Northern Ireland is happiest place in UK, finds wellbeing survey

Northern Ireland is the most contented region of the UK, while London is the most anxious and least satisfied, according to statistics on local wellbeing published on Tuesday.

It will be little comfort to stressed-out, dissatisfied Londoners that their overall satisfaction has improved faster than other parts of the country.

The survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which is part of the larger labour force survey with 158,000 respondents, asks people to rate out of 10 their overall satisfaction with their life, the extent to which they feel things they do are worthwhile, how happy they felt yesterday, and how anxious they felt the previous day. The national data, published in July, shows wellbeing has improved each year since 2011, but this masks regional differences.

These differences are not large, but taken together they paint a nuanced national picture. In Northern Ireland, for example, people ranked their life satisfaction at 7.85 out of 10 on average. In London this was 7.51. Londoners rated their own anxiety at 3.04 out of 10, while those in the West Midlands put it at 2.75. Those in Northern Ireland put their happiness at 7.70, while for those in the north-east it was 7.36.

The data includes almost every local authority, but sample sizes for many are very small, meaning comparing the regional picture is more reliable. The Northamptonshire town of Corby came bottom on life satisfaction and worthwhile measurements. However this was based on responses from 80 people.

In London ‘the very poor and extremely rich live within sight of one another’. Photograph: Photofusion/Rex Shutterstock

The national “wellbeing index” was one of David Cameron’s flagship policies when he entered Downing Street. “It’s time we admitted that there’s more to life than money and it’s time we focused not just on GDP but on GWB – general wellbeing,” he said, and ordered the ONS to start gathering data.

Annie Quick, who leads inequality and wellbeing work at the New Economics Foundation, a thinktank that has championed the gathering of such data, said London’s gloom may be understandable. “There are real challenges about living in cities,” she said. “Commuting is very bad for wellbeing: the long periods of time spent travelling to work are … bad for our families, and bad for community cohesion.”

The deeply unequal nature of London, where the very poor and extremely rich live within sight of one another, adds to dissatisfaction, she added.

But Northern Ireland’s apparent contentment has the experts confused – one press officer blurted out, “Really?” when the Guardian explained the ONS’s findings.

Quick said: “Northern Ireland is really interesting: if you go to Northern Ireland and talk to them, they are very surprised. We don’t have the answer.”

The local authority of Mid and East Antrim in Northern Ireland tops the table on “life satisfaction” and “worthwhile” measures and is second on the “happiness” measure. Its mayor, Audrey Wales, said she was delighted with the finding.

“Ensuring the good health and wellbeing of our citizens is a key strategic aim for Mid and East Antrim borough council and we are delighted that this survey shows that we are certainly going in the right direction.”

She added: “With a rich heritage and culture, our borough is a beautiful, welcoming and unique place with a huge offering for its citizens and visitors alike. What sets us apart is our strong community spirit and the diversity of our citizens.”

Quick said the things that affect wellbeing are well known: good-quality housing and environment, stable jobs, and functioning communities. Simply asking people how happy they feel incorporates these factors, she said, but “it’s a very sensitive measure that picks up all sorts of other things … The challenge is for local authorities to look at those things.”

Dawn Snape, a quality of life officer at the ONS, said: “We have seen personal wellbeing improving on a UK-wide basis over the past five years. But today’s data paints a richer picture, enabling people to explore what’s been happening in their local area.

“This will help individuals, communities and local authorities to look at wellbeing locally alongside other more traditional measures of progress.”

Quick said the UK is a “world leader” at gathering these statistics. But she added: “We need to embed this thinking into devolution debates: these are often focusing on maximising economic growth but building the economy is a means to an end. What could be more important than making sure we have good quality of life?”

Northern Ireland is happiest place in UK, finds wellbeing survey

Mental illness has an effect on us all even in the happiest nation on Earth | Daniel and Jason Freeman

Which is the happiest nation on the planet? Followers of The Killing might be stunned to find out that it is Denmark. Nordic noir gives us a claustrophobic country shrouded in fog and lashed by icy rain, stalked by serial killers and riddled with corruption: a land from which noble souls this kind of as Sarah Lund are compelled to flee, in no way – sadly – to be observed again.

