Since 2008, a U-shaped trend in subjective well-being has been documented in developed and developing countries across the lifespan. Well-being declined from childhood to around age 50, then recovered in old age. Today, depression begins early in life. Data also showed a parallel increase in “sickness” or unhappiness
A new survey suggests that the "hump of unhappiness" documented in worry, stress, and depression that rise with age and peak in midlife and then decline — may have disappeared, perhaps due to a decline in mental health (an increase in the occurrence of mental illness) among young people.
Since 2008, a U-shaped trend in subjective well-being has been documented in developed and developing countries across the lifespan. Well-being declined from childhood to around age 50, then recovered in old age. Data also showed a parallel increase in “sickness” or unhappiness.
Recent data indicate a global decline in well-being among young people. Most studies have not directly examined the implications of this phenomenon for the “unhappiness hump.” To clarify the picture, Blanchflower and his colleagues first analyzed data from surveys conducted in the United States and the United Kingdom that included questions about mental health. The survey data from the United States include more than 10 million adults surveyed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) between 1993 and 2024. The survey data from the United Kingdom were collected in the United Kingdom Household Survey (UKHLS) between 2009 and 2023, which includes about 40,000 households.
The analysis showed that in the US and the UK, the "humpback" has disappeared. Today, unhappiness tends to decrease with age. The level of unhappiness among people in their late 40s and older has not changed significantly. It seems that the disappearance of the "humpback" is due to a decline in the mental health of young people.
The researchers then analyzed data from nearly two million people in 44 countries, including the US and UK, from the Global Minds mental health study. These data, for the years 2020–2025, indicate that the “unhappiness hump” is disappearing worldwide.
The reasons for the decline are unclear. The authors suggest several possibilities: long-term effects of the Great Recession on young people’s employment prospects; underfunding of mental health services; mental health challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; and increased use of social media. More research is needed to determine whether these factors—or others—are key.
The authors add: "Our paper is the first to show that the rise in the incidence of mental illness among young people in recent years means that now, in both the United States and the United Kingdom, mental illness is highest among young people and declines with age. This is a huge change from the past, when mental illness peaked in middle age. The reasons for this change are controversial, but our concern is that there is now a serious mental health crisis among young people that requires treatment."
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Do you have a health insurance card? That's socialism. In America, there isn't one, and they die like flies with the slightest illness.
I think that faith in Hashem can eliminate many of the worries in life. Because whoever believes – knows that Hashem watches over him and cares for him, even if he does not see it. And precisely in the most difficult situations – Hashem commands us not to be afraid: “When you go out to battle against your enemy and see horses and chariots and a people more numerous than yours, do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy, Chapter 20, Verse 1)
Progressivism and socialism make people miserable, community and religious life with people who look like you and speak the same language, a safe life without rampant crime and disrespect makes people happy.