No-one is happy to have an illness.
But for the Italians, there are illnesses which – probably due to stigma and to the difficulties of everyday living and personal relationships – may be even more difficult to bear.
This is the picture of Italy’s 1.5 million psoriasis sufferers that emerges from the World Psoriasis Happiness Report 2017, drawn up by the Happiness Research Institute. The report looked at more than 120,000 people in 184 countries who live with psoriasis, measuring their happiness deficit, comparing the general population and those with psoriasis in 19 countries, including Italy.
Itching, skin desquamation, and reddening of the skin are the symptoms reported in Italy as being the most bothersome and prone to interfere with interpersonal relationships (erroneously), especially if this is associated with motor difficulties. Difficulty walking is the factor which most affects wellbeing: a happiness deficit of 17.8 per cent.