Happynomics - things that matter, Pt. II

Happiness Economics:  in Pt. I, we said it's economics and psychology, and we looked at wealth.  Here's the psych part.   

So in this graphic, dark red is the world's worst; lighter red and yellow are better.  It's the prevalence of neurological disabilities across national populations.  That's the psychological reality today, or at least a part of it.

It perhaps suggests that the sane folks in the world aren't the rich ones; that there's maybe a correlation between wealth and mental illnesses.  Why might that be?

It's possible that a dog can contribute more to your

 satisfaction with life than any excess of wealth

or luxury.  It's also quite possible that children

 are mentally healthier than adults in the
developed world.  Perhaps because
they spend more time with dogs.

It's just entertaining speculation, but what if a simpler existence were the mentally healthier one.

For most of developing world, there are no checking accounts to balance, no student loans to pay, no choices among schools for your kids, no car insurance or cars for that matter; not one in twenty owns a car.  No retirement plans, no health insurance, no reverse mortgages, no home equity loans, no tax shelters, no charitable deductions, no heating or air conditioning system to get serviced, and no grocery stores to search for your kids favorite cereal.  Prayers are simple and real, "Give us this day, bread, and deliver us from the evil we see."

This index is rather controversial and perhaps exaggerates some factors of disputed significance.

Included in criticisms are questions of relevance for things like ecological impact.  This index
appears to favor tropical regions with beach and palm trees, with which I agree, of course.

Do rich people spend too much of their time thinking about valueless things? Does it matter what we wear tomorrow or what we might have in the pantry or whether our car and house and dinner table appropriately represent the stature of the person we intend to become?

So then, are there any adjustments needed for those who live in the dark red zones?  You can't help but wonder.

This one will probably get me in trouble with my wife.  :)  That happens.