Their responses intrigued me as they contradicted the well-known article on happiness in The Economist that went viral in 2010: “The U-Bend of Life.” This was a common topic of conversation among my family and friends during this time, as it had a particular resonance with people in both its counter-intuitive yet completely reasonable analyses.
The theory of the U-bend came about as researchers discovered consistent findings from independent research projects on happiness and well-being all over the world. That is happiness, pleasure and enjoyment are most tenuous during the middle-ages of life, starting in the 20s with depression peaking at 46, which the author described as “middle-age-misery.” The happiness of peoples’ youth, however, not only returned but were experienced in higher levels in their 70s.
Researchers hypothesized that middle-age misery was due to the overwhelming number of familial, professional and financial demands during these years and that people became more self-accepting, less ambitious and more mindful of living in the present moment instead of the future as people approached their 70s.