Every ten seconds someone Googles ‘depression’ in London, research released by the Priory Group reveals.
London residents are making 245,273 searches around ‘depression’ every month, with 49,500 searches being made by people wanting to take a test to see whether they are depressed.
Dr Jeanette Downie, deputy medical director and consultant psychiatrist at Priory Hospital Glasgow said the number of people searching for diagnoses online highlighted the stigma around mental health, which leads people to turn to the internet rather than seek help from an expert.
She said: “The continued stigma around mental health encourages people to use the non-judgemental search bar of Google.
“I see some highly successful people who are terrified of others finding out that they are depressed or stressed, and feel they have absolutely ‘failed’ by being ill.
“They often wait until they are really unwell before they come to the Priory for help.”
Over the last two years, January has experienced a spike in search volumes across the three search terms ‘stress’, ‘depression’ and ‘anxiety’.
Based on this recent upward trend, the Priory Group forecast that January 2015 will see 1,473,059 searches around ‘depression’ – an 11% increase from last year.
Picture courtesy of dawolf, with thanks
