• Norway & Scandinavia

    A hyggelig weekend in Copenhagen

    In the last few years, I have visited Copenhagen several times and in a rather quick succession, albeit for only a couple of days each time (usually a long weekend). On the one hand, I wanted to follow in the footsteps of the protagonists of the Danish TV series ‘The Bridge’ (‘Bron/Broen’) (actually a Danish-Swedish co-production), ‘The Killing’ (‘Forbrydelsen’), and ‘Borgen’. On the other hand, I wanted to experience hygge. Defined as ‘the practice of creating cozy and congenial environments that promote emotional well-being’, hygge is regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture, even though the word actually originates from a Norwegian word meaning wellbeing. I remember walking (a lot) around the…

  • Reading

    Beyond hygge: The Atlas of Happiness

    Stumbling across The Atlas of Happiness: the global secrets of how to be happy Helen Russell’s latest book, I immediately knew I wanted to read it. On the one hand, I have always been fascinated by maps, geography and traveling. On the other, as a Psychiatrist, I help people in their pursuit of their happiness, and guide them through the long and winding road of life, usually at times when they’re the least happy.   I first came across Russell a couple of years ago during one of my trips to Copenhagen. At that time, according to the United Nations World Happiness Report, Denmark was the happiest country in the…

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  • Norway & Scandinavia,  Reading,  Wellbeing

    Hygge, Lagom & Lykke: 10 books about Scandi happiness

    Denmark, Norway, Finland. According to the United Nations World Happiness Report that gets published every year, the Nordic countries are thought to be the happiest on Earth. Controversial as this may be, the Nordic countries do score highly on six key variables associated with happiness: income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust and generosity. One may argue that it is the social welfare system in these countries that allows them to score so high and top the list of happiness. Yet, I think there may be something more… Could hygge be the answer? Or lagom perhaps?   The Scandinavian word ‘hygge’ has recently entered the English language. Defined as ‘the practice…