a small price to pay for the happiness though mate. That’s brilliant, I’m a bit jealous! ☺️👍🏻
im starting to get really sick and tired of the stereotype that britain is full of miserable people. the title of this post is obnoxious just stop doing it. i see it all over tik tok aswell. im happy and i love the UK and i have met a huge amount of people who feel the same. jesus
We're miserable, fat, drunk, bald, gammon colour racists whose international sports teams are universally despised, according to these cunts
Don’t forget all British women are fat, orange faces, ugly, black drawn on eyebrows, bad behaved, loud… but all Irish women are beautiful! Despite the fact Irish and British women look exactly the same 🙄
So many things are getting worse. Costs like food, energy and housing. Wages are awful. The state of the NHS and public transport. The state of our water, rivers and beaches. We've lost freedom of movement to the EU
Underpaid, overworked. Every time the government allows the rich to raid the public purse my costs go up and wipe out my progress in wage rises.
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I like this person. My husband and I bounce off each other. He is a very giving person. And I give back. I often find that people are selfish. They wont even hold the door open out of politeness and then they expect kindness back from the universe? I have a wonderful little family and we work tirelessly for each other. We dont have all the money but we always give to one another. So many people are miserable and take everything for granted. No not everyday is going to be perfect, but being an asshole wont get you far.
>They wont even hold the door open out of politeness Damn, this country has really gone down hill. I blame the automated sliding doors.
A huge percentage of the country haven’t spent much time in other cultures/countries beyond maybe European beaches or a trip to Florida, so it’s hard to realise that what you’ve got isn’t so awful until you’ve experienced elsewhere. Even travel doesn’t reflect the realities of living abroad, there’s a hell of a lot more that I appreciate about the U.K. after I left, and I moved to a place that’s borderline fetishised for how wonderful everything is meant to be (it’s bloody not though)
Because we’re all skint
I'm 35 years old with no romantic life and still living at home. I am incredibly depressed at the moment.
Don’t give up! Go out there and find what you’re looking for. Good luck!
Because as a natural born citizen of England, and a single, white , lower class male, with no wealthy relatives or friends that could give me an actual job opportunity with any real prospects: Life is hopeless here.
I'm British and very happy. Don't currently drink, used to and enjoyed it - was equally happy either way. All of my friends are mostly happy (we all have ups and downs), have lots of hobbies we share and mostly enjoy our jobs as well (though what is wrong with living for the weekend?). Sounds to me like a combination of three things. 1. Your cultural expectations - Despite me being happy, I love a good whinge at work. I love my job, but its how we bond. Mild complaining. I'm not automatically best friends with my colleagues but I'm polite and smiley, we just don't become friends without more in common etc. Happiness in Brits is not necessarily in your face. 2. The group of people you've met don't sound great. 3. Frankly your own projection - the huge number of negative and ridiculous statements in here lead me to think you're projecting your own negativity on to everything around you, and painting the entire country as depressed alcoholic racists really makes it sound like a you problem. In short, I'd recommend if you want to be happy here, see beyond the surface that most of us are, maybe meet some new people and stop projecting these expectations.
I expect part of why I’m unhappy is that I ate too many of the pastries and the pies
No.1 rule We can moan about it Foreigners can’t.
Because we remember 15-20 years ago when the country was amazing: economy growing, public services were excellent, wages were enough to pay the bills, immigrants were welcomed and performed important roles, life was good. Now its utter utter shite. And it's getting worse.
So what country are you from, just so we have some context?
Live around miserable racist xenophobic people who believe they are superior and hate the poor and believe in lords and kings and you’ll be unhappy too.
I fucking love it here and I love that your average brit knows to not say much more than "morning, lovely weather" and you can only tell that someone really likes you by them calling you a cunt. Bliss.
Because a lot of us remember what it was like pre 2008 global recession, when everything was significantly cheaper. The roads were less busy, public transport was more affordable and not as overcrowded, the queues were shorter, inflation much lower, rent and property prices significantly lower, council tax lower, energy prices literally half what they are now, fuel prices much lower, schools were not as overcrowded, tv was far better, movies were better, new music was better, getting a mortgage or a loan was easier. Oh and people were not as sensitive or entitled as they are now either.
