Why Mental Health Is Improving in These Places

What seven unexpected nations reveal about healing in hard times.

Author

Philip Saparov
December 15, 2025

In partnership with

Greetings, seeker of sanity in a chaotic world—

While anxiety and depression surge globally, a few countries are quietly flipping the script.

How? Through unexpected tactics: forest prescriptions, joy rituals, loneliness ministers—even happiness laws.

In this edition, we reveal where mental health is improving—and why it matters to you.

Let’s dive in.

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Finland, crowned the world’s happiest country six years running, doesn’t leave mental health to chance. It treats well-being as a public good—and designs systems to support it.

From school-age programs like KiVa, which build emotional literacy, to national health coverage that includes therapy, Finland focuses on prevention and early intervention. Work-life balance, nature immersion, and quiet social norms all play a role in keeping stress at bay.

Even architecture and urban planning emphasize mental peace—with saunas, forests, and silence considered essential.

🔎 Unexpected fact: Finnish doctors can prescribe time in nature—a proven treatment for anxiety and mild depression.

Despite decades of conflict and economic disparity, Colombia is defying expectations when it comes to emotional resilience.

How? A deeply embedded culture of joy. Music, dancing, and shared celebrations are more than traditions—they’re emotional regulation tools, backed by science. These rituals lower stress hormones and elevate mood naturally.

Meanwhile, Colombia’s government has expanded community-based mental health centers and trauma-informed care programs, especially in previously conflict-ridden zones.

🔎 Little-known stat: Colombia now has more community-based mental health centers per capita than any other Latin American country.

Long haunted by isolation and an aging population, Japan is taking bold steps toward emotional healing.

In 2021, it appointed a Minister of Loneliness, launching programs that reconnect the elderly, support the bereaved, and reduce stigma around seeking help. The government now funds social support check-ins through mail carriers, a creative workaround for limited healthcare access.

Younger generations are also shifting cultural norms, with therapy, mindfulness, and emotional openness becoming more acceptable.

🔎 Modern twist: Tokyo cafés now offer “anti-loneliness” booths—designed for solo diners who just want company while eating.

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Rwanda offers one of the most powerful examples of post-crisis mental health progress. After the 1994 genocide, it embraced collective healing—not silence.

Community justice systems (Gacaca courts), trauma-informed therapy, and nationwide mental health awareness have rebuilt the emotional foundation of a nation. Today, Rwanda deploys mobile psychiatric units across rural regions and integrates mental health into primary care.

🔎 Surprising result: Rwanda’s suicide rate has fallen by more than 50% in the last decade, according to WHO data.

Bhutan’s commitment to Gross National Happiness isn’t just poetic—it’s practical. The country tracks well-being as a core performance metric and designs policies accordingly.

Mental health services blend modern therapy with traditional spirituality. Students practice daily mindfulness. Communities support each other through interdependence, not isolation.

In a world chasing productivity, Bhutan chose presence. And it’s working.

🔎 Cultural insight: Silence is considered a nutrient in Bhutanese schools—scheduled just like math or science.

Portugal made global headlines by decriminalizing drug use—but few realize that decision transformed the nation’s mental health landscape.

Instead of punishment, Portugal invested in community care, reintegration programs, and mobile psychiatric units. Therapy is increasingly accessible through public insurance, and mental health literacy campaigns are expanding across the country.

🔎 Promising trend: Portugal’s suicide rate has dropped 20% over the last decade, outperforming much of the EU.

With more bicycles than people, the Netherlands may have stumbled into one of the world’s most sustainable antidepressants.

Cycling reduces stress, improves brain chemistry, and boosts daily physical activity—all contributing to emotional stability. Meanwhile, the Dutch healthcare system covers mental health comprehensively, and schools focus on life satisfaction over pressure.

🔎 Feel-good fact: Dutch children consistently rank as the happiest in the world, according to UNICEF.

These seven nations prove one thing: rising anxiety is not inevitable.

From Rwanda’s trauma healing to Finland’s forest therapy, they remind us—mental health can be built, protected, and prioritized.

As you weigh where to live, work, or retire, don’t just ask what it costs. Ask how it feels.

Because without mental well-being, everything else is just survival.

Stay curious. Stay selective. The good life still exists—somewhere.

Warm regards,

Shane Fulmer
Founder, WorldPopulationReview.com

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