Are Women Less Happy?

Because my primary focus as a counselor is on happiness and women I have been intrigued by a recent study that was published earlier this year about those 2 topics. According to research done by Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers--women's happiness has decreased.  Since 1972, each year, scientists have asked men and women to rank their happiness on a scale from 1 to 3 (3 being happiest).  This research shows that over the past 37 years women have decreased in happiness while men have increased.  Needless to say this has sparked a fire storm of debate.  At the Huffington Post there has been two recent articles on the subject which I have found particularly interesting one from a male perspective discussing the findings and one from a female perspective countering the findings.   As with any research, there is always room for arguments:  women are more intouch with their feelings therefore they answer more honestly then men, women in the 70s had simpler lives therefore they were happier (before you fire off comments at me--I have taken these arguments from the above mentioned articles)

The interesting thing to me is what all these articles have sparked, what thousands of books have been written about and what I continually discuss in my practice and with my friends is:  What does it mean to be HAPPY?  Is happy something that one we find we never lose?  Is happy something we can rate across the board or does it depend on the day/week/hour?

In my practice I talk about Live Happier--not FINDING your happiness, not BE happy.  I believe living happier is a balance between gratitude for what we have in the present and a purpose/passion for our future.   Living Happier is about striving for that balance on a daily basis. Unfortunately in my experience many of the women I see have lost that balance--they are doing too much for other people and have lost the ability to do for themselves.  I am not saying that wasn't true in the 70s but in my experience with female clients they are doing for others at work AND at home and they have lost sight of their purpose/passion.  They are pulled in a thousand directions and have lost the ability to see themselves and what might on a day to day basis make them happier.

I am not saying women have it harder then men or arguing the validity of this research.  However, what this research and the subsequent debate has made me realize--that as a population of people (men and women) we need to be working together and making living happier a priority so that next year when this survey is complete BOTH men and women are Living Happier.

What do you think?? Are Women Less Happy?