this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026
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[–] flamingo_pinyata@sopuli.xyz 25 points 17 hours ago (5 children)

Also a fairly high suicide rate. Self-selection for happiness?

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 37 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

It's been looked at closer before, but the questionnaire doesn't really ask "how happy are you" it's more "how dissatisfied are you".

Finnish welfare policies mean people here tend to have less complaints. That doesn't mean none, but when it come to a lot of common problems (which the questionnaire specifically targets) like unemployment, healthcare, education, homelessness, debt, we have policies in place that mean they aren't something people generally worry about. Individual people to whom it might be relevant, do.

And that's not to say the policies are flawless and there aren't traps that will screw you... What they do do, is provide a real sense of security that means people don't live their lives in fear of losing what they have. We can be unafraid that some sickness or accident will come along and completely ruin our lives.

I don't personally know anyone who has been ruined by an injury, losing their job or debt. Set back, or had their lives changed, sure. But not ruined. Someone losing their job, their healthcare because of that, then their home due to the debt, and falling to drugs at the end of their rope, is something most people only ever hear about.

Those problems do exist, but Finnish society is such that you almost always have some options. Stuff that ruins lives in other countries, is an inconvenience here. The threshold for random chance ruining your life is much lower.

That said, I would not rate us the happiest. As already mentioned, suicide rates are high. That's because the policies make sure you're alive, and whenever possible, able to work.

What they don't do, almost ever, is make sure you're happy. If you are miserable, that's entirely on individuals to solve. Mental care is not what it should be, and for some it is straight up harmful to engage with the public system if they need help. The state is pretty good and not killing people, except by coldly making sure you're alive, homed and employed, even as you fall apart inside.

[–] hemko@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

The sad ones off themselves, goes the old joke

Also, related article:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1376114/

[–] rayyy@piefed.social 6 points 14 hours ago

Overall populations who live furtherest north or south and in more rural areas TEND to have more suicides world wide and in the US .

[–] Saapas@piefed.zip 10 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (2 children)

Compared to who? US has a higher rate than we do

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I know people often joke about the suicides weeding out unhappy ones but it's not common enough to make a difference, even if we had a higher suicide rate.

[–] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 2 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Compared to roughly 140 other countries. The US has a very high suicide rate, they’re a huge outlier because of gun ownership.

It’s not even the fault of the culture either, it’s mostly due to the darkness throughout the winter.

[–] teyrnon@sh.itjust.works 1 points 15 hours ago

Well, there is the elephant in the room when it comes to suicides. Many are murders.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 14 hours ago

Lol for a second I thought the icons at the top of your phone screen were the labels for the columns. Very confusing few moments.

[–] halcyoncmdr@piefed.social 8 points 17 hours ago

Very high level of alcoholism, and a lot of darkness due to being so far north and with half the country above the arctic circle. Those are both very strong drivers of depression and suicide rates.