Poles on the Couch. What Is the State of Our Mental Health Today?

How are you? How have you been? Everything okay? These are the kinds of questions we ask friends we bump into on the street, colleagues over morning coffee, or loved ones during a phone call. Most of the time, we are not expecting a lengthy account of what has been happening in someone’s life or the emotions that have come with it. “I’m fine,” “good,” “getting by,” “can’t complain” – we accept these brief answers without giving them much thought and quickly move on to the next topic. We ourselves are not always keen to open or go into detail either, and a simple “everything’s fine” lets the other person know that there is no reason to worry. Even when something is bothering us to a greater or lesser extent. 

According to last year’s CBOS report, as many as 81% of Poles say they are satisfied with their lives. Meanwhile, in the 2025 National Mental Health Test, the average Mental Well-being Index was just over 48 points out of a possible 100. Could it be, then, that by saying “I’m fine” or “everything’s okay,” we are masking how we feel to some extent? We may appreciate having a family, a job, professional achievements, or the place we live, while at the same time struggling with stress, fatigue, tension, or a more serious mental health crisis. Over time, some of these difficulties become part of our everyday routine, and we stop paying much attention to them, simply accepting them as the norm. So how are Poles really feeling today? What mental health challenges are they facing, and how are they coping with them?

How Are Poles Feeling Today?

The pandemic, the war in Ukraine, high inflation, rising living costs, and growing uncertainty about the global situation – recent years have repeatedly put our mental resilience to the test. The sharpest decline in well-being came with COVID-19. Isolation, limited contact with others, and fears about our health or losing our jobs brought the steady improvement in Poles’ mood, observed since 2015, to an abrupt halt. Even in 2021, there was little sign of a clear recovery, but a year later the situation began to change. Since then, successive CBOS surveys have shown that we are increasingly likely to report positive emotions and less likely to experience some of the negative ones. Today, in many respects, our well-being is already close to pre-pandemic levels.

• 2.81 out of 4 – the overall well-being score among Poles in 2025. In the record year of 2019, it was only slightly higher, at 2.84 (source: CBOS, Poles’ Well-being in 2025).

• 64% of Poles often feel satisfied when something goes well for them, 61% feel proud of their achievements, and 58% feel confident that things are going well (source: CBOS, Poles’ Well-being in 2025).

• 81% of Poles are satisfied with their lives – a higher figure than in 2020–2023 and the same as in 2024 (source: CBOS, Life Satisfaction in 2025).

• 70% of Poles rate their material living conditions positively, while satisfaction with their financial situation increased over the course of a year from 38% to 44% (source: CBOS, Life Satisfaction in 2025).

• There has also been a significant improvement in the workplace: 7 in 10 employees in Poland rate their well-being positively (source: ManpowerGroup, Global Talent Barometer 2025).

Overall satisfaction with life is one thing; how we cope with its everyday pressures in specific situations is another. We live at a faster pace, spend more time in front of screens, struggle with information overload and technostress, while the ability to stay constantly connected with others has done little to protect us from loneliness. Then there are the more down-to-earth sources of tension: work, money, health, and relationships. You can have a stable job and still feel stressed about your responsibilities every day. You can be satisfied with your life and still feel lonely. And you can consider your mental health to be quite good while regularly going through your days with little energy and not enough rest. 

• 48.3 out of 100 – the average Mental Well-being Index among participants in the 2025 National Mental Health Test. Only 8% of respondents recorded a high level of well-being (above 75 points) (source: Medonet, 2025 National Mental Health Test).

• One in two respondents in a report by the Institute of Psychology of the Polish Academy of Sciences had experienced persistent fatigue in the previous month, while more than half said they missed having loved ones around them (source: Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Mental Well-being in Poland, 2025).

• For 20% of respondents, feeling happy had been a rarity over the previous month – they had experienced it no more than twice (source: Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Mental Well-being in Poland, 2025).

• 53% of employees in Poland experience high levels of stress every day. Among members of Generation Z, the figure rises to 57% (source: ManpowerGroup, Global Talent Barometer 2025).

• 28% of participants rate their mental health as poor or very poor, while 45% describe it as good or very good (source: Medonet, 2025 National Mental Health Test).

If we were to use all these figures to sketch a portrait of the average Pole, it would be full of contradictions. It would show someone who is generally satisfied with their life and able to find fulfilment in it, yet at the same time is often tired, stressed, and looking to the future with a sense of anxiety. Asked “How are you?”, they would probably still answer “I’m fine” – and they would not necessarily be bending the truth. 

Depression, Anxiety and Stress – the Most Common Challenges We Face

A bad day, stress before an important meeting, or a few sleepless nights are a natural part of life and usually pass once the situation that caused them is over. The problem begins when low mood stays with us for longer, anxiety appears for no obvious reason, and tension increasingly interferes with our ability to work, rest, or maintain relationships with others. At that point, a casual “I haven’t been feeling great lately” may be a sign of a difficulty that requires closer attention and, in some cases, professional support. The latest data shows that depression and anxiety disorders are the mental health problems most reported in Poland. They are not the only ones, however – other frequently reported issues include neurotic disorders, sleep problems, and reactions to severe stress.

