Debunking Myths

Despite regularly ranking high up in global happiness indexes, the image of the Nordic people as extraordinarily suicidal has persisted since the 1960s. The fact is that most studies do not indicate a particularly strong tendency towards suicide in the Nordic region. Nordic people are just like people elsewhere. Their struggles with suicide indicate the challenges of modern society and the tragedy of mental illness.

There is a common understanding outside the Nordic countries that Nordic people can all understand one another’s languages, or at least the Scandinavians (the Danes, Swedes and Norwegians) can. However, this impression of linguistic unity is not wholly accurate.