85% of unhappy people have mental disorders

 

🌍 How Many People Are Unhappy or Mentally Discontent?

• In 30 surveyed countries, 29% of adults report they are unhappy, while 71% say they are happy.
  (Ipsos, Ipsos)

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📊 Among Unhappy People: What Are Their Mental Health Profiles?

Unfortunately, few sources directly categorize mental health breakdowns within unhappy populations. But we can approximate using available data:

• A representative Dutch study showed:

  • Of those who felt never or rarely happy in the past four weeks:

    • 57.7% had a diagnosed mental disorder

    • 26.9% had a history of one (in remission or past)
      ⇒ Together, 84.6% had either current or past mental disorder.
      (globalmentalhealthcommission.org, Verywell Health, SpringerOpen)

Using this as a rough proxy for broader populations:

Of the ~29% who report being unhappy, likely:

• ~17% have a current mental disorder

• ~8% have had one previously

• ~4% are mentally healthy but unhappy due to other factors (financial, grief, etc.)

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💭 Among Happy People: Genetic Risk for Mental Disorders

• According to a large-scale study (WHO/Harvard/Queensland), 50% of people worldwide will develop at least one mental disorder by age 75.
  (Axios)

This implies:

• Even among currently happy adults (~71% of population):

  • Up to ~50% still carry genetic or environmental risk factors and may experience mental illness later.

  • Many may never know it until illness starts—but the risk exists.

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📌 Summary Table

Group	% of total population	% with current / past mental disorder	% mentally healthy but unhappy	% with future risk (among happy)
Unhappy	~29%	~58% current + ~27% past → total ~85%	~15%	–
Happy	~71%	Cannot specify now	Cannot specify	Up to ~50% have future risk

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References: 

https://www.ipsos.com/en-nl/global-attitudes-happiness-and-quality-life

https://globalmentalhealthcommission.org/mental-health-statistics/

https://psywb.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/2211-1522-1-2