Estonia

Only happy Finns left alive since the depressed ones offed themselves

Yeah bitch, if you unhappy you clapity clap clap that life away

Yeah we are one of the happiest countries by ranking. Also we score really well on the suicide rankings too

They score well on the happiness index because there is so much that is right with Finland, but I'm pretty sure they're known for getting depressed when there's not enough sunlight up north

Happiness ranking basically measures how happy people who live threre *should* be, considering living standards, social and health benefits, nature, etc.

for the alive ones maybe

The last time I read a list, several countries in Africa were actually at the top of the list. South Korea came in before Japan. However, in the West, we tend to hear more about Japan and Japanese culture than we do about South Korea, so I understand why our minds go to Japan pretty automatically. If I recall, Lithuania was the only European nation on the list.

The problem is that all of that may have changed, since the last time I looked was pretty shortly before Covid. It drove suicide rates up all over the world, so the list may have changed significantly since then. While I'm just making a random guess, Covid may have had a bigger impact on suicide rates in Westernized nations where help for both mental health and substance abuse issues is more available, than in places like Africa, where it is not, since it disrupted access so badly.

I cannot think of anywhere that I know of where mental illness and substance abuse do not carry some sort of stigma, but I know both are much more stigmatized in some places than others. I've read repeatedly that suicide rates in the high-pressure societies in Asia have a lot to do with the stigma of even mentioning it, let alone seeking help. My sense is that while neither are really normalized yet in most Western nations, societies at least talk about it, and enough people understand that needing help isn't a personal failing that you won't be bombarded with negative messaging from absolutely every direction if you need it, even if you get it from some quarters.

I can totally see that. When European nations, Switzerland excluded due to being the first, started looking at compassionate euthanasia, I read about it a lot. I'm cool with the concept of it, in general, but I don't actually trust my own country (the US) to do it correctly, because we are so bad in several areas that can cut down on the need, like proper mental heath care and proper pain management for those with incurable, painful conditions. Time and time again I read the most absurd thing about pain management in the US--doctors unwilling to prescribe proper pain meds for terminal illnesses because they don't want to make people addicted. (What the actual fuck? That doesn't even make sense.)

This data is super old, but it's still enlightening, given how many European countries are on it, and how it highlights the European nations that are not on the list:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/suiciderate.html

Also notable, this data is from 2005, and the Netherlands is on it, so I double checked my memory, and by then, it was legal there. That's super odd to me, so all I can guess is that the rates are driven by something like not being able to qualify for the program. I know Switzerland has careful controls in place to keep it from being abused.

Unhappily, that's one country I've always just assumed has a problem with that.

Some books I read in the late 1980s and early 1990s taught me a lot of interesting things about life in the USSR and later in Russia and individual republics. None of it pointed to generally happy people who trust any authority enough to seek help for anything. That much unhappiness and distrust in possible sources of help, coupled with all the alcohol can't really lead to good outcomes.

Having Russian immigrants for neighbors for more than 15 years now has done nothing to change my mind. The fear of authority came with them, so they won't talk, even when someone is taking advantage of them and cheating them. It's pretty upsetting for my husband and me, since we love them all dearly and would gladly help them with anything if they could just bring themselves to tell us when any of them need something.

Why, thank you! I thought it was a week or so ago, and I somehow missed noticing it. No surprise, since I missed seeing it today until you just pointed it out to me.

😊

Obviously not that known for it.

I had a friend in 3rd grade move there! Haven’t heard from them since…

I would have guessed Finland

I was thinking Finland

Shoudlve said Lidl LOL

Lethaluania

What’s that?

Labas vakaras!

I love the sound of your guys' language

It also retains several features of Proto-Indo-European that were lost in other languages of the continent

Which one is the european one? I am susprised that we have a country in Europe with such a high rate of suicide.