Feeling stressed? You're not alone, survey shows more Filipinos do

 By Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz

Published Oct 9, 2025 08:44 pm

Photo from Pixabay

As the world observes World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10, a nationwide survey shows that more Filipinos are living under daily stress as they cope with financial, health, work, and family pressures.

The Social Weather Stations (SWS) Third Quarter 2025 survey found that 34 percent of adult Filipinos experience stress “frequently” in their daily lives, up from 27 percent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019, just before the pandemic.

Another 32 percent said they “sometimes” feel stressed (down from 37 percent in 2019), 30 percent “rarely” (down from 34 percent), and 4 percent “never” experience stress (roughly unchanged from 2 percent).

The survey also examined the magnitude of stress related to specific aspects of daily life.

Financial concerns ranked highest, with 53 percent of respondents reporting “big” stress (very big or somewhat big).

Health-related issues affected 42 percent of adults, 39 percent reported stress from work or school, and 38 percent experienced stress from family matters.

Metro Manila reports highest stress levels

SWS found that 50 percent of adults in Metro Manila said they experience stress frequently, the highest among all regions.

This was followed by Balance Luzon (36 percent), Mindanao (28 percent), and the Visayas (26 percent).

Compared to fourth quarter 2019, the share of adults experiencing frequent stress rose sharply in Metro Manila, up 15 points from 35 percent.

It also increased in Balance Luzon by eight points (from 28 percent) and in Mindanao by 10 points (from 18 percent).

The Visayas saw little change, remaining at 28 percent.

For those who experience stress sometimes, Balance Luzon had the highest share at 34 percent, down from 38 percent in fourth quarter 2019.

It was followed by Mindanao with 32 percent (down from 41 percent), the Visayas with 31 percent (up from 29 percent), and Metro Manila with 27 percent (down from 38 percent).

Those who rarely experience stress were most common in the Visayas and Mindanao, with 37 percent each (down from 41 percent and 36 percent, respectively).

Balance Luzon had 27 percent (down from 33 percent), and Metro Manila 19 percent (down from 25 percent).

Meanwhile, the share of adults who never experience stress was highest in the Visayas at 6 percent (up from 2 percent), followed by Balance Luzon at 4 percent (up from 2 percent), while Metro Manila and Mindanao recorded 3 percent each, remaining largely unchanged from 2 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

Women report higher stress than men

The survey also found that women are more likely to experience stress frequently than men.

About 41 percent of women reported feeling stressed daily, compared to 27 percent of men.

Since fourth quarter of 2019, the share of women reporting frequent stress increased by eight points, while it rose by seven points for men.

Women also reported higher levels of stress across all major areas, including finances, health, work or school, and family responsibilities.

On financial matters, 57 percent of women reported experiencing big stress (24 percent very big, 34 percent somewhat big), compared to 48 percent of men (18 percent very big, 30 percent somewhat big).

Regarding health-related stress, 46 percent of women considered it big (18 percent very big, 29 percent somewhat big), versus 38 percent of men (12 percent very big, 26 percent somewhat big).

In terms of family-related stress, 44 percent of women reported big stress (16 percent very big, 28 percent somewhat big), compared to 32 percent of men (12 percent very big, 20 percent somewhat big).

For stress from work or school, 40 percent of women considered it big (14 percent very big, 26 percent somewhat big), slightly higher than 38 percent of men (12 percent very big, 26 percent somewhat big).

The Third Quarter 2025 Social Weather Survey was conducted from Sept. 24 to 30, through face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adults nationwide, aged 18 and above.

The sample included 300 respondents in Metro Manila, 600 in Balance Luzon (Luzon outside Metro Manila), and 300 each in the Visayas and Mindanao.

The survey has a sampling error margin of ±3 percent for national percentages, ±4 percent for Balance Luzon, and ±6 percent for each of the other regions.