Irish people are among the happiest and healthiest in Europe, a new study shows. If they do feel down in the dumps though, they are also more likely to turn to a general practitioner rather than family for help.
The Eurobarometer survey of 30 states in Europe suggests 82 per cent of people in the Republic feel happy "all" or "most of the time".
This ranks Irish people behind only the carefree Dutch in terms of happiness. In contrast just 42 per cent of Bulgarians and Latvians say they are mostly happy, while the average for the EU is 65 per cent.
Irish people also consider themselves to be healthier than other Europeans.
When asked to what extent health concerns limit people's ability to undertake everyday tasks such as carrying shopping, four out of five respondents in Ireland say it does not limit them at all. Just 59 per cent of Bulgarians give the same answer.
However, the survey of almost 30,000 across Europe (1,000 in Ireland) shows that in Europe, one adult in four is affected by mental health problems. Every year there are about 58,000 suicides in Europe due to mental illnesses.
The survey shows that in the last 12 months, 6 per cent of Irish people say they have taken drugs for psychological or emotional health problems, 3 per cent say they have received psychotherapy and 1 per cent have been admitted to hospital.
Compared with other Europeans, Irish people are much more likely to seek help from their general practitioner rather than a family member or a psychotherapist.
Seventy per cent of Irish people suffering emotional problems seek help from their doctor compared to just 38 per cent of Cypriots.
Just 42 per cent of Irish people would seek help from their family, one of the lowest responses across Europe.
In Cyprus 69 per cent of people turn to their family for help while in Germany 63 per cent of people seek help from their family.
The survey concludes that mental health is one of the major public health challenges in the EU. It says it costs about 3 to 4 per cent of the EU's gross domestic product because people with mental health problems are much less likely to be in paid employment than those with physical disabilities.