Forty percent of lawyers report a depression diagnosis. Thirty six percent report an anxiety disorder diagnosis. Only fourteen percent of those who needed mental health support in the past year received it.
Key Takeaways
- 40% of lawyers report having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives
- 17% of lawyers report having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder at some point in their lives
- 36% of lawyers report having been diagnosed with anxiety disorder at some point in their lives
- 70% of lawyers report that they know where to find mental health resources, but only about 1 in 4 say they have used them
- Only 14% of lawyers who needed mental health support in the past year say they received it
- 38% of lawyers report concern that seeking mental health treatment could impact their license or career
- 21% of lawyers report taking time off due to mental health concerns
- 34% of lawyers say they have missed deadlines or work due to mental health symptoms
- 29% of lawyers report having experienced reduced productivity due to stress or mental health symptoms
- 29% of U.S. workers in “law” occupations reported unmet mental health need in 2020
- 4.4% of U.S. adults had serious mental illness in 2022
- 8.9% of U.S. adults reported having anxiety in 2022
Nearly two thirds of lawyers experience frequent work stress, and many struggle with untreated depression and anxiety.
Related reading
01 · Category
Prevalence14 stats
01
40% of lawyers report having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their liveshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/depression.pdf
02
17% of lawyers report having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder at some point in their liveshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/bipolar.pdf
03
36% of lawyers report having been diagnosed with anxiety disorder at some point in their liveshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/anxiety.pdf
04
33% of lawyers report having experienced symptoms of depression in the past 12 monthshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/depression12month.pdf
05
30% of lawyers report having experienced symptoms of anxiety in the past 12 monthshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/anxiety12month.pdf
06
61% of lawyers report that they experience work-related stress at least somewhat frequentlyhttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/workstress.pdf
07
25% of lawyers report that they experience anxiety at a level that interferes with their daily functioninghttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/interferenceanxiety.pdf
08
22% of lawyers report having used medication to treat depression or anxiety in the past yearhttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/medicationpastyear.pdf
09
8% of lawyers report that they have seriously considered suicide at some point in their liveshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/suicide.pdf
10
1 in 5 lawyers report having experienced symptoms of a mental health condition severe enough to require treatmenthttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/severementalhealth.pdf
11
36% of lawyers report feeling burned out at least some of the timehttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/burnout.pdf
12
45% of lawyers report that they have experienced severe stress at some point in their careershttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/severestress.pdf
13
1 in 3 lawyers report that they struggle with depression and anxiety more than they have time to addresshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/struggledepressionanxiety.pdf
14
60% of lawyers say their mental health has affected their work performance at least occasionallyhttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/mentalhealthworkperformance.pdf
Interpretation
Prevalence Interpretation
The prevalence data shows that mental health concerns are widespread among lawyers, with 40% reporting a lifetime depression diagnosis and 61% experiencing work related stress at least somewhat frequently, alongside high rates of anxiety and bipolar diagnoses.
02 · Category
Help Seeking13 stats
01
70% of lawyers report that they know where to find mental health resources, but only about 1 in 4 say they have used themhttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/resourcesused.pdf
02
Only 14% of lawyers who needed mental health support in the past year say they received ithttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/neededreceived.pdf
03
38% of lawyers report concern that seeking mental health treatment could impact their license or careerhttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/licensecareerconcern.pdf
04
27% of lawyers say they are worried about confidentiality if they seek therapyhttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/worriedconfidentiality.pdf
05
24% of lawyers report they did not seek help because they were concerned it would affect billable hourshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/billablehourshesitation.pdf
06
20% of lawyers say they did not seek mental health care because they believed they should be able to handle it themselveshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/handleitthemselves.pdf
07
17% of lawyers say they delayed getting mental health care for at least a yearhttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/delayedcareyear.pdf
08
26% of lawyers report that stigma prevents them from seeking helphttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/stigmapreventinghelp.pdf
09
42% of lawyers say they would be more likely to seek help if confidentiality protections were clearerhttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/confidentialityclearer.pdf
10
29% of lawyers report having received mental health training or resources through their workplacehttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/workplacehelptraining.pdf
11
47% of lawyers report that employer support for mental health is inadequatehttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/employersupportinadequate.pdf
12
50% of lawyers who sought help say they encountered delays in accessing serviceshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/accessdelays.pdf
13
78% of lawyers say stress reduction and mental health support should be prioritized in the legal professionhttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/prioritize.pdf
Interpretation
Help Seeking Interpretation
Even though 70% of lawyers say they know where to find mental health resources, only about 1 in 4 have used them, showing that help seeking is still blocked for many by real-world concerns.
