I keep seeing all these FB post about how happy people are that 2022 is over

[Ferrets are Cool]

and how bad it was as a year. It really confuses me.
Other than finding out that wifey has leukemia, which was a gut punch, but only affected our immediate family, 2022 was not so bad. Not nearly as bad as the two previous years.
So, what are your guesses as to why so many are indicating that 2022 was the worst year since, well whenever?
Personally, I think it's just short memories. Or, maybe all the naysayers are repugs.

[secondwind]

1. Could be that the pandemic wreaked havoc with people's finances, could be the solitude of not

being able to walk about freely, in and out of places, could be a dozen reasons, if not more.

[Shermann]

9. +1

The 60/40 portfolio had the worst returns in 100 years in 2022. Bonds tanked and failed to hedge portfolios against the downturn in equities. This conservative blend is popular with retirees and pre-retirees who may now have to delay their retirement plans.

Money isn't everything, but a setback like this can put a damper over everything else.

[True Dough]

2. It's just some people's nature

to emphasize the negative. The media is always doing it (or accused of doing it).

When was the last year anyone remembers that ended on a high note and the masses reflected on it as a splendid 12 months? I cannot recall such a phenomenon.

Hope your wife has a much healthier 2023 and a full recovery.

[Ferrets are Cool]

3. Thank you for your kind thoughts.

[Meadowoak]

4. 2022 was a great year for me and mine. Hoping 2023 will be even better.

[niyad]

5. Hmmmm. Ukraine. Dodd. Theocratic christofascists on the rise. Inflation.

Triplepandemic. Daily mass shootings. Seeing just how close we came on Jan. 6.

Sending vibes for your wife for recovery and healing.

[Ferrets are Cool]

11. Thank you so much for your thoughts for my wife

[MiHale]

6. Maybe the recent bad events that had us blaming the year...

is a convenient thing to blame. The year is nobody, in a way nothing, numbers can take all the ridicule you can give them and not complain or even have a snarky comeback.

Personally it was a good year…one more completed orbit, didn’t get any sickness, Michigan went blue and more on my boring “good list”. Some people though let the good stuff that happens to or because of them settle to the bottom while the bad stuff floats on top. I feel sorry for them.

[randr]

7. Maybe people are just glad that we are still here

[spooky3]

8. 20% drop in the stock market, historic drop in bonds, and high inflation

Greatly affect retirees. These and high interest rates affect everyone else as well. Since no one knows when these will change, for many people it was a terrible financial year.

[Marthe48]

10. Agaianst a backdrop of war, sedition

human rights abuses, civil rights abuses, dodging bullets, and almost daily reminders that Mother Nature is trying to kill us, people were trying to get back into pre-pandemic routines. So many people found out that they didn't like commuting to work, and would rather stay home, but employers want them in that rented office space. Parents found out that they sucked at homeschooling, especially when the test scores came in, kids found out that homeschooling wasn't a long vaca from school and are still trying to make up for the time they squandered on binge watching tv, or playing video games all day. Families were hit by ridiculous inflation, as big business and rw politicians weaponized supply lines and prices to own the libs (what the hell does that even mean?) Along with the struggle of getting back into a routine that for some is meaningless, we all had to do it even if we were stressed, grief-stricken, angry, depressed, or anxious. I read a great opinion on fb that people started into 2022 on empty, and didn't give themselves a chance to process 2 years of sheer hell. Or get a chance to recover. And while we were down, the fascists took advantage of the situation, and managed to make women and minorities second class citizens, and after the work we did, you can bet we are pissed off, and that is never helps color the world rosy.

I am sorry to hear your wife is ill, and I hope her treatment has a great outcome.

[Ferrets are Cool]

12. Thank you for a well thought out reply.

Thank you for your thoughts for my wife.

[Marthe48]

13. You're welcome

[SheltieLover]

14. Dunno but I sure hope your wife's treatment is going well!

And that it's 100% successful!

I think Marthe pretty much nailed it above.

[mnhtnbb]

15. I think that some of us are more deeply affected

by what is happening around us and that colors our perception of a good or bad year, even though our own individual lives may not have been personally affected by all the awful things that are happening in the world: Ukraine, continuation of COVID, creeping fascism, Dobbs decision, attack on voting rights and civil liberties, domestic terrorism, book censorship, gun violence, climate change, water supply, inflation, investment losses, homelessness...and on and on.

There is another DU thread asking people to rate their year from 1-10 and it's surprising to see so many 8's and above. https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181756214

I am a senior white woman who owns her own home and has sufficient resources from Social Security, a federal pension, and investment income that I do not worry about a place to live or enough food to eat. I have Medicare and a supplemental plan funded by the federal pension. And yet, I am afraid for the future of this country and our planet. The Dobbs decision gave me so much anxiety that I ended up with a trip to the ER one morning last summer because I thought I was having a heart attack. It wasn't, but I've had acute anxiety attacks, and what I was experiencing was much different. I continue to have a deep malaise regarding the future, despite my own personal more than satisfactory circumstances.

I hope your wife responds well to treatment for her leukemia.

[Elessar Zappa]

16. I thought 2020 and 2021 were worse

The worst part of 2022 is Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and the illegal slaughter of civilians which is horrible, of course. I hope this year brings the defeat of Russia and the collapse of the GOP.

[Ferrets are Cool]

18. Add Dobbs to the list and I'm right with you.

[GreenWave]

17. Ginning up negative vibes plays right into the GQP's devlish hands.