The authors examined psychiatrically a group of 45 patients suffering from severe COPD. The special interest of the study was the careful analysis of the time, context and content of different psychological traumas that the patients had experienced throughout their lives. Methods. The authors examined 45 patients suffering from severe COPD (according to GOLD classification) during the present hospitalisation. There were 19 women (42%) and 26 men (58%). The average age was M=64.56 years (SD=10.64), and average duration of illness was M=10.53 years (SD=10.18). Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, Polish version 5.0.0, Panic and Agoraphobia Scale, Beck's Depression Inventory, Family Functioning Questionnaire (KOR), Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-29), Defence Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40) and Life Inventory were used. Results. Although the proportion of women in the group of 45 patients with severe COPD was 42%, they seem to be more prone to depression and panic than men. It may be due to specific trauma of suffering and/or death of an emotionally close person, which occurred in 64.4% of the study group. This trauma may have an impact on the intensity of anxious and depressive symptoms, catastrophic interpretation of bodily symptoms and also the sense of coherence of patients with COPD. Conclusion. It is possible, that strictly psychological and psychiatric problems affect the course and severity of COPD in women.