The third wave of a Myara survey on mental health problems shows a return to previous levels of visibility, significance, and public awareness regarding these issues, the agency reported. The 2026 survey, commissioned by the KOJA Mental Health Platform foundation, tracks these and other attitudes in Bulgaria by comparing this year’s results with data from 2020 and 2023.
The survey was conducted face-to-face with 801 people between September 3 and 11, 2026. It represents the third wave of experimental questions posed to the public by Myara, providing valuable insight into perceptions of milder forms of mental disorders, addictions, and taboo topics related to mental health, among other issues.
In its analysis, Myara emphasizes that the three waves of the study are not yet sufficient to definitively identify long-term trends, and that further measurements are needed.
In 2026, more respondents than in 2023 expected a person with a mental disorder to receive help from those around them. The proportion of people who consider seeing a psychiatrist to be shameful also varies across the three waves. At the same time, attitudes toward professional help have remained relatively stable throughout the entire study period. This year, 37.7% of respondents said they know people with mental disorders, 41.7% said they do not, and 16% were unsure. The share of positive responses was about 40% in 2020 and 32% in 2023.
The data also show differences among individual age groups. Among respondents aged between 36 and 60, about 43% to 44% indicated that they know someone with a mental disorder. Among the youngest and oldest respondents, this proportion was lower.
In this year’s survey, 53.7% of respondents said they believe that if a person admits to having a mental disorder, those around them would help them, while 46.3% expected that person to be shunned. In 2023, 58% of respondents expected the person to be shunned, while in 2020 this proportion was 45%. The responses measure people’s expectations regarding the behaviour of those around them, rather than necessarily their own willingness to provide support, the pollsters specified.
According to the analysis, the most easily recognizable conditions continue to be schizophrenia, a tendency toward self-harm, and depression, followed by post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Emotional states such as falling in love, nostalgia, sadness, and anger are generally not identified by respondents as mental illnesses. Responses regarding stress and anxiety are more mixed, with more than 50% of respondents not identifying them as mental health problems, while 40% view anxiety as such.
This year, 65.3% of respondents said that the best solution is to seek help from a specialist, while 18.2% would rely on family and friends, and 5.8% said one should try to handle the issue on their own.
Over 90% of respondents said that seeing a psychologist is sometimes a necessity, while 8.5% called it a whim. These results reflect stated public attitudes and do not measure how many people have actually sought professional help or to what extent such help is accessible to them.
When asked whether addictions are an illness or a result of a lack of willpower, just over one-third of respondents in 2026 agreed with the statement that people with addictions lack the willpower to quit. Two-thirds view them as people with an illness. According to 42% of participants, drug addiction can be overcome; according to 51% of participants, gambling addiction can be overcome; 63% believe alcohol addiction can be overcome, 74% believe that addiction to cigarettes or tobacco can be overcome, and according to 76% of those surveyed, food addiction can be overcome. Greater recognition of addictions as an illness goes hand in hand with greater optimism regarding the possibility of overcoming them, Myara noted.
The survey raised the question of how colleagues would react if someone shared that they were taking antidepressants. This year, 54.2% of respondents expected colleagues to help them, while 45.8% said this was a personal issue that should not be shared. In 2023, the ratio was the opposite. In 2020, the proportion of those expecting support was higher than in 2026.
Survey Looks into Public Awareness of Mental Health Problems in Bulgaria 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-10-09 13:35:14
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