to think we should be grateful for flushing toilets...

[evergreener]

honestly, there is so much trauma and anxiety on these threads, and I don't really understand it. Spending much of time in a part of the world with no sanitation or drinking water, I think that we are incredibly privileged and fortunate in the UK. I'm thankful for access to flushing toilets every day!

yet these threads are so full of misery, inspite of our luxurious life style, abundance of clean water, cheap food, clothes, education, medical care, etc.

People are upset about not wanting a CAT scan, wanting a change or HRT medication, teens being anxious about going to school, wanting a better car, not liking the homework a teacher has set, wanting their partner to get up early with the baby, wanting someone else to unload the dishwasher, worried about what brand of moisturiser to use, and so on and so on

I hope I am not offending too many people by saying this, but we are so rich here, we have so many luxuries, we had such an easy pandemic, we have got everything that most of the worlds population cant even dream of, why is everyone so sad?

I think it's ok to be bothered by things, even minor ones, whilst also appreciating the flushing toilet.

Did you notice that in some of those parts of the world people were happier?

I wonder if it is because they take life how it comes without needing to beat themselves up all the time.

It's all relative if you grow up with no sanitation limited food choices poor housing your not going to complain about these things because they are your normal but if you grew up and are used to running water flushing toilets cheap food good health the withdrawal of such things will seem distressing

What a stupid thread.

so do I! but its the extent of the discontent that disturbs me, when we really have got it incredibly good

Yet my dc still fail to flush them… I think it’s dd2 but it’s hard to know for sure when there’s 3 of them (all at secondary school!). Misses point of the thread entirely

Happier, yes, and often less stressed. (Except in conflict situations - where there is un surprisingly a lot more stress)

But why are poorer people so much happier than people in the UK? We have above average standard of living and below average happiness

Seriously, you think people are spoiled for expecting HRT and a partner who'll get up with the baby??

Rates of depression and anxiety are indeed unusually high in the UK. There is much greater inequality than in many countries. When people see that others can access housing, dental and GP appointments, free time, parks and other leisure facilities and they themselves can't, then of course they're going to be upset. When there's constant worry about whether medication will be available, people will worry. When there's no one to help with family responsibilities, while many people in other countries have support from their extended families and governments, then there will be stress and exhaustion.

YOU may be living a stress-free and comfortable life, but many aren't. The poor housing standards that are so common here (with mould, cramped conditions, and sky-high rents) aren't even legal in many countries. It's very easy to be optimistic if you don't understand what hardship is.

😂

Bet it's a Boomer or a banker's wife.

You have a very simplistic view of humanity if you can’t get your head around this.

But the people I am talking about can all see what is available in the UK, and other rich nations, and are still happier than we are, even though they are never likely to meet a GP in their entire lives!

I do understand what hardship is, and I don't think a lot of UK residents do, because they have such amazing riches and still feel deprived, and depressed

This thread is heading for deletion 🙄

People’s problems and worries in this country don’t fade away just because people somewhere else in the world have it worse. I’m happy we have toilets that flush and we can easily access food and clean water.

But when you live in a rich country like we do, life becomes a bit more than dreaming about clean water and sanitary living conditions. We have all of that. So we have the headspace to worry about other things. Important relevant things like school work and how we feel about ourselves amongst thousands of other things.

The village I was living in last year had one toilet between around 300 people, and it didn't flush, it was over a pit. There were no roads or transport, just one rough track in, an hour or more walk to school, very little electricity, most people had no shoes, everyone washed their clothes when they took them off at night to wear again the next day, from the age of about 5 upward..... but happier and less stressed than a lot of people in the UK

why is this?

I genuinely don't know, but I wonder if people in the UK feel some sort of right to have more than they do, but other people dont have that feeling in other parts of the world

so be it, if that is what Mumsnet want to do, let them delete it

This

OP are you seriously suggesting you never get upset or angry or worried about things in your daily life because we’re lucky to have flushing toilets and don’t live on the Gaza Strip?

people in poorer countries have plenty of head space too, and think about and discuss the same things you are listing here, but in my experience don't get so stressed and anxious about these things

Poor people in developing countries aren't a special noble species, they also get concerned, sad, angry etc about trivial things. Most of us have both big and small problems.

@funinthesun19 l, you've nailed the point OP hasn't - that it's all about comparison with what might be considered the norm in each particular country.
I know I have more available to me than someone in a third world country, but that doesn't mean I have less worries.

yes, to some extent I might get annoyed about something trivial, sometimes, but it doesn't get out of proportion - I have an underlying contentment and satisfaction with life that is not unusual in the poorer countries I have lived in, but seems much more unusual here

maybe its just the culture of stress

It is true we live a life of luxury which only a handful of generations ago would have been undreamed of, even among the wealthiest.

I have carpets on my floors, shelves full of books. I don't have to share a room or a bed. Clean, hot and cold running water literally on tap - no going to and from the well in the dark / cold / rain. No boiling water just to have a bath. I have machines that do so much labour for me - washing up, laundry. I can go to my kitchen right now and have fresh fruit from thousands of miles away and what's more it's cheap. I have more clothes than I need and get to choose what shoes to wear each day. I don't need to chop wood or scrub hearths to keep warm - even though we're frugal with the utilities thanks to the cost, I don't need to fear perishing in the cold over winter. I have answers to every question I can think of at the touch of a few buttons. I can hear any piece of music I choose whenever I choose. I don't need to fear disease or injury - we have vaccinations, free medical care, and I won't be turfed out of my job if I've broken a leg. I don't need to fear STIs or unwanted pregnancy - I can control my risk.

We are lucky. Sometimes we forget that.

That said, it doesn't mean people can't suffer from depression or have problems.

yes of course, I am talking about the UK being so much more unhappy than average though, inspite of the wonderful standard of living.