In stark contrast, the Planet Happiness Report 2013, written by major academics, finds that ranges of self-reported happiness are larger in Denmark than anyplace else, with fellow Scandinavian nations Norway and Sweden also in the leading five. The United kingdom is 22nd and the US 17th. The lowest ranked nations – out of 156 – are Rwanda, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Benin, and final of all Togo.

Why are the Danish so content? The Planet Happiness Report cites variables this kind of as wholesome daily life expectancy, GDP per capita, amounts of social help, freedom to make daily life selections, perceptions of corruption, and the degree of generosity shown by citizens. Other professionals have highlighted Denmark’s high degree of revenue equality: this is a nation, it appears, in which individuals genuinely are “in it with each other”.

Provided that amounts of happiness are so high in Denmark, it is reasonable to assume that Danes also appreciate excellent mental health. But a examine published this month by the American Health care Association tells a quite different story – one that demonstrates just how common mental health troubles are, irrespective of in which individuals come about to reside.

One particular of the a lot of constructive factors of life in Denmark is its universal health care technique. As component of that technique, treatment method for mental sickness is recorded in the Danish Psychiatric Investigation Register: a resource that supplies scientists with a treasure trove of information. Considering that 1969, for every single particular person living in Denmark the register has logged admissions to psychiatric hospitals, visits to outpatient psychiatric clinics, attendance at psychiatric emergency departments, and all diagnoses. As such, it gives a extensive and uniquely thorough picture of treatment method for psychological issues in the nation.

On the basis of the register’s data, researchers estimated that 38% of Danish females and 32% of Danish men will get therapy for a psychological disorder at some stage throughout their lifetime. Keep in mind: these statistics only contain cases serious enough for skilled support to be required. Of program, there are likely to be numerous more individuals with psychological overall health problems who for one cause or yet another will not seek out treatment. This is why representative epidemiological surveys usually create even increased estimates for mental sick well being than the Danish examine. But for all these who criticise such surveys for which includes troubles that are mild or transient, this most current investigation constitutes a forceful riposte. Psychological illness is not a figment of more than-eager clinicians’ imagination the problem is actual and widespread.

The Danish outcomes have fascinating particulars. As we have noted in a earlier write-up for this site women are much more likely than males to build a psychological wellness issue, and this pattern is definitely evident in Denmark. We also see the classic dichotomy in the kinds of psychological overall health problem skilled by men and women. When it comes to so-known as “internalising” conditions, costs for Danish girls are increased than for Danish guys: for anxiety issues 19% of ladies will get treatment method in contrast with 13% of males for depression the figures are 16% and 9% respectively. Men, on the other hand, are much more vulnerable to “externalising” problems: in Denmark 8% of males will acquire treatment method for alcohol or drug troubles, twice the figure for women.

Consuming problems this kind of as anorexia nervosa and bulimia are a lot far more prevalent amongst females (three%) than males (.2%). Boys, however, display greater costs than ladies of issues in early childhood such as autism (.9%, .two%) and finding out disabilities (one.eight%, one.two%).

The Danish review also gives us a extremely clear sense of when psychological wellness issues have a tendency to come up. For both sexes and for most situations, it usually manifests in the course of adolescence and early adulthood. The statistics show a significant improve in circumstances from ages ten to twenty, a peak in the early 20s, and then a steady lessen with age. Mood disorders such as depression, nonetheless, become much more prevalent again right after the age of 65, and an additional clear exception to this pattern are natural troubles this kind of as dementia, for which charges rise significantly from the age of about 70 (the lifetime danger of natural mental health troubles in Denmark was 12% for females and 9% for guys).

There is no reason to believe that the Danish statistics are anomalous. Nicely-run, scientifically credible epidemiological surveys propose that each and every year 38% of individuals living in the EU knowledge psychological illness, with anxiety ailments the most commonly seasoned dilemma. That equates to 165 million people. But fewer than a third of these individuals acquire any form of therapy, with even fewer offered the most efficient types of intervention. The scale of distress to which these figures attest is cause adequate for action. But policymakers may also get on board the fact that psychological difficulties are estimated to cost the EU €800bn annually.

