SA ranked one of the most miserable countries in the world

South Africa has been ranked as one of the most miserable countries in the world, according to the Mental State of the World Report. 

SOUTH AFRICA GOT A MENTAL HEALTH QUOTIENT SCORE OF 50 OUT 100

The report revealed that South Africans are the third most unhappiest nation in the world. 

South Africa got a mental health quotient score of 50 out of 100. 

So, what is it that is making South Africans so unhappy? Could it be load shedding? Crime? Unemployment? 

Last week, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) approved guidelines for implementing load shedding up to Stage 16.

WHAT IS MAKING SOUTH AFRICANS SO UNHAPPY?

This report, published annually by the Global Mind Project, offers a comprehensive view of the evolving mental well-being of the global Internet-enabled population.

It presents the mental state of populations over the year, trends relative to previous years, and insights into key drivers of these trends. 

Additionally, Rapid Reports published throughout the year provide further insight and perspectives on various aspects of mental well-being based on the data.

WHAT IS MENTAL WELL-BEING? 

“Mental well-being reflects our mental capability and functioning, as well as our ability to navigate and cope with life’s stresses. It is not the same as happiness or life satisfaction. 

“You could, for example, be experiencing very difficult or sad circumstances in your life but nonetheless have all the capabilities to cope as best as one could, and therefore have a high level of mental well-being.” the report said.

‘MENTAL WELL-BEING REFLECTS OUR MENTAL CAPABILITY AND FUNCTIONING’

The report stated that they measure it using the MHQ assessment.

The Mental Health Quotient (MHQ) constitutes a uniquely comprehensive assessment of mental well-being, comprising 47 elements of mental feeling and function. These elements encompass symptoms of 10 major disorders and positive aspects of mental function.

It uses these elements to provide an aggregate score to position individuals on a spectrum from Distressed to Thriving. And sub-scores across six broad functional dimensions. 

THE REPORT IS BASED ON MORE THAN 400 000 RESPONSES FROM 71 COUNTRIES

The 2023 Report is based on 419,175 responses from 71 countries in 13 languages.

“In this report, we highlight mental well-being trends over time, as well as the relative mental well-being of 71 countries.”

Furthermore the Global Mind Project also provides indices of various dimensions of mental well-being relating to specific aspects of mental function. 

THE PROJECT PROVIDES INDICES OF VARIOUS DIMENSIONS OF MENTAL WELL-BEING

These include: 

• Social Self: How you interact with, relate to and see yourself with respect to others.
• Mood and Outlook: Your ability to manage and regulate your emotions effectively. And to have a constructive or optimistic outlook for the future.
• Adaptability & Resilience: Your ability to shift your behaviour and outlook in response to changing circumstances and cope with the challenges and setbacks.  
• Drive and Motivation: Your ability to work towards achieving your desired goals. And to initiate, persevere and complete activities in your daily life. 
• Cognition: Your ability to perform basic cognitive functions. Make sense of complex sets of events and situations, and display a longer-term perspective in your thoughts and behavior.
• Mind-Body Connection: The regulation of the balance between your mind and body. 

HERE IS HOW SOUTH AFRICA DID WITH THE VARIOUS DIMENSIONS:

“We construct these indices or scores from subsets of items within the MHQ, and we report them on the same scale as the MHQ.”

How did South Africa do? 

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