• 28% of participants in the 2025 National Mental Health Test say they have been diagnosed with depression. The same percentage report having been diagnosed with anxiety disorders, while 20% report neurotic disorders (source: Medonet, National Mental Health Test 2025).

• Around 1.5 million people in Poland live with depression – according to the National Health Fund (NFZ), it is the most common mental disorder in the country (source: NFZ, 2025).

• In 2024, more than 800,000 patients received healthcare services for depression under the NFZ, while around 1.8 million people purchased reimbursed antidepressants (source: NFZ).

• Among participants aged 18–24, 37% report having been diagnosed with depression and 41% with anxiety disorders (source: Medonet, National Mental Health Test 2025).

• Throughout 2025, the Polish Police recorded 14,935 suicidal behaviours, 4,776 of which resulted in death. Men accounted for more than 83% of those who died by suicide, with 3,975 male deaths and 801 female deaths recorded (source: Polish National Police Headquarters / 2025 data).

The 28% figure from the National Mental Health Test does not mean that more than one in four Poles currently has depression – participants in a voluntary online survey do not constitute a representative sample of the population. NFZ data, on the other hand, primarily covers people who have already entered the healthcare system and therefore does not capture every case either. Between these two groups are people who notice concerning symptoms in themselves but have never received a diagnosis or have never sought one in the first place. It is therefore difficult to give a single figure that answers the question of how many Poles are living with depression or anxiety disorders. Different sources, however, point to a similar conclusion: these problems affect a significant proportion of the population and are becoming increasingly visible beyond specialists’ offices as well – at work, at school, and in everyday relationships.

What Puts the Greatest Strain on Our Mental Health?

Our mental health is shaped by a wide range of factors – from biological predispositions and life experiences to our family circumstances, work situation, and financial position. On top of that, modern life regularly gives us new reasons to worry. Just a few years ago, our lives were dominated by the pandemic, followed by inflation and rapidly rising prices, while the war in Ukraine once again raised questions about security. Today, some of these concerns have eased, but others have taken their place: the development of artificial intelligence, the geopolitical situation, the future of the labour market, and the pace of ongoing change. 

The latest research also reveals an interesting pattern: we tend to view our lives in the here and now quite positively but feel far less at ease when we think about what might happen next. In August 2026, almost as many Poles looked to their own future with hope as with concern. Pessimism is even more pronounced when questions turn to the country’s economic outlook.

• 37% of Poles look to their own future with concern, while 35% do so with hope. When it comes to the future of the Polish economy, the gap is much wider: 47% expect the situation to deteriorate, while 26% expect it to improve (source: CBOS, Consumer Sentiment in August 2026).

• 35% of households had to cut spending on everyday needs in 2025. In December 2024, the figure stood at 48%, indicating an improvement but also highlighting the scale of the financial pressure that continues to affect part of the population (source: CBOS, Consumer Sentiment, June 2025).

• 47% of Poles feel stressed by an overload of information, notifications, and other stimuli, 48% by too many responsibilities and too little time, and 45% by the pressure of expectations (source: Multi.Life/Benefit Systems, 2025).

• Among young Poles, concerns extend far beyond their personal lives. 68% fear the outbreak of a third world war, 62% fear a Russian invasion of Poland, and 61% are concerned about the negative consequences of the development of artificial intelligence (source: CBOS, Young Poles on the Challenges Facing Their Generation, 2025).

What seems particularly characteristic of our times is the accumulation of different sources of tension. Closing the laptop does not always mean leaving work-related problems behind, while a phone constantly buzzing with notifications means that news about wars, crises, politics, or the economy reaches us even when we are trying to relax. At the same time, we may be worrying about mortgage payments, our parents’ health, our children’s future, or our own job situation. The boundaries between different areas of life are becoming increasingly blurred, making it easy for tension from one part of our lives to spill over into others. Loneliness also plays an important role – because even many daily interactions does not necessarily translate into a sense of closeness or having someone with whom we can share our problems.

Do We Seek Help – and If So, Where and How?

Just over a decade ago, seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist was, for many people, something they would rarely talk about around the family dinner table or during a break at work. Today, therapy has become much more firmly established in everyday conversation, public figures speak openly about mental health, and information about available forms of support is far easier to find. However, this shift in social attitudes does not mean that all barriers have disappeared. When a problem begins to feel beyond our ability to cope, we still often try to wait out the difficult period, deal with it on our own, or simply hope that the situation will change.

• 54% of Polish adults have considered seeking help from a psychologist, psychotherapist, or psychiatrist at least once because of psychological distress. 38% of respondents have sought professional help (source: Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Psychological Support from the Perspective of Polish Women and Men, 2026).

