When we broke the data down by the countries we surveyed, we found that Brits were the most anxious. 77% of UK respondents reported that they felt anxious in relation to the virus last week.

This was closely followed by Spain (where some metropolitan areas have been locked down again this week) and France. 76% and 74% of respondents reported feelings of anxiety respectively.

Respondents in China, the US, and Australia were slightly less likely to report feeling anxious because of the outbreak (73%).

Meanwhile, Italy and Germany were the least anxious countries that we surveyed, with just 69% and 66% of respondents reporting feelings of anxiety respectively.

To understand what is driving anxiety, we used our Consumer Research platform to examine public conversations (excluding news) around Covid-19.

We found that consumers could be becoming more anxious because of fears about a second wave. There were 3m mentions from people on social media worried about this in May and June – a 180% increase on the two months prior.

There were a further 557k mentions about being nervous or anxious because of lockdown restrictions being lifted in May and June, with many worried that measures are being eased too soon.

Because of all of this anxiety and uncertainty, people have been seeking out support networks.

We looked at r/COVID19_support, a subreddit which offers help for those feeling overwhelmed by news and life in the shadow of the virus.

While initial shock is clearly over, there are still hundreds of posts a day on the forum, indicating that stress levels are still high for many.

On Reddit there’s no obligation to provide your real name, so the platform offers a safe space for many to seek support while remaining anonymous.

As lockdowns are gradually eased around the world, you might think that we’d all begin to relax a bit. But people in the countries we surveyed are actually becoming more anxious. They’re particularly worried about a second wave and lockdowns being lifted too quickly.

The atmosphere globally could arguably be described as ‘jittery’. But, as we’ve seen above and in other bulletins, people are finding creative ways to support one another both in person and via the internet.

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Brandwatch Response Team