Europe’s ‘most stressed and depressed’ country with streets ravaged by protests

Greece is a place that is seen as idyllic in the minds of many – with its crystal blue waters, iconic white houses and, of course, its sumptuous food.

But away from the tourism hotspots adored by Brits, it’s also a country whose residents struggle with stress and depression.

At least that’s what one study from last year by CBDolie.nl revealed calling it “the most stressed in Europe” due to a range of factors such as the prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorders, reports of stress and sadness and average weekly hours worked.

To investigate the claims, YouTubers from a Canadian digital media company called Yes Theory ventured to the country to find out from Greek nationals why they felt so unhappy.

Just days ago thousands of protesters gathered outside the parliament in Athens to oppose the government’s plans to introduce private universities.

And more than 1,500 protesters gathered in the city last month to oppose legislation that would legalise same-sex marriage in Greece.

One of the presenters of a mini documentary on the channel chatted to a man in Athens who was observing the protests.

He said: “It said on the internet in a statistic that Greece is the most stressed and depressed country in Europe. Like do you feel that, as well, around your environment?”

The man replied: “Yeah in Athens definitely man. It’s a very stressful country because the prices are very out of control right now and wages are stagnant.

Another resident also spoke about how unhappy Greek people are with the economics of the country which has famously suffered badly over the past decade.

Greece has been a member of the Eurozone since 2001 but the country’s time in the European Union has been fraught with political and financial turmoil.

He said: “In Greece here we’re stressed because the economy is really bad and we have really bad government.”

“Everything here is very expensive now,” he added.