The middle-aged are no longer the most miserable
Youth used to be cheerful. No more
FOR DECADES, surveys have suggested that middle age is the low point of life. While young and old generally reported high levels of life satisfaction, those in mid-life endured a slump. This “U-bend of happiness” or “hump of despair”, depending on perspective, has been documented hundreds of times across many countries. The age of peak misery varied—the Swiss were saddest at 35, Ukrainians in their 60s—but the pattern was consistent.
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