All right ladies, we have something seriously sad to chat about—our unhappiness. In fact, we are so increasingly unhappy that Arianna Huffington of The Huffington Post is devoting an entire series of blogs to explore what the heck is up with us. Before you blame it on our society, know this: Study after study shows that our happiness has been in decline since the 1970s. Even more disturbing is that this trend spans all countries, cultures, socio-economic levels, ages, and marital statuses. Plain and simple, we are in a collective slump. Worst part? We don’t know why. [Huffington Post]Not that there could be any simple explanation or solution, but I have a theory. I think women are confused about the world and our place in it. We’re constantly trying to untangle the phenomenological knot of mixed messages we receive about who we are “supposed” to be. It is nearly impossible for anyone in an existential web of such magnitude to see the light. Hence, our profound unhappiness—we feel uncertain of our meaning or purpose as a gender. Even if you are not experiencing this confusion personally, I think we all carry this around in ourselves in our collective mind. Psychiatrist and philosopher Carl Jung was the first to introduce the concept of the collective unconscious—meaning we all live an individual life but share a collective understanding that informs our lives. That means the responsibility of this problem belongs to all of us. How can we lift ourselves up out of this rabbit hole? Please share your thoughts. I’m also curious to hear why you think women are less happy these days.