• 27% of Poles have used the services of a psychologist at some point in their lives, 24% have consulted a psychiatrist, and 12% have seen a psychotherapist (source: Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 2026).

• 54% of respondents said that wanting to solve the problem on their own had prevented them from seeing a specialist, 47% cited a reluctance to talk about their emotions, and 44% believed that the problem might resolve itself (source: Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 2026).

• The barriers go beyond personal attitudes: 35% of respondents did not know where to seek professional help, the same percentage feared being labelled “crazy”, while 36% were concerned about being perceived as weak (source: Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 2026).

• Access to publicly funded support is gradually expanding. By mid-2025, there were 117 Mental Health Centers operating in Poland, providing care to more than half of the country’s adult population. From 2027, this model is expected to become a permanent part of the psychiatric care system (source: Ministry of Health / NFZ).

In Poland, the belief that we should deal with our own problems ourselves – and seek help only when other options have failed – still has a strong influence on attitudes towards mental health. Interestingly, the Institute of Psychology of the Polish Academy of Sciences also points to clear social differences: women, younger people, and respondents with higher levels of education and socioeconomic status report greater openness to psychotherapy. Men, older people, and those in more difficult financial circumstances are more likely to rely on themselves and tend to be more sceptical about professional support. 

There is another paradox here. Most respondents acknowledge that emotional problems are easier to resolve with professional help than on one’s own, while 81% say they would consider seeking psychological support in the future. At the same time, when we experience a crisis ourselves, we still often try to wait it out or deal with it without involving a specialist. It seems, then, that as a society we are becoming increasingly aware of the value of therapy yet putting that understanding into practice in our own individual circumstances remains much more difficult. For many people, it is only when their difficulties begin to have a noticeable impact on work, relationships, or everyday functioning that they realise that simply telling themselves “I can handle this” may no longer be enough.

How Our Mental Health Affects Our Work

Mental health problems can remain invisible to those around us for a long time. They become much harder to hide, however, when they start interfering with our ability to carry out everyday responsibilities. Taking sick leave means a tangible absence from work, and data from the Polish Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) shows that mental health problems are accounting for an increasing number of such absences. In 2025, mental and behavioral disorders ranked second among all groups of illnesses in terms of the number of days spent on sick leave, surpassed only by musculoskeletal disorders. What is more, while the overall number of sick-leave days remained virtually unchanged, absences related to mental health increased significantly. Initial data from 2026 suggests that this was not a one-off trend.

• 34.1 million days of sick leave in 2025 were related to mental and behavioral disorders. A year earlier, the figure was 30.3 million, representing an increase of around 12.5% (source: ZUS, Sickness Absence in 2025).

• Mental health problems accounted for 14.1% of all sick-leave days among people insured by ZUS. In 2024, the figure was 12.6% (source: ZUS, 2025).

• The largest share of mental health-related absence was due to reactions to severe stress and adjustment disorders, at 36.7%. These were followed by anxiety disorders at 18.6%, depressive episodes at 17.2%, and recurrent depressive disorders at 8.4% (source: ZUS, Sickness Absence in 2025).

• The trend has continued into 2026. In the first half of the year alone, mental disorders accounted for 18.2 million days of absence, or 14.8% of all sick leave related to employees’ own health conditions (source: ZUS, data for the first half of 2026).

• 59% of employees in Poland report general work-related fatigue, compared with an EU average of 37%, while 41% say their work aggravates stress, depression, or anxiety (source: EU-OSHA / CIOP-PIB, OSH Pulse 2025).

• 73% of employees check their work email outside working hours, and more than 34% do so several times a day (source: EY Academy of Business / University of Łódź, Technostress in the Digital Age, 2025).

In the space of just one year, the number of days of absence related to mental disorders increased by several million, while overall sickness absence remained almost unchanged. Mental health is therefore no longer simply a matter of personal well-being – it is having an increasingly visible impact on the way companies, teams, and the labor market as a whole function.

The Growing Role of Employee Assistance Programs

The growing prevalence of mental health problems means that support available not only through the healthcare system, but also in the place where we spend a significant part of our day – at work – is becoming increasingly important. One such solution is Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), which provide quick and confidential access to specialists, most commonly psychologists and psychotherapists, but also lawyers, financial advisers, and other experts. Their role therefore extends beyond responding to serious crises. Employees can seek support for family problems, difficult situations at work, stress, or financial difficulties before these issues begin to have a more serious impact on their everyday lives.

Simply making support available, however, does not mean that employees will use it. Barriers may include a lack of awareness of the program, concerns about confidentiality, or the stigma that still surrounds seeking help. For organizations, the next step is therefore no longer simply to add access to a psychologist to their list of employee benefits, but to create an environment in which seeking help feels natural and is as easy as possible, while remaining anonymous and safe.