I visited the happiest country. I wish I could unlearn its secret

These self reported metrics (like mostly everything else in Social Sciences) don’t mean anything.

Finland sits about middle in the EU on suicide rates.

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/e...

This happiness survey tells us something about people’s expectations for their own life, which is not completely without value.

Note that the scale is calibrated by what the respondent considers possible:

”Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you, and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?”

In some other countries, the bar for that personal “top of the ladder” is set extremely high by more visible income inequality and concepts like the American Dream which suggest that everyone could/should be a billionaire.

In Finland, a prevailing pessimism keeps expectations in check. (You can see examples of this pessimism in sibling comments here.) Good things are a happy surprise, not something you were promised.

It would even argue that this question (when taken on a average over many responses) is primarily about perceived economic and social mobility.