Everybody knows this past year has just been a whirlwind of events, and no doubt that has affected our mental health. There has been an overwhelming increase in interest in emotional wellbeing as reported by Google data trends: 

  • Globally, Arabic search queries for “how to improve my mental health” grew by 1,100% in the past five years 2016 and 2021, and reach the trend peak in August 2020. 
  • Interest in the Arabic word for therapist reached a 10-year high in August 2020.

Google worked with Safe Space, a UAE-based mental health organization and their network licensed therapists who have come up with a series of coping mechanisms where Google Assistant will base its answers on. Arabic speakers can now find these responses if they tell Assistant they are feeling sad, lonely, tired, scared, or angry. 

“Helping people reach that piece of information, especially when they need it most, is at the heart of everything we do at Google. To everyone who came online to learn how to take care of their wellbeing and that of their loved ones over the past year, I hope you find this feature helpful,” said Najeeb Jarrar, head of consumer product marketing at Google MENA. 

“With so many people struggling right now, it’s fabulous to see Google being part of the solution by making first line emotional wellbeing support accessible. This initiative will play a really important role in closing the gap around education and awareness in the region. Not everyone feels comfortable asking these questions out loud, so there is now a safe space that will be available to all through the Google Assistant,” said Dani Hakim, co-founder of Safe Space.

It is not unknown that speaking about mental health in the Arab world is a little bit hard due to the stigma around it; companies coming together to provide help for those who are too scared to go to someone when they are in need is exactly what we needed to normalize these conversations. 

Here are some of the statements you can tell your Arabic Google Assistant and how they will respond:

“I am sad” –>  I read that journaling what you feel in a special journal could help you better understand your feelings and help you address them.

Sometimes, crying can help lighten the heaviness of sadness. If you feel like crying, don’t hold in your tears.

“I am scared” –> I read that when I experience feelings of worry, ask yourself: will I benefit from continuing to think this way? We have to ask ourselves, if it’s more useful to continue to feel fear or to overcome it.

This is a great initiative to help people of all ages understand and deal with their emotional wellbeing.