Suicide Suicide is the third leading cause of death for American adults . Since 1999 , the suicide rate in most states , including Florida , has increased approximately 30 %. 41 As awareness for suicide increases in the general public , more people are searching for information on suicide prevention and the suicide hotline .
Google Search Interest for “ Suicide ,” 2018-2020
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
• Google search interest for “ suicide ” decreased approximately 33 % from 2018 to 2020 . Top search terms include suicide , murder suicide , suicide hotline , and suicide prevention .
• There is a spike around June 2018 in search interest for “ suicide ” due to the high profile suicides of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade .
Summary The digital analysis of Google search interest trends in the Polk County area reveals some positive correlations between mental health disorder Google searches and diagnoses . The correlation between Google search interest for anxiety , depression , and suicide and mental health issues in Polk County may indicate two things : 1 ) awareness has increased and more individuals are searching for symptoms and prevention information , and 2 ) mental health stigma may be preventing individuals from seeking treatment and information from their medical providers and are thus turning to the internet for information . For example , top search terms for suicide include “ suicide hotline ” and “ suicide prevention ” indicating individuals are interested in learning more information on how to prevent suicide .
41
Stone , D . M ., Simon , T . R ., Fowler , K . A ., Kegler , S . R ., Yuan , K ., Holland , K . M ., Ivey-Stephenson , A . Z , & Crosby , A . E . ( 2018 ). Vital Signs : Trends in suicide rates — United States , 1999-2016 and circumstances contributing to suicide — 27 states , 2015 . Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report , 67 ( 22 ), 617-624 . Retrieved from
https :// www . cdc . gov / mmwr / volumes / 67 / wr / pdfs / mm6722a1-H . pdf . Accessed December 2018
56