Quack Science: Study Claims Secular European Countries Are The Happiest In The World (Yet Lead In Suicides)

UPDATE: Happy marriages, too. Almost half of all marriages in Europe end in divorce. And it’s the happy Europeans who fret endlessly about the world-ending climate catastrophe.
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CNN reports here on the latest UN World Happiness Report, issued from the comfy confines of their New York or Geneva offices. I’m a little confused here. Is the report from the UN or Columbia University? Is there really a difference?

The study assessed people’s happiness in 156 countries, based on western metrics having to do with economics, social support, generosity, mental illness, etc..

Europe ranks highest in happiness

Their findings: Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden are the world’s happiest countries, and Rwanda, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Benin and Togo are the unhappiest.

Let’s all rush to be like hip Europeans, the report wants to tell us. But can we really trust the elitist authors of the report? One could easily interpret the report as racist. Look at the study’s message: Northern European, socialist secular societies (the whitest of the whites) are the happiest. Sub-Saharan African countries, on the other hand, are just all so miserable. Of course the authors surely are not at all racist, but they are indeed very ARROGANT.

I don’t trust the yardstick used by the authors here, and I ask: Are the European countries really the happiest?

Europe is a basket case in terms of suicide rates

Let’s look at suicide rates. Surely it must be very very low among all those happy European countries. But according to Wikipedia statistics here, it appears happy Europeans aren’t coping very well at all with all their “happiness”. They seem to be jumping off bridges with uncontrollable glee. According to suicide statistics, many of the “happiest countries in the world” are also among the top 50 when it comes to suicide rate!

Worldwide, No.1 happy Denmark ranks No. 41 in suicides, No. 2 happy country Norway ranks No. 35 in suicides, No. 3 Switzerland ranks 45th in suicides, No. 4 happy country Holland ranks a relatively non-suicidal no. 53 and no. 5 Sweden in terms of happiness comes in at no. 44 in not wanting to live. Quite happy Finland, ranked no. 7, is also quite happy about ending it all, coming in at a whopping no. 19 in suicides.

Europe on suicide watch

Europe likes to insist that it’s happy, but the statistics show that the continent is a basket case when it comes to suicides. Thirteen of the top 20 countries in terms of suicide rate are in Europe.

Lo and behold, not a single African country is in the top 30 for suicides. I guess they’re just too unhappy to jump off bridges.

In summary what we have is a group of elitists trying to convince the whole world that we should all live like secular, socialist Europeans. This study is certainly blinded and biased by western arrogance. You can throw it in the dustbin. It’s just more quack science in service of an agenda.

Climate change ending Happy Days for northerners!

There’s a new study out claiming that climate change leads to depression. Ironically the study comes from Canada, also a nation ranked high on the happiness list. Seems like they are having unhappiness problems, and are content to blame it on climate change. The study’s abstract writes (my emphasis):

Recently, research is beginning to indicate that changes in climate, and the subsequent disruption to the social, economic, and environmental determinants of health, may cause increased incidences and prevalence of mental health issues, emotional responses, and large-scale sociopsychological changes. Through a multi-year, community-led, exploratory case study conducted in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Labrador, Canada, this research […] reported that changes in weather, snow and ice stability and extent, and wildlife and vegetation patterns attributed to climate change were negatively impacting mental health and well-being due to disruptions in land-based activities and a loss of place-based solace and cultural identity. Participants reported that changes in climate and environment increased family stress, enhanced the possibility of increased drug and alcohol usage, amplified previous traumas and mental health stressors, and were implicated in increased potential for suicide ideation. While a preliminary case study, these exploratory findings indicate that climate change is becoming an additional mental health stressor for resource-dependent communities and provide a baseline for further research.

So there you have it today. Two studies that are complete nonsense.