Correct now the United kingdom is marking Psychological Health Awareness Week. In the light of this timely reminder of how frequent psychological illness is – even in the happiest countries – the stigma still connected to these problems is exceptional. Rather significantly everybody can assume either to encounter a problem themselves or to know a person who has, and nevertheless 9 out of 10 folks employing mental overall health services in England report encountering discrimination as a consequence, with considerably of that hostility coming from family members and buddies.

As a society, it is substantial time we faced up to the fact that psychological sickness is just as regimen as physical sickness (and assuredly no a lot more shameful), and offered the higher-top quality, timely care that these circumstances require.

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Mental illness has an effect on us all even in the happiest nation on Earth | Daniel and Jason Freeman

Report Ranks The ten Happiest States: Is Yours On The Checklist?

How articles are the residents of your state? And what about their mental and bodily wellness, how do they price their communities in terms of individuals essential measures? These are the inquiries posed by the yearly Gallup-Healthways Properly-Being Index, which just launched the final results of its analysis for 2013.

Primarily based on interviews with far more than 178,000 American adults residing in all 50 states performed from January to December 2013, the Gallup-Healthways Properly-Becoming Index is in fact an common of 6 different indexes, which track:

• Daily life evaluation


• Emotional health


• Operate setting


• Physical health


• Healthful behaviors


• Accessibility to fundamental necessities

In a nutshell, the heartland and “fly-over” states won out large time only one coastal state (Washington) and not one particular state housing a top metropolitan area created the prime 10. Even far more specifically, the west and midwest are doing the ideal occupation wowing their residents, with 9 out of the ten of the leading 10 states falling in these classes. And even within these places, there are some surprises, particularly the predominance of prairie and mountain states amongst individuals most pleasing to their residents.

The biggest shock was the leap of North Dakota from amount 19 to number 1, followed by neighboring South Dakota’s leap from twelve to the variety two spot. See this slide display for more detail on why these ten states are great locations to reside.

An additional massive improver was Washington, which hadn’t created the best 10 considering that 2008 when the list was launched. Hawaii, which had been variety a single for the past 4 many years, dropped to eight place. Here are the ten happiest states, in purchase of initial to final:

1. North Dakota


2. South Dakota


3. Nebraska


4. Minnesota


5. Montana


6. Vermont


7. Colorado


8. Hawaii


9. Washington


10. Iowa

Total state reports won’t be obtainable till April, but a couple of issues leap out as factors in the happiness quota of some of these states. North Dakota, for illustration, has been in the midst of an oil-connected financial boom, and was ranked highest in two of the six sub-rankings: perform setting and physical overall health.

State “happiness” rankings are tracked in the annual Gallup-Healthways properly-becoming index. (Photo: Gallup-Healthways)

In one more exciting insight, the poll ranks the properly-becoming of the nation as a total, employing the identical set of criteria. And possibly remarkably to individuals touting continuing improvements in the economic system, the effectively-currently being of the country as a total dropped from 2012′s 66.seven to 66.2, the identical as 2011, suggesting that the upswing in the national mood could be more than.

In a separate ranking, Gallup calculated the eleven states that had made the steadiest improvement since 2010, when the economic downturn officially ended.

The states on that record, in purchase, are

1. Nevada


2. Montana


3. Vermont


4. Nebraska


5. Iowa


6. Maine


7. Arizona


8. Wisconsin


9. Mississippi


10. Texas


11. California

Some of these are the same states in the best 10, but others, such as Nevada, Arizona, California, and Texas, are states hard-hit by the downturn that have created strides in recovering.

How Do You Define Happiness?

To delve a tiny deeper into what constitutes “well-being,” the Healthways researchers have produced a series of 5 criteria that can be utilized to assess high quality of existence. They are, and I quote:

1. “Purpose: Liking what you do every single day and getting motivated to achieve your targets


2. Social: Possessing supportive relationships and love in your daily life


3. Financial: Managing your financial daily life to reduce anxiety and boost safety


4. Local community: Liking the place you live, feeling safe and obtaining pride in your local community and


5. Bodily: Getting good overall health and ample energy to get things accomplished every day.”

By these criteria, how would you evaluate your existence and the location you dwell? Remarks below, please.

For more overall health news, stick to me here on Forbes.com, on Twitter, @MelanieHaiken, and subscribe to my posts on Facebook.

Report Ranks The ten Happiest States: Is Yours On The Checklist?