If your mental health still doesn’t feel like it bounced back after the pandemic, you’re not alone — and research suggests there’s a reason why. Studies show that the mental health of U.S. adults hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels and has even been steadily declining. The percentage of U.S. adults rating their mental health positively has been decreasing since 2014, with a sharper drop after 2020.
For the past 25 years, U.S. adults have been asked to rate their mental health as excellent, good, fair, or poor in Gallup’s Health and Healthcare survey. In 2025, less than 30 percent of U.S. adults rated their mental health as excellent — the lowest percentage since the survey began.
“This is not necessarily a sudden collapse, but rather a slow erosion,” says Erica G. Rojas, Ph.D., founder of EGR Psychology PLLC, a New York–based private psychological practice specializing in therapy for high-performing professionals navigating anxiety, burnout, and work-related stress. “We are seeing fewer people in a state of flourishing (high well-being, energy, and engagement) and more in a state of languishing (functioning, but with reduced vitality and satisfaction).”
What’s Driving the Decline
So why is this happening? Dr. Rojas suspects multiple factors are at play, including difficulty returning to a baseline sense of psychological safety after the pandemic and other unique challenges of our modern world.
“Constant notifications, emails, and digital engagement keep our mind and body in a mild but persistent state of fight or flight,” Dr. Rojas says.
And this unrelenting, “always-on” sort of environment, created by modern technology and work environments, gets in the way of the mental and emotional restoration that is critical to preserving well-being.
Additionally, even though people are technically more connected than ever thanks to social media and other technology, Dr. Rojas suggests these interactions aren’t meeting emotional needs. While digital connections are more convenient, in-person connections may be more nourishing for emotional well-being.
Mental Health in Young Women
Not all groups are experiencing this decline in mental health in the same way. A deeper analysis of the 2024 report revealed that women ages 18 to 29 were especially affected. From 2010 to 2014, 48 percent of women polled reported excellent mental health. From 2020 to 2024, only 15 percent reported the same.
The same type of influences affecting overall mental health could be to blame for this specific group’s decline. “Young women are at the center of the social media ecosystem,” says Dr. Rojas. Social media’s “near-constant feedback loop of evaluation,” as she calls it, can increase pressure around appearance and social relationships, impacting self-worth, body dissatisfaction, and anxiety.
“For many in this age group, the COVID pandemic disrupted many key milestones ranging from college experiences, early career development, dating, and social network formation,” says Dr. Rojas. “Developmentally, interruptions during these formative years can have lasting effects on identity, confidence, and social stability.”
Is there any hope?
Does this trend mean mental health will continue to decline? Mental health experts like Dr. Rojas are hopeful. Challenging times like this can often act as meaningful turning points, especially as they spark valuable conversations that lead to solutions.
“Importantly, improving mental health is not necessarily about doing more. Rather, it is about restoring what’s been lost at a systemic, individual, and collective level,” she says.
At the individual level, Dr. Rojas recommends introducing what she calls true recovery—intentional time disengaged from outside input. Try taking a walk without headphones to be present with nature, or put your phone on do not disturb for a certain period of time. She also advises learning more emotional regulation skills that can help stabilize mood and reduce reactivity.
“Systemically, what we are seeing is not an inherent decline in people’s capacity for well-being, but a mismatch between human psychology and modern environments,” shares Dr. Rojas. From that perspective, the solution means advocating for conditions that support overall mental health. For example, work culture can prioritize rest for employees and even institute policies that protect off-time, she says. “This includes realistic expectations around availability, boundaries around after-hours communication, and recognition that sustained performance requires periods of disengagement,” shares Dr. Rojas.
Right now, many U.S. adults feel like they are simply getting through the day — instead of experiencing joy, connection, meaning, purpose — all of the elements that make life worth living. With intentional changes that prioritize well-being at both the individual and collective levels, flourishing is possible.
