The art ofbeing happyis all about mental health and relationship status , according to a new study lead by researchers from the London School of Economics . The squad also discovered thatmoney and material wealthhave very piffling impact on our overall felicity levels , and call for “ a raw focus for public policy : not ‘ wealthiness introduction ’ but ‘ wellbeing instauration ’ . ”

In their report , the source note that life satisfaction among the general universe , rather than economic growth , has been the individual biggest predictor of the termination of European elections since the 1970s . They correct out to try and pin down the key factors that add to that problematical sentiency of contentment .

Looking at survey datum from Australia , the UK , Germany and the US , the team probe the responses of more than 200,000 people to questions about what lifestyle element most affect their happiness .

They discovered thatmental health has by far the full-grown influence , with impression and anxiousness being responsible for around 20 percent of the pas seul in life-time satisfaction . Having a partner was also incur to have a considerable wallop on felicity , but income accounted for less than 2 percent of the overall variance .

The research worker then calculated that abolishingdepression and anxietywould be four times more effective at end misery than kick upstairs all income so that no one was earning below the 20th centile of the national norm .

evidently , eliminating these disorder is not currently possible , although the author found that treatingdepressionand anxiousness costs 18 times less than raising mass above the poverty line , and may therefore ply a cost - effective strategy to reducing misery .

When looking at how puerility experience sham adult happiness , the research worker discover that aroused health as a youngster was far more significant than fiscal resources , and was the biggest determinant of a person ’s wellbeing later in life .

The full results of this study are to be presented by and by this month at a conference that the author say they “ hope will show in another revolution – where policymaking at last aims at what really count : the happiness of the the great unwashed . ”