It’s not all about Elon Musk y’know. If the thought of someone burrowing into your brain worries you, read on and be enlightened. Recent advances in technology have delivered a wide range of technical solutions for all kinds of conditions, mostly related to the pressures and stress of our increasingly dysfunctional lifestyles.
Chatbots
Ever feel lonely, let down and isolated? Are friends just too busy and wrapped up in their own lives? Listen up! There is a whole bunch of empathetic new buddies out there, with all the time in the world to listen to your woes. Covered at a recent Global Wellness Summit, chatbots Ginger.io and Replika are there to lend a listening ear and relieve the burden on mental healthcare professionals. Smart, algorithm-powered, text or voice-based interfaces are carving out a place in healthcare across the globe.
Feeling blue? Get in touch with your A.I. friend Replika. Feel free to share your innermost secrets and fears without worrying about criticism or a judgmental lecture. According to the website, “Replika was founded by Eugenia Kuyda with the idea to create a personal AI that would help you express and witness yourself by offering a helpful conversation. It’s a space where you can safely share your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, experiences, memories, dreams – your ‘private perceptual world’.”
Try chatting with Woebot, an algorithmic assistant who can boost your mood in no time at all by offering just the right sort of counseling and emotional support when you pour your heart out. Formulated using psychological research, AI and Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP); it draws on clinically-validated therapy programs and addresses depression and anxiety stemming from today’s challenges, including post-partum depression and substance abuse. Helping over half a million people in over 120 countries, it has already proven to be an invaluable tool in the battle against mental health issues.
When you are tossing and turning and your mind is churning, how can you get through to a behavioral health coach at any time of day or night? Ginger.io offers on-demand mental health support, connecting you to a behavioral health coach within 60 seconds, along with access to trained therapists and psychiatrists via video link within hours. Available for anything from behavioral health coaching for ongoing issues like anxiety and depression to stress and relationship difficulties, Ginger.io is available in over 23 countries and currently works with nearly 100 global enterprises.
Hardware
Sentio Solutions Feel’s wristband is an integrated bio-sensory device that monitors its user’s physiological signals to track his or her emotional state. It links to a smartphone app that provides real-time support and evidence-based interventions, as well as weekly remote data based sessions with a licensed therapist. This is reinforced by an online educational learning program that helps the user to develop inner balance and long term emotional stability.
Talking about best friends, how about your relationship with your phone? Mindstrong is an app that analyzes how you interact with your mobile. Every move, how you type, where and when you scroll, it picks up on your moods. The point of all this? To detect your potential for developing mental health issues. For some of us, this may be a step too far.
Games
With a game-addicted culture rampant across all age groups it is a given that anything that pushes your buttons will be a winner. We know many people who will testify to the therapeutic effect of a quick game session when the stresses of the day begin to pile up.
SuperBetter, an app that maintains mental health by letting you score points for successful management of stressful situations, completing breathing exercises and breaking ingrained bad habits has taken off and accrued over a million followers to date. It is designed to help you on your journey to achieving your emotional, mental, physical and emotional goals, while gaming to your heart’s content.
Read more about The Future of Medical Check-Ups is in Telehealth
