Mental health in the tech industry has long been a hidden yet critical issue.
In 2018, I lost 11 friends in this industry to suicide. One person, every single month, except December. After the repeated shocks had passed, I realized this can’t be right. Sure, I statistically know more founders after decades in this space than I do construction workers or nurses, but it needed investigation and a better understanding of what’s causing this.
I dove into the data and found a reality that most in tech were too afraid to voice. Founders are twice as likely to have suicidal thoughts and ten times as likely to have bipolar disorder compared to the average person. When I stood on stages across the globe from 2019 until the pandemic, giving my “Mental Health in the Tech Industry” keynote, I had start each speech by telling people they should leave the room if they weren’t comfortable with, or ready for the truth.
Since then, the facade of the “perfectly edited life” on social media has only become more corrosive. We are still drowning in hustle porn, the toxic belief that 17-hour days are a badge of honor rather than a chemical assault on your body. Adrenaline and cortisol overproduction doesn’t just burn you out; it erodes your immune system and leaves you susceptible to physical illness and mental collapse.
Working with FlowDealer Labs, we’re rebooting my original landmark mental health research to understand not only how you’re doing but also what we can do to materially improve it.
The Crisis by the Numbers
The latest data shows we haven’t solved the problem; we’ve just gotten better at hiding it. Consider these recent findings:
- Widespread Exhaustion: According to 2025 reports, 42.1% of tech employees are at high risk of burnout, a rate significantly higher than other industries (Ifeel, 2025).
- Founder Fragility: Recent studies indicate that 72% of startup founders experience mental health challenges, yet a staggering only 7% of startups have formal mental health policies in place (A2DVentures, 2025).
- The Silence Gap: While 77% of founders reported a deterioration in personal wellbeing, 88% rarely or never turn to their investors for support (Founder Wellbeing Report, 2024).
- Global Impact: Depression and anxiety are estimated to cost the global economy $1 trillion in lost productivity annually (High5Test, 2025).
Reclaiming Our Humanity
Nature, meditation, and exercise aren’t “fluff” or optional extras. They are the baseline requirements for a functioning human mind. Reconnecting with nature or finding laser focus through meditation allows us to work smarter, not harder. We need to stop rewarding the “always-on” approach and start rewarding the resilience that comes from play and presence.
The industry has changed since 2019, but the pressures have only evolved. Restructuring, mass layoffs, and the looming uncertainty of AI have created a structural expectation of anxiety. This is why I’m partnering with FlowDealer Labs to reboot this research. We need to see where we stand today to build the systemic support systems that actually save lives.
We need data to move past the “everything is rainbows and unicorns” facade. Help us understand the current state of mental health in our world. Please take a few minutes to complete our new survey. Your input is the foundation for the next chapter of this study and our collective wellbeing.
Take the survey, and let’s beat this together.
