Happy strategy

Picture this: you wake up as the sun rises, emerge from your cave or hut, and set off in search of food. Dodging predatorsAnimals that prey on and eat other animals. , you might gather mushrooms and berries, or you might hunt wild animals with tools made from stone. 

This is what your daily life would be like if you lived in the PalaeolithicAn early part of the Stone Age, when humans used basic stone implements. period - roughly 2.5 million years ago. Early humans lived in small communities and survived on resources from nature. Life was simpler, but it was also dangerous.

Around the world, there are a handful of groups that still live this way: in remote tribes, deep into the forest, far away from cities, other people and modern life. They include the indigenous people of south America, such as members of the Xokleng, Kaingang and Guarani groups, pictured above.

But for most people, nowadays, life is rather different. We wake at unnatural hours, sit glued to our screens all day, and live in huge societies. We eat colourfully packaged foods from the supermarket and live in comfortable homes.

But our brains have more or less remained the same. According to experts, we still have Stone AgeA prehistoric age in which stones were used as tools. It ended around 4,000BC, when metal began to be used instead. minds. When we experience fears and anxieties, it is an evolutionaryRelating to evolution, a process of gradual change that takes place over many generations, during which species of animals, plants, or insects slowly change some of their physical characteristics. response to predatory threats - even though nowadays we are more likely to get anxious in a crowded supermarket or before an important exam.

So for many, the explosive rise in mental health problems is down to our struggle to adapt to modern life. The number of children referred to emergency mental healthcare in England has seen a shocking 50% rise in the last three years.¹

We live a life of abundanceHaving lots of things or a particular thing. . Every day, there is infinitely more to see, more to use, more to say, more to wear, more people to talk to. But is having more really the recipe for happiness?

Some would say no. The old saying goes "money cannot buy happiness". But it has been historically hard to prove.² But recently, interviews in 19 indigenousEthnic groups who are the original or earliest-known inhabitants of an area or country: for example, Native Americans in the USA. communities across the world found that they are just as happy - if not happier than - the average person in rich western countries.³

Is it time to cut back? Perhaps we would all be happier if we crawled back into our caves and spent our days spearing fish. The more we develop, it seems, the less happy we become.

Some suggest a different approach. They say that happiness is a learned skill, like speaking a language. For them, we should stop blaming external factors for our unhappiness, and become the captains of our own destiny.⁴

Can we learn to be happy?

Yes: Mental illness can be scary, but there are always choices we can make and strategies we can use to be happier.

No: Happiness is affected by lots of different things. It is insulting to suggest it is a choice. If anything, it is a privilegeAdvantages or opportunities that certain people have that others do not. .

Or... Happiness is not what we should be aiming for at all. We are not meant to be happy all the time, and it is an unrealistic expectation to place on ourselves. We should focus on being content.