Most Pinoys open to discussing mental health woes – SWS

October 12, 2026 | 12:00am

The survey, conducted from Sept. 21 to 27, found that 72 percent of the respondents agreed to the statement: “Being open to talk about mental health challenges help people understand them.”

The STAR / Ryan Baldemor

MANILA, Philippines — A large majority of Filipinos are open to discussing mental health challenges to help other people understand the issue, a recent survey by Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

The survey, conducted from Sept. 21 to 27, found that 72 percent of the respondents agreed to the statement: “Being open to talk about mental health challenges help people understand them.”

Only 15 percent disagreed with the statement, while 13 percent were undecided.

The survey also asked respondents if they agree to the statement: “Sharing my own mental health experiences helps other people feel like they are not alone.”

Seventy-eight percent of the respondents agreed, while the remaining 22 percent were evenly divided among those disagreed and were undecided.

The survey found that only 18 percent of the respondents rated their mental health as “excellent,” slightly down from 20 percent last year.

Twelve percent said it was “very good” (almost similar to 12 percent last year), while 31 percent said it was “good” (from 28 percent).

A large chunk of respondents self-assessed their mental health as “fair” (38 percent, similar to last year), while two percent described it as “poor” (from one percent).

Although the results of the mental health self-assessment poll were almost similar to last year, SWS data showed that it was significantly different from a similar survey in 2021.

At the time, only 17 percent rated their mental health as “fair,” with more than half describing it as “excellent” (24 percent), “very good’ (29 percent) or “good” (29 percent).

A similar poll conducted the year prior, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, resulted in the highest percentage of respondents – eight percent – rating their mental health as “poor.” Almost half or 45 percent said their mental health was “fair” at the time.

The latest survey also asked respondents who would they first approach in times of mental health struggle.

While parents remained the top answer, results showed that they dropped from being the first choice of the respondents from 53 percent last year to just 29 percent.

Twenty-seven percent said they would approach their partner (similar to last year), while 11 percent said siblings (up from 10 percent).

The survey showed a significant increase among those who would approach local government units (11 percent, from two percent) and mental health professions (10 percent, from four percent).