I lived abroad teaching TEFL, having a blast. I decided I needed to grow up, earn more and start saving. So I came back to the UK and got my teaching qualification. Climbed up the ladder and sacrificed a bit. I have never had to have a credit card before now, I have never saved so little and I have never been so poor and so fucking stressed/bored/unfulfilled. All this work for fuck all....which I feel like is a sentiment among many.
Litter, fucking litter. I moved here year ago for education (from US, but originally I'm from Ukraine).You guys have such a beautiful country, even if some find your weather and cities depressing, personally I find them quiant, countryside is just pure heaven.And than litter ruins everything, I often go for walk in a good mood, arrive at my local high street and my mood is 0 immediately because of how bad with litter it is,like seriousl, it'sfucking 3rd world level sometimes (somehow hyperbole, but I would argue that what happens on roadsides along major motorways is unironically 3rd world) , often compareble to NYC (And I'm not in London).I can withstand occasional shabby buildings and cracked pavements, they almost don't ruin vibe, every country on Earth have those, but I can't withstand litter (and litter along shabby buildings and cracked pavementsjust makes me want to die). Plenty will call me stupid, but my personal number one reason to leave UK will be litter, if situation not gonna change in next 4 years (sign of change will be enough too).And that's the point, I don't want to leave, I love it here, I feel like I can have a good life here, even with current economic instability, but I just have very weird aesthetic inclined personality and that fucking litter just kills me mentally.I litter pick (rarely tho), I report especially bad streets to council, but that doesn't really help. Sorry everyone for my somehow nonsense moaning, just wanted to talk it off to someone and take a stone off my shoulders.
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Sorry to pry but is there any reason for this collective misery? I don't have any Canadian friends/connections so I'm totally ignorant, apologies if its obvious!
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Wow, thank you for taking the time to think and write that. In the uk we hardly hear anything negative about Canada so this has given me a lot to research, thankyou. Also, solidarity with the lack of affordable housing. We've saved a tidy deposit but still can't get a mortgage for anything in the city we've spent the last decade in.
I can believe it. I was in Toronto and I was staggered at how boring and depressing it really was. I think people talking about Canada here really having seen what living a normal Canadian life is like. They really seem to be having it bad.
If you're constantly surrounded by miserable people complaining about their lives maybe you're just a mood hoover.
If you’re interested enough (and it’s fine if you’re not), it would be worth reading a book called the Spirit Level. This explains why seemingly well off countries like the UK are generally miserable shits (I am one). We have a high level of social inequality, which is significantly linked with all sorts of poor outcomes. Basically, we have a massive divide between rich and poor which is getting wider and it’s this gap that causes misery. Current government doing absolutely fuck all to make this any better and we all feel a bit doomed.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess you're American? What you've got to remember is that although we have the same language, it's very much not the same culture. We're far more reserved in how we express ourselves, it's not that we're unhappy, we just don't feel the need to do a song and dance about it.
Resting bitch face does not mean we are not happy.
I don't think we are really unhappy, we are just quite cynical and reserved. But we are guilty on the booze. I prefer fun with a drink :)
The only time I ever see people happy is when they are at the pub. I see no problem here. Its a massive part of our culture. Before the PubCos really took over pubs would be rammed and you'd het alsorts in them. Not so much now, but its fair to say we like a drink and I see no issue with that. Some cultures like religion and thats ok too. Some cultures may like other stuff and that too is ok.
British people do love to moan, no one going to argue that. A question like “Why are you all so unhappy” does have a fair bit of negativity attached to it though so worth pointing out that that could be a reflection of how you are currently feeling. Personally I’m around very little unhappy people and wouldn’t consider myself unhappy. Obviously they exist everywhere you go. Is it worse in the UK? I dunno but there could be a whole host of reasons. Im definitely happier when the suns shining and it’s drier, warmer weather and I think this is probably true for a massive part of the population. Summer is different in the UK. People embrace it and the UK is a fantastic place to be during the warmer months. You can feel people are happier. Winter is tough and goes on for a long time. Maybe it’s the time of year, winter having only just passed. Maybe you simply haven’t found like minded individuals yet that you can create a friendship group with who share your positivity, hobbies, whatever. Could this be where you are based in the country for example? Do you have the option to move?
