--- title: International Happiness Day But I'm Still So Sad. Why? description: God I'm exhausted canonical: https://time.com/31852/international-happiness-day/ author: Matt Vella article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-20T16:58:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:07:59.346Z og:title: 10 Reasons Not to Celebrate International Happiness Day og:description: The world is the worst. Let's not pretend otherwise og:url: https://time.com/31852/international-happiness-day/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e623b2fad78b5b9/69868672810bbbdf74c90980/450770353.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4933 og:image:height: 2775 og:image:alt: 450770353 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 Reasons Not to Celebrate International Happiness Day twitter:description: The world is the worst. Let's not pretend otherwise twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e623b2fad78b5b9/69868672810bbbdf74c90980/450770353.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 10 Reasons Not to Celebrate International Happiness Day > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Matt Vella](https://time.com/author/matt-vella/) ## Matt Vella Mar 20, 2014 4:58 PM UTC  You. (Also, me.) You. (Also, me.) Jamie Grill—Getty Images/Tetra images RF by [Matt Vella](https://time.com/author/matt-vella/) ## Matt Vella Mar 20, 2014 4:58 PM UTC March 20 is the United Nations’ International Happiness Day, though honestly you could’ve fooled me. [Speaking](http://www.un.org/en/events/happinessday/) at a meeting on “Happiness and Well-Being: Defining a New Economic Paradigm” during the sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the world “needs a new economic paradigm that recognizes the parity between the three pillars of sustainable development. Social, economic and environmental well-being are indivisible.” It’s a beautiful thought. But one that should not distract us from the fact that the world is a horrible place full of meaningless suffering, a place in which we toil away until we take our last pathetic breath and disappear into nothingness. Everyone—and I mean everyone—dies in their own arms, after all. Anyway! Here are the top reasons to ignore this “holiday” and stay as depressed, despondent, and downcast as the other 364 days of 2014. 10\. [Syria](http://time.com/30208/israel-syria-assad/). 9\. The collapse of the [Central African Republic](http://lightbox.time.com/2014/02/10/central-african-republic-violence/#1). 8\. [Female circumcision](http://lightbox.time.com/2014/02/06/female-circumcision-kenya/). 7\. [This](http://lightbox.time.com/2014/02/17/poaching-in-asia-photos/). 6\. Also, [this](http://time.com/31410/nigerias-reckless-neglect/). 5\. Even cathartic, post-apocalyptic movies are getting [boring](http://time.com/31853/review-divergent-is-deja-vu-of-post-apocalyptic-y-a-fiction-thrillers/). 4\. Afghanistan is still [falling](http://lightbox.time.com/2014/01/28/muhammed-muheisens-portraits-of-young-afghan-refugees/#1) to [pieces](http://time.com/31578/10-dead-in-coordinated-attacks-in-eastern-afghanistan/). 3\. [Crimea](http://time.com/31677/ukraine-crimea-russia/). 2\. [Disappearing airplanes](http://time.com/31369/missing-jet-two-objects-spotted-mh370-australia/). 1\. 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