To think most people don’t seem happy these days

[Babyitaintovertilitsover]

Just genuinely happy, like lots used to be

I feel like most people I know are not truly happy, they can laugh or smile at times, but something just isn’t right…am I imagining this? I don’t remember it being like that pre covid

I haven’t noticed any change with my friends and family.

Me neither, there's alot to be happy about

No, haven’t noticed that.

I know exactly what you mean, OP. I think Covid is part of it, but I think there’s more to it.

I’ve been saying for a couple of years I feel like in years to come, we’ll look back on this time as “The Age of Anxiety”- and then I actually saw a sociologist or somesuch use exactly that phrase in an article the other day.

Day to day of course I have moments of joy, and am very happy when I’m with my DS. But generally I’ve found the last 5 years or so very hard going mentally, and I know from chatting with friends I’m far from alone.

Yanbu. Everything just feels like a challenge.

Yanbu. Most people I know, once you get talking for a while, are quite depressed and anxious.

For me what is most noticeable is how children and teens are really suffering from anxiety and depression.

Ive also noticed people seem angrier and less tolerant towards each other.

I find it sad and have to really focus on finding the little bits of joy and lightness in the world.

I think remember back to 2012 and the Olympics and it felt positive and then Brexit and the fucking nasty rhetoric since then battered us down. The pandemic was shite but the cost of living crisis and the endless populist division that the conservatives have shoved down our throats has been awful.
We as a family are so so much worse off thanks to Brexit and Liz Trust trashing the economy. P
So many people have just accepted it as " the pandemic" but that isn't the case. They just have believed the media.
I however refuse to be depressed. My life has been tough in many ways for decades and I refuse to be beaten down by anything (and I've had it all!)

I agree with you.
I think everyone has been through so much since covid, cost of living, wars in other countries, threats of WW3, terrorism, social media, cancel culture, then personal problems on top. Everything just seems overwhelming sometimes. A lot of people I know are not recognisable anymore in terms of their mood and attitude.

For me, it’s definitely since covid. Yes, things were hard before then and I remember some v scary times with terrorists etc, but the general feeling was still much better.
I also agree that people are angrier and more out for themselves.
I am still a positive person and feel happy when with my dc and family and friends, but something seems lost deep down, a lightheartedness hasn’t been there the last four years

I agree. Like the poster above I remember the positivity of 2012 and it seems a world away. Life seems tough at the moment. Brexit is shit. The cost of living is biting. The threat of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza spreading is lurking in the background. Work is stressful. There is so much pressure on our kids. Everything seems like an exhausting grind.

I agree with you. Post Covid has been awful. There's only so much stress people can cope with.

I agree. Brexit was a start of a real decline that just became much faster since the pandemic. Lot less hope and a general sense of doom.

I'm not happy, I haven't been for a long time. Maybe a little down since before covid, but certainly afterwards.

Everything feels like a slog, everything is hard work. Don't get me wrong, I'm not adverse to hard work, but this is incessant.

Everything has felt like hard work for a number of years now for little to no reward. Do more with less in every aspect of your life. Food, bills, pay, work...

Sorry, that sounds so doom and gloom, but it feels like there is so little to look forward to, I can't see a light at the end of the tunnel when any of this universal shitshow is going to get better.

Yes, the contrast between the Olympics and Brexit is so stark it's almost not believable, so so sad 😢

I think people are grumbling more but most people I know seem mostly quite content. I think the deep and meaningful conversations we have are probably a bit deeper, more wide ranging and frequent than a few years ago, not with everyone but some.

We do tend to project our own feelings onto others and misery loves company so if you’re lower than usual other people may seem that way too. I don’t mean that unkindly nor am I saying you’re miserable! I hope you get what I’m trying to say.

@AnneLovesGilbert I’d say I’m more the positive one, or at least try to make myself. People aren’t exactly grumbling around me and everyone’s just getting on with it, it just feels different, it’s not the true happiness I saw/sensed before in people

How old are you? I've found since I've turned 40 mine and my peers' lives have become much less carefree. Ageing parents, peri, divorces, illness, bereavement, infertility. Lots of struggle and unhappiness. Perhaps my friendship group has been unlucky. It's not so much the times we're living in (although that plays a part) as the stage of life I think.

I think living on phones and the internet has contributed to this too op.

I feel much happier if I spend a day out in nature.

Agreed

@IlesFlottante I’m 46, but majority of main friends are late 30’s as they have children the same age as mine (I had mine later due to infertility) I’d say possible peri for me and noticing a very slight difference in parents, so I’m not sure these are the issues, it’s all around me, everyone looks tired and weary

Life has been unbearable the last few years.it’s just a thankless slog now with nothing nice to look forward to as we can’t afford it. I’m sick of worrying about money. If I didn’t have to stay around for the children there’s no way I’d still be here. Can’t even up my anti depressants any more.

My 16yo was telling me about a family who escaped North Korea and their parents gave them tablets to take if they got caught so they’d commit suicide rather than be tortured. We talked about how lucky we are to live in a free country and how we should appreciate what we have because it can go very quickly. I think perspective is important.

That said, we don’t have to live in North Korea to be unhappy, but there’s a lot of good in the UK. I do think we all need a few warm days though for a vitamin D boost!

My parents are also depressed. They are nearly 80 and my Dad’s business, which he was on the verge of selling, slumped away to nothing thanks to Brexit, Covid and Liz Truss. He now has to carry on working to try to build it up again so he can leave my mum comfortable when he dies….which won’t be long as he has terminal bowel and prostate cancer. Imagine having to drag yourself into work every day with that at 78!

I can't say I think that people are especially more down. I think possibly the foul weather might have something to do with it, though. This has been the crappest spring in as long as I can remember. I actually felt that things were a lot better in 2022, because we were finally out of the pandemic. I don't spend too much time thinking about Ukraine or Gaza and actually find that endlessly talking about it is quite annoying and doesn't solve anything.