I Don't Know But I Do Wonder...

Last night I was in the kitchen with a cousin of mine (Simi) and we got into an argument over something I thought was inane at the time. She said that a survey was carried out in Africa to determine who were the happiest people in the world and statistically Nigeria came up on top and that she agreed with it.

I immediately disagreed with her, stating that apart from the fact that surveys always have so many holes in them and so to rely on them especially when it comes to a capricious topic such as "happiness" is really....well sort of silly, and also the fact that most Nigerians I know, even though they are some of the most friendly and nicest people are not the happiest of people.
Her defense was that Nigerians suffered hardships of a third world country in what is supposed to be a developed country and yet the people still live their lives with determined fortitude and gratitude (which was sort of evident in them being some of the most religious people in the world)
I countered what she said by pointing out that it is a condition most humans are blessed with, even during the most dire of times we still seem to unconsciously find something to hold on to, something that keeps us going, we also seek comfort in each other knowing that we are all living in hardship. I also said that yes Nigeria maybe afflicted with some really fucked up donkey shit but if you were born in hardship and that was all you knew you would be used to it and you may not realize how bad things were until it was pointed out to you.

Granted neither of us was so eloquent during the argument... the whole discussion was more of us just yelling at each other and neither really listening to the other but Simi then said something that stuck with me and made me actually think she had a point.

She said that we didn't hear of any Nigerians that committed suicide or that suffered from depression (yes I know just because you don't hear about it doesn't mean it doesn't happen but it does mean that theres is a very small percentage of it happening) but it got me thinking and even though I still skeptic about the survey, I found it intriguing that there is a lower number of suicides and depressed people in African countries than there are in more developed countries.


It is an interesting phenomenon, where by people that live more comfortably are the ones that are more mentally unstaible, and even though very little data is collected that documents the suicide rates in Africa I think its easy to see that there is a lower number of suicides just by talking to a Africans you meet about. Granted that there are a lot of different reasons for suicide and not all involve stress, depression and loneliness/isolation; some do it for religious reasons others for honor and in some cases protest (as in the case of Thich Quang Duc) but I am specifically talking about suicide which involves people depressed and unhappy.

Does that mean that you have to suffer to appreciate life and want to live? Maybe there is some truth to that irony but it might be something much different and I apologize for the insinuation of this statement. But maybe it is a race thing, maybe some races are just more susceptible to be more depressed and suicidal, I know it sounds very far fetched and even I dont believe it but it is still a possibility and I would appreciate it if anyone could provide or inform me about any research that might have been taken relating to this train of thought.

I think the first theory holds more water than the race thing though.

It would mean that the will to live is somewhat paradoxical, and people that stricken by poverty or some sort of suffering usually have a strong will to live and find a way to enjoy life and live life. (e.g Terry Fox) On the flipside people that are rich, relatively comfortable and are seemingly in good health find ways to destroy their lives with drugs, alcohol and Et cetera.(e.g countless amount of famous people)

I don't know for sure if any of this is true but I do wonder.