Energy transition is a process that affects entire regions, not only reducing the prevailing socio- -economic conditions but most importantly, creating a new framework of functioning for their inhabitants. The changes that are taking place can be described as territorial stresses, which are factors that affect not only the psychological well-being of residents but also the economic, demographic, technological and ecological conditions of the regions. The article presents the partial results of research work conducted within the EN TRAN CES project. The authors compare two carbon-intensive regions: Kraków Metropolitan Area (high air pollution area) and Silesia (coal mining area). Comparing the results of the two components and thus the research methods: - the identification and systematization of the socio-cultural stress situation (a component describing events relevant to the transformation of the regions from 1945–2022 and the sparing of its significance on the development conditions in the regions; - the assessment of the adaptive capacity of the residents based on their attachment to the place, individual adaptation strategies for resolving tensions and the level of life satisfaction (socio-psychological component).

The aim of this paper is to discuss possible connections between the categories of mind and life. Some authors argue that life and mind are closely connected or even are two sides of the same phenomenon. I analyze and examine this thesis in the light of different approaches to defining life: the metabolic approach (which stresses the importance of self-maintenance and self-making) and the evolutionary approach (which focuses on evolution by natural selection). The first way of defining life is Maturana and Varela' conception of autopoiesis, the second is Korzeniewski's cybernetic definition of life and van Hateren's modified Darwinian definition of life. Especially interesting is the possibility of connecting mind and life in the evolutionary framework. The text does not provide exact results, but rather it proposes possible modes of thinking of the relation of these two categories.