SWS: Praying tops Filipinos' choices in dealing with stress

Praying is the top coping mechanism for stressed Filipinos, according to a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

A survey of 1,500 adult Filipinos revealed that 16% of participants reported praying or engaging in spiritual activities to cope with stress.

This was followed by resting or sleeping (14%), going out (11%), thinking positively (7%), focusing on school or work (6%), and ignoring the problem (6%).

Meanwhile, 5% of Filipinos spend time with family and exercise or go for a walk to deal with stress.

The survey also showed that 4% of Filipinos engage in the following activities to cope with stress:

• Playing sports or e-games
• Doing household chores
• Talking with friends or neighbors
• Watching TV or movies
• Eating
• Singing or listening to music

Meanwhile, the following are the least common activities of Filipinos when dealing with stress:

• Browse social media (2%)
• Drink alcohol (2%)
• Gardening or farming (1%)
• Smoke cigarettes (1%)
• Cry (0.4%)
• Seeking medical help (0.2%)

The survey also found that the top three ways of coping with stress are praying, resting or sleeping, and going out, for both those who experience frequent stress in daily life and those who experience significant stress related to their financial situation, health, job, school, or family.

It revealed that praying is a more common coping mechanism among women (20%) than men (12%).

In Balance Luzon and Metro Manila, praying is the most common way to cope, whereas in Mindanao and the Visayas, resting or sleeping is the preferred method.

The SWS survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews from September 24 to 30, 2025.

It has a sampling error margin of ±3% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

The survey was non-commissioned, —LDF, GMA Integrated News