Online searches for crisis hotlines surged worldwide and rose in the same months as suicide-related searches

A new study analyzing global Google Trends data from January 2004 to August 2025 finds that online search interest in “crisis hotline” has increased sharply in recent years and tends to rise in the same months as searches about “suicide.” The findings highlight how digital help-seeking signals may provide timely insight into population distress and demand for crisis resources. The study is published in the Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association.

Using an infodemiological approach, the study examined monthly Relative Search Volumes (RSVs)—a normalized index (0–100) reflecting relative search interest—for the Google Trends topics “Suicide” and “Crisis Hotline.” Across the full period, “suicide” maintained higher overall search interest, with several event-related spikes (e.g., COVID-19 period, celebrity suicide deaths). In contrast, “crisis hotline” began at a lower baseline but showed a steep upward trajectory from the late 2010s onward, indicating growing public attention to crisis support information online.

To examine timing between the two topics, the study used cross-lagged correlations. While the raw series suggested a long-lag association, analyses that removed shared long-term trends and seasonality indicated that the strongest relationship was contemporaneous, meaning month-to-month increases in suicide-related searches tended to occur alongside increases in crisis hotline searches.

The study also mapped country-level patterns by clustering countries based on their all-time RSV profiles, revealing distinct groups with relatively high or low engagement with hotline searches even when suicide-related search salience was similar.

Although Google Trends data do not measure actual suicide rates or hotline utilization, the findings suggest that improving the online visibility of crisis resources—especially during periods of heightened suicide-related searching—may strengthen public access to timely support.