Thanks to a little thing called the cost of living crisis, it seems that people’s dopamine levels are at an all-time low. In fact, according to the annual Health, Wealth and Happiness Index, overall happiness levels in the country are at their second lowest level since it began collecting data in 2011.
And it seems people in some places are more miserable than others. This year’s poll has revealed the areas of the UK where locals have experienced the biggest drop in happiness over the past 12 months.
It probably won’t come as a surprise to most, but LifeSearch, the insurance company that commissioned the report, found that happiness levels had dropped the most in London, where 36 percent of residents said they were less cheerful than this time last year.
The capital city was followed by the South West, with 27 percent of people reporting a drop in happiness, and then Yorkshire and Humber on 26 percent.
Across the country as a whole, 25 percent of Brits have said that their happiness levels have decreased. At the other end of the scale, the West Midlands was revealed as the area where joy had declined the least, with only 17 percent reporting feeling less positive about things, followed closely by the East Midlands.
Nina Skero, chief executive of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said these low happiness levels could persist for a while, particularly as the old cozzy livs continues.
‘We expect pressures to persist in the coming year, especially in terms of inflation and spending power,’ she said. However, there may be some room for optimism as she added that ‘the outlook is somewhat rosier than was the case at the turn of the year, with consumers showing considerable resilience in the face of troublesome economic conditions’.
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