Nearly 8,000 Limburgers participated in that largest happiness report. “An exceptionally high number,” emphasizes Professor Hanne Kindermans of Hasselt University. How satisfied are we with our lives? “Zero represented the worst possible life, ten represents the best possible life. The Limburgers gave an average score of 6.89 out of ten. Still a nice result. In the happiness report on Monday you will also discover how Limburg scores compared to the rest of Belgium. That was surprising, actually. We are not the happiest in the world, that is reserved for Finland.”
But what makes Limburgers happy or not happy? Kindermans: “We will be discussing this all week. Does age play a role? Does marital status matter? Our health? What if we think we can make our own happiness? And what is the role of having children or being healthy? We can already lift one tip of the veil: we still seem to find a butter note important.”
Depression
Those over 75 appear to be the most satisfied: they even give their daily lives a score of 7.65 points out of ten. But we see less good results among young people and young adults. They also score worse when it comes to their mental health. “There was of course a peak during corona, but we clearly see that the situation has not (yet) recovered,” says Hanne Kindermans. “Covid in itself was a ‘good crisis’ because mental wellbeing was put on the agenda. But we must certainly ensure that it remains on the table.”
Lonely
Loneliness is mainly associated with the elderly, but in the Limburg happiness report there is one striking category that surprises. Kindermans: “Just because you have a lot of people around you doesn’t mean you can’t feel lonely. It’s also about connecting with people.”
Professor Hanne Kindermans: “A butter note appears to be important to be happy. — © Sven Dillen
Indra Dewitte, editor-in-chief of Het Belang van Limburg: “You notice it all around you: mental health, mental health is an issue. Attention must be paid to it, we must not go over it too quickly. Because too often we have the tendency to say: just get yourself together. But that’s not how it works,” Dewitte emphasizes. “That is the unique role we take on as a civic newspaper, with our citizen surveys. We want to discuss this, listen and help find a solution. The fact that almost 8,000 Limburgers participated in this extensive scientific research proves the need.”
Bees
And so we will of course also use the newspaper to look for tips to boost or maintain our well-being and sense of happiness. Professor Kindermans: “The research has revealed one clear winner, which we will put into practice in the series next week. But because it was an open question, we also saw ‘niche answers’ such as beekeeping, tai chi or driving a car. As long as it works for you.”
Tags: largest Limburg happiness report UHasselt HBVL Hasselt
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