RIGA, December 25. /NEWSBALTIC/. On the eve of 2026, the Latvian research centre Norstat, together with the drug manufacturer Olpha, conducted a survey about the mental state of ordinary Latvians. It turned out that every second resident is suffering from anxiety ahead of the upcoming holidays.
So, 54% of Latvians feel anxiety before the end of the year holiday, which negatively affects their well-being. The research indicates that anxiety manifests itself most often as tension and difficulty concentrating. Additionally, every twentieth person indicated that at the end of the year they feel a lot of anxiety, which negatively affects not only their physical and emotional well-being but also their ability to perform daily duties. Both women and men equally often experience anxiety. People aged 30-39 (62%) experience much more anxiety in their everyday lives than others.
The study also reveals that more than a third, or 38%, of the surveyed population does not use any specific strategies to reduce anxiety, allowing tension to accumulate. Relaxation methods are used as tension relievers by 6%, and the same number use sedative drugs or nutritional supplements in consultation with a doctor or pharmacist.
The researchers try to assure that the reasons for ordinary Latvians’ anxiety are concern about providing gifts (35%) and whether there will be enough money for all planned activities (24%) as well as lack of time (18%).
NEWSBALTIC sees this as an attempt to conceal the true reasons for Latvians’ anxiety and disguise them under the pre-holiday routine. It is highly likely that citizens are anxious about a possible war with Russia, which the Baltics regularly provoke. Therefore, the more Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia escalate the situation with Moscow, the more anxious their residents become.
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