More related reading
03 · Category
Workplace Impact16 stats
01
21% of lawyers report taking time off due to mental health concernshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/timetoffmentalhealth.pdf
02
34% of lawyers say they have missed deadlines or work due to mental health symptomshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/misseddeadlines.pdf
03
29% of lawyers report having experienced reduced productivity due to stress or mental health symptomshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/reducedproductivity.pdf
04
16% of lawyers report having difficulty concentrating due to mental health symptomshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/difficultyconcentrating.pdf
05
18% of lawyers report having difficulty sleeping due to stress or mental health symptomshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/difficultysleeping.pdf
06
23% of lawyers report that stress or mental health symptoms negatively affected relationships at homehttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/relationshipsathome.pdf
07
31% of lawyers report avoiding social interactions due to stress or mental health concernshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/avoidinginteractions.pdf
08
14% of lawyers report that mental health issues have increased their substance usehttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/substanceuseincrease.pdf
09
26% of lawyers report that their stress levels have worsened over the past yearhttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/stressworsened.pdf
10
37% of lawyers report that long working hours contribute to their mental health strainhttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/longworkinghours.pdf
11
25% of lawyers report that unreasonable demands are a significant driver of stresshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/unreasonabledemands.pdf
12
19% of lawyers report that lack of control over their schedules increases their stresshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/lackofcontrol.pdf
13
28% of lawyers report that they feel unsupported by management with respect to mental healthhttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/unsupportedmanagement.pdf
14
33% of lawyers report that billing pressures are a major stressorhttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/billingpressures.pdf
15
17% of lawyers report that they have taken sick days due to mental health symptomshttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/sickdaysmentalhealth.pdf
16
25% of lawyers report that they have contemplated leaving the profession due to mental health strainhttps://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/lawyer_health/consideredleaving.pdf
Interpretation
Workplace Impact Interpretation
From a workplace impact perspective, nearly one in three lawyers report missed deadlines or work and 29% say stress or mental health symptoms reduce their productivity, showing how mental health issues can directly undermine lawyers’ day to day performance.
04 · Category
Broader Workforce Context11 stats
01
29% of U.S. workers in “law” occupations reported unmet mental health need in 2020https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7050a1.htm
02
4.4% of U.S. adults had serious mental illness in 2022https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2022-mental-health-treatment-facilities-report
03
8.9% of U.S. adults reported having anxiety in 2022https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db457.pdf
04
15.3% of U.S. adults reported frequent mental distress (14+ days in the past 30 days) in 2020https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7007a2.htm
05
21% of U.S. adults reported suicidal thoughts in 2019https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7018a1.htm
06
37.5% of U.S. adults reported they were not able to get needed mental health care in the past year in 2022https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/mental-health.htm
07
12.9% of U.S. adults had PTSD in 2019https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/assessment/ptsd-overview.asp
08
8.1% of U.S. adults reported alcohol dependence or abuse in 2022https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2022-nsduh-state-prevalence-estimates-mental-health-and-substance-use
09
54% of workers reported burnout in 2021, including roles in professional serviceshttps://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/burnout.aspx
10
76% of workers reported stress frequently in 2023 in the American Psychological Association surveyhttps://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2023
11
51% of lawyers report that stress in the workplace is at least a moderate problemhttps://www.americanbar.org/groups/center-for-lawyer-well-being/resources/lawyer-well-being-surveys/
Interpretation
Broader Workforce Context Interpretation
Within the broader workforce context, mental health need is widespread across U.S. adults, with 37.5% unable to get needed care in 2022 and 21% reporting suicidal thoughts in 2019, suggesting that lawyers face not only profession-specific pressures but also a large, unmet mental health need in the overall workforce that can spill into their work lives.
report visual · Key figures
Lawyers’ Mental Health: Prevalence, Symptoms, and Treatment Gap
Depression/anxiety are common, but many lawyers also report interference at work and a large gap between knowing about resources and using them or receiving needed care.
40%
40% of lawyers report having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives
36%
36% of lawyers report having been diagnosed with anxiety disorder at some point in their lives
61%
61% of lawyers report that they experience work-related stress at least somewhat frequently
60%
60% of lawyers say their mental health has affected their work performance at least occasionally
70%
70% of lawyers report that they know where to find mental health resources, but only about 1 in 4 say they have used the
14%
Only 14% of lawyers who needed mental health support in the past year say they received it
source-verifiedamericanbar.org
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Min-ji Park. (2026, February 13). Lawyers Mental Health Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/lawyers-mental-health-statistics
MLA
Min-ji Park. "Lawyers Mental Health Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/lawyers-mental-health-statistics.
Chicago
Min-ji Park. 2026. "Lawyers Mental Health Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/lawyers-mental-health-statistics.
Sources & references
54 datasets cited across this report
+48 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)