Google searches for 'anxiety' are the highest in its history

You may find this hard to believe, but some people are very stressed right now. Don't take our word for it? Well, how about checking the numbers via Google Trends, by way of DataTrek Research. According to a recent review, people are searching topics related to "anxiety" more than ever before, and the numbers are so high it's... uh, well, it's kinda stressful.

Everything's going just fine — Searches for "anxiety" on Google are averaging five percent higher between July and November, 2020 than they were for that same time last year; it's also the highest recorded in the 16 years of available analytics. The general public isn't alone in taking notice of this, either. Google recently launched an anxiety self-assessment quiz with links to mental health resources. (If you need some additional, calming suggestions, we also recommend these very chill games to give you a break from reality).

In what we could only infer to be a complete coincidence, searches for topics like "restaurant" and "mall" also took a huge dip over the past few months. After taking an initial plunge back in February-March, both terms saw a steady climb through the warmer months and summer. Interest dropped once again as news came of another pandemic wave to close out 2020. "More recently, queries for 'restaurant' have fallen 26 pct since mid-October, not far from the worst levels of the year last seen in March and April," explains DataTrek.

Meanwhile, business is booming for vices like fast food fries and booze. Stressed, afraid to leave your house, and addicted to junk snacks and liquor... yeah, that sounds about right for our country these days. Try not to get too overwhelmed by it all, though. All that screaming into the void probably does you more harm than good, anyway. TGIF, everyone!