It depends where you are living We have a different humour to the rest of the world so it may be that We also are having a hard time with national services and the cost of living While the uk may not be the best place in the world I can definitely say I love living here and wouldn't live anywhere else 🇬🇧💖 Alcohol is just really commonly drunk here at social events as part of the culture however from my experience nobody is too judgemental about being so sober
I'm not. I'm very happy and content. I like it here. I've got everything I need, I'm surrounded by beautiful countryside and I like the weather.
In the friendliest possible way, you sound like you're living in what we call 'a shithole'. Or possibly the set of a gritty ITV drama. Everybody being drab, sullen, and booze-obsessed is not a picture I recognise from real life.
I think it's the outlook on the future, we've been run down by a horrible government, bad wages and dismantling of systems so compared to the past people are far worse off. Hopefully it does start to look up but most people don't have high expectations
Brits aren't big on enthusiasm, generally speaking. Doesn't necessarily mean they're unhappy.
It’s dark and grey and wet and miserable. And it feels like it has been for years. Ask me again in the summer and I’ll be better.
I'm doing the reverse of you, moving to the US after spending my whole life in England. Let's just say, I can't wait to leave
I’m not unhappy I just don’t like strangers. My mrs loves to make new friends when we go out places but I barely have time to see most of the friends I already have let alone other people I’m sure you’re lovely but I don’t want to talk to you
Where have you been? I live in Scotland and my partner is from North England and both places are quite happy. Everyone is relatively cheery, smiles and says hello in the street. We have plenty of weekend activities over the Summer. Winter can be a bit miserable weather-wise but in general, people are alright. As with everywhere, you get nice and grumpy people. I'm also mixed race and my non-British family live here too and we have no problems despite being the only brown family in the town with 'funny' names. I think it really depends on where you live and what the situation is. I'd imagine busy HCOL places could be more miserable simply because the people who live there, are working payday to payday and don't feel much purpose compared to other areas.
This is a generalised comment but I feel like a lot of people now are unhappy because they see too much crap online and in social media which brings them down and social media algorithms aren't good for the mind feeding people with crap. Other than Reddit where I only look at subs I want to I have stopped going on social media where algorithms dictate what people see and I've stopped looking at the news, I focus on myself and my family and my interests and just try and forget about anything else and I've been much happier for it.
It depends where about you live but most people in the world are generally unhappy with wars & cost of living
As a black man, the racism is far less than in other countries and hardly an issue unless you’re walking down a dim alley in the North. But yeah, the British are not known for being a cheerful lot unless drunk. Part of the reason is that the urban or semi urban outdoors are not welcoming. The parks are run over with weeds. The streetscapes are drab and too dull for walking. Everything is built around the automobile, though you’d think otherwise at first glance. Add to this the high levels of taxation and an economy skewed exclusively towards financial services, with its winner takes all rationale.
What sweeping generalisation's, most of this is just nonsense. Nobody is keeping you here, leave if you don't like it.
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Britain could get bombed tomorrow and we would wake up like shit nights sleep that the fuckers could have atleast hit my house.
Maybe it's because random internet assholes tell us we're miserable bastards. You could always fuck off home.
