Preston, Blackburn, Burnley and Blackpool named among the most stressed areas of the UK - here's why

An area of Lancashire has been revealed at the most stressed place in the UK.

Research by CBD retailers CBD Oil King assessed the number of monthly Google searches for 233 search terms related to stress and anxiety across cities and towns in the UK. The total monthly amount was then scaled against the population of each city to give a total number of searches per 100,000 residents.  

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How does it look in Lancashire?

The study revealed that Preston is the most stressed area of the UK, citing 2,006 monthly searches per 100,000 people in the city for search terms relating to stress. While the study does not reveal the cause of stress, many factors are apparent for the city.  

What’s causing it?

Unemployment rates for the region sat at 4 per cent as of last September. Although this rate has fallen compared to 2022 (by 1.3 per cent), this is still above the national average of 3.9 per cent in 2023. Alongside this, a report also discovered that 28 per cent of respondents reported they had high anxiety levels, with another study, the English deprivation index, finding Preston has consistently ranked in the 20 per cent most deprived areas of the country since 2000.  

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Blackburn

Coming in second, Blackburn had 1,979 searches per 100,000 residents – equivalent to 65 searches a day. Lancashire County Council found that the town has higher than the national average rates of depression in adults (16.2 per cent) and unemployment is around 4.7 per cent according to the latest Office for National Statistics data. 

Of the top 10 regions, half were from the north west including cultural capitals Manchester and Liverpool, and only three from the south. 

Burnley and Blackpool

Liverpool came in third place, followed by Burnley in fourth. Burnley sees a monthly average of 1,864 searches for stress and anxiety-related searches. According to the 2019 index of multiple deprivation, Burnley was ranked 11th out of 317 authorities in England, making it an area high in the need for support. 

Blackpool also comes in the top 20 at number 16 with 1,334 stress-related searches per 100,000 people.

Need for open discussions on mental health

Commenting on the findings, Dr Mansoor Siddique, Director of CBD Oil King, said: “Stress can be caused by a multitude of factors including work, unemployment, disability, mental health issues, crime rates, poverty and so on. 

“It is shocking to note that the Mental Health Foundation’s most recent study found that 74 per cent of Brits have felt an overwhelming amount of stress across the previous year, with a further third saying they had experienced suicidal thoughts because of it. We must do more to help those around us in such situations and we can also help ourselves by having healthy coping mechanisms ahead of time that we can put to use. 

“Various factors, whether socioeconomic or genetic, influence individuals' ability to cope with stress and anxiety and it is key people have support systems in place that can help them manage any worries they may be having. This is why it is imperative for local authorities, employers, and society as a whole to create places where free and open discussion on mental health takes place. Doing so will hopefully decrease the burden many feel weighed down by.”