Whether it be social media, glossy magazines or glamorous television shows, we are surrounded by an idealised world stressing how important it is to be happy in life.
However, a new study has found that the constant pressure to be happy actually creates an impossible, unattainable goal and thus leads to a sense of gloom and misery.
The effect is amplified in countries with a higher bar for happiness; the societal pressure in the happiest nations has the most detrimental impact on wellbeing.
“Happiness is a valuable experience, and societies want their citizens to be happy,” the researchers from Tilburg University in the Netherlands wrote in their study.
“Although this societal commitment seems laudable, overly emphasising positivity (versus negativity) may create an unattainable emotion norm that ironically compromises individual wellbeing.”
In the study, 7,443 people from 40 countries were questioned on their emotional wellbeing, satisfaction with life (cognitive wellbeing) and mood complaints (clinical wellbeing).
They were also asked to give their opinion on how much they thought society dictated they should feel positive.
The study found that societal pressure to be happy was reported almost everywhere and was significantly associated with citizens reporting poor wellbeing.
Poor wellbeing, such as suffering from depression and anxiety, was reported among people living in societies that place great emphasis on being happy
Credit: monstArrr_/iStockphoto
Poor wellbeing translates as reduced life satisfaction, experiencing fewer and less intense positive emotions, and more symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress.
Egon Dejonckheere, the study’s lead author, added: “The level of happiness individuals feel pressured to achieve may be unattainable and reveal differences between an individual’s emotional life and the emotions society approves of.
“This discrepancy between an individual and society may create a perceived failure that can trigger negative emotions. In countries where all citizens appear to be happy, deviations from the expected norm are likely more apparent, which makes it more distressing.”
The message that happiness is an important life goal is expressed at many different levels in society, the study suggests.
For example, there is now a preponderance of “happiness coaches”, campaigns and self-help books, all touting tips, tricks and lifestyle changes to create a positive mindset.
However, these overt messages are accompanied by a more subtle, underhand form of messaging constantly emphasising the need to be happy and contributing to joy fatigue.
The main source of this, according to the scientists, comes from the seemingly perfect lives of influencers and celebrities.
Researchers found that the relationship between societal pressure to be happy and poor wellbeing was almost twice as strong in countries with higher World Happiness Index scores than in countries with lower national happiness scores.
In the 2018-20 index, the UK ranked 17th for happiness out of 149 countries.
The Netherlands (fifth) and Canada (14th) were rated as having higher happiness in the World Happiness Index, while countries with lower ratings included Senegal (92nd) and Ukraine (110).
“Breaking down wellbeing into its different constituents, we robustly demonstrated how the perceived societal premium on happiness (and aversion of sadness) in most countries paradoxically relates to fewer and less intense experiences of positive emotions,” the researchers wrote in their study, published in the journal Scientific Reports.
“With respect to the potential societal implications of our findings, nationwide (psycho-) educational campaigns that put the pressing need to be happy in perspective, while also acknowledging the valuable role of negative emotion, could have beneficial effects for people’s psychological wellbeing in the long run.
“In this way, the outdated yet dominant societal discourse that promotes a one-sided embrace of one’s emotions can make way for an updated version, in which people learn to appreciate the full scope of their emotional lives, both positive and negative.”
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