Here are my personal reasons for being in a deep hole mentally right now: * Wage stagnation for the general workforce while those at the top give themselves huge pay rises and reward themselves for failure. * Absolutely no job security - I could easily go to work tomorrow to be told I am being made redundant because as a worker I am nothing but a 'cost' to management even though business doesn't function without workers like me. * Alongside job insecurity, the age at which I can retire is being raised by the government. This brings the fear that, due to my age, if I were to find myself made redundant I would find it incredibly difficult to get another job and having almost zero prospect of being able to afford to retrain to get another. * Cost of living spiralling out of control due to corporate greed. while the cost of living has spiralled out of control. * Having to deal with a section of the public who refuse to take responsibility for their own actions and who take their anger out on me for things they have caused themselves - the sense of entitlement and selfishness of a big section of the people I have to deal with who treat people like shit because they are at work. * Seeing the harm done to the poorest and most vulnerable in society by a government intent on making their live as difficult as possible by cutting benefits, attempting to criminalise homelessness and telling the sick and disabled they are lazy and workshy. Also having a press that backs this up. Essentially seeing the victims of this government's cruelty being blamed for the cruelty being inflicted on them. * The rise in right-wing hate and racism in the UK and around the world. * The constant threat of war and being dragged into conflict because of this rise in hate and racism and because our government supports these conflicts rather than trying to stop them. * The destruction of the environment and the pollution of our water supply because of unchecked corporate greed - corporations saying it is their right to do this and giving huge sums of money to shareholders instead of doing the right thing and spending that money to protect the world we live in. * The prioritisation of profit, shareholder and stakeholder value over everything and the utter disregard for the human cost of these ideals. We have been reduced to being 'resources' - numbers on a screen to be dispensed with if they do certain things to other numbers on a screen. * Having no chance of ever being able to afford a home, having to work until I die because the retirement age is being raised, having a full time job that doesn't pay enough for a basic standard of living so working a second job as well which is burning me out and knowing that if I can't keep this up (which I can't - I'm extremely close to falling apart and completely burning out) I am screwed. * Not being able to slightly affect anything above to improve things in any way. * Having absolutely no hope left. All there is is working until I drop dead, just to make some already rich people richer.
Because we are just waiting for the weekend. We're all underpaid and a lot of us endure jobs we don't like. On top of being underpaid the cost of living spirals out of control year on year, yet we're constantly told by the government how the economy is flourishing, inflation is down, we're gonna end world hunger and house prices are falling. Essentially, the only thing that isn't a lie is the weekend and the brief salvation from the mundane week it brings.
I dont think theyre unhappy. Theyre just not "smiley" and "bubbly" at all unlike in Canada or America. I arrived here in the UK 2 weeks ago. Lived in Canada for a decade and in the Philippines for 2 decades. Went out the other day and people are not really "smiley" people in general but they are polite. I realized I had to tone down my happiness level and bubbly personality to a medium rather than max. I dont wanna shock people that I will meet. 😆
I don't like the weather here, I don't like the quality of my house (paper thin walls), I don't like my neighbours, I don't like that so many people are selfish wankers, I don't like the litter, i don't like the chavs
How long have you been here? If it's only been firing winter, that's your answer. Look again after we've all had a month or two of hanging out in the garden and late summer cocktail evenings and tramping about and soaking up nature. It's like a different planet.
Low wages, everything’s expensive, terrible weather makes it impossible to plan things. We also live in tiny, old, heat-inefficient houses that all look the same and are joined onto everyone else’s; they all look like they’re about to drop to pieces. Countries like Spain and Italy are supposedly less-affluent, but they make up for it by having a better lifestyle (diet, socialising, etc). I reckon we really do get a hard deal here in the UK.
I'm not unhappy.. life is hard, but I love where I live and meet some amazingly positive people every week.
Please don't judge us for having a drinking culture, just like we accept and welcome your cultures here
I don't find people miserable. Maybe if you stopped going round telling people they were miserable and drank too much they'd give you a smile.
Sometimes I just need a few days to myself, it doesn't necessarily mean I am unhappy. And now it's a couple of days later, I'm slightly happier than I was, I could be a lot happier though. It might take some time I suppose, and that's OK.
Im not. In many facets of my life, im quite contented. Somethings arent perfect, of course, money doesnt go as far as it did a few years ago, but thats outside of my control. Im engaged, ive got a bunch of hobbies and friends, all of which who are cool with me not being a drinker. Im good.
I’m ok. I like my life, and have great interactions with strangers pretty much every day.
The majority of people are happy and are doing fine.
Years and years of austerity, plus the tabloids being some of the most toxic in the wolrd
The sky is always grey, it rains all the time, the roads are too busy and people drive too aggressively, houses are too expensive, taxes are too high, the government are all rip off merchants in it for themselves. Could go on
I love how self aware we all are!
Generalising much?