Healthy Relationships Make You Happier Than Money Ever Will, Science Says

I don't know about you, but every time I find myself feeling depressed, I turn into a materialistic monster.

If only I got that raise. If I only got a multi-million-dollar talk show deal. If only I had enough money for a seaside holiday like the rest of my spoiled brat friends, I would be HAPPY.

Turns out, I'm totally wrong, babe.

According to a new study from The London School of Economics, happiness is less about the amount of cold cash you have sitting in your bank account and more about having strong mental health and steady human partnership (aka healthy relationships).

In fact, strong mental health and ~love~ actually make people more blissful than if they were to double their income, according to the BBC.

The thing that makes us unhappy is not being broke, but more about being emotionally broken.

After evaluating 200,000 British people, researchers were able to identify that the number one thing that made people unhappy was not about being broke in the bank, but more about being emotionally broken.

And according to The Guardian, focusing our attention on overcoming anxiety and depression over focusing on money will actually make people happier than obsessing about being the wealthiest entities in all of Beverly Hills.

Professor Richard Layard, co-author of the study, said to the BBC,

The evidence shows that the things that matter most for our happiness and for our misery are our social relationships and our mental and physical health. In the past, the state has successively taken on poverty, unemployment, education and physical health. But equally important now are domestic violence, alcoholism, depression and anxiety conditions, alienated youth, exam-mania and much else. These should become center stage.

"Anxiety conditions, Alienated Youth and Exam-Mania" should be the title of my memoir.

But before you quit your steady job and just travel the world penniless like a real bohemian, it's important to remember that other research suggests people are at their happiest when they avoid losing money, instead of getting more.

Researchers found that if a person were to get a raise at work, they didn't necessarily become happier a person, but when they lost income, they weren't as happy with their lives.

Seriously kittens, how eerily real is this? Our social-media driven society is so besotted with having money, having "things" and getting LIKES that I think we've forgotten having love and happiness in real life is really what's going to fulfill us in the long run.

So stop worrying about the fact that you can't afford those $2,000 hair extensions and start cultivating real connections with people instead.

The moral of the story is what the moral of the story always is: Channel your inner yogi and practice balance. Keep a steady income, but don't prioritize making a mountain of money over having healthy relationships.

Oh, and since mental health is really important, rather than worrying about saving every dime, spend some of that cash on a good therapist who gets you.