The December 7, 2009 issue of Time Magazine just confirmed what we always knew:  Hawaii residents top the nation for the "happy factor".

According to the article, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention conducted two nationwide surveys (1993 to 2001 and 2003 to 2006), asking 2.4 million people about their overall mood. The researchers were looking for something they called "frequent mental distress" and asked respondents to tell them how many days in the preceding month their mental health had been less than optimal. Frequent mental distress (FMD) was defined as having 14 or more bad days out of 30.  Apparently, 9% of Americans suffer from FMD, with Kentucky, West Virginia and Mississippi leading the "sad" states.  But in both surveys, Hawaii averaged only 6.6% of people suffering from FMD, making it the happiest of states in both surveys!

The article ends with this quote, "Never mind the Dow and the S&P; the true national indicator may be the FMD."

And that news just confirms what the locals always say: "Lucky you live Kauai."