Mental wellbeing is becoming increasingly prominent, with mental health problems now a being primary cause of disease worldwide. For example, depression and anxiety are among the main causes of disability. While poor physical health is more simple to diagnose and treat, declining mental wellbeing can be hard to spot and improve. Here's a look at how technology can help you monitor, manage, and maintain a healthy mind.
Wearables
Most of us are familiar with tech that tracks our physical health, but what about those that monitor our mental wellbeing? LeafUrban's device tracks activity levels provides insights on sleep patterns and can even predict stress levels based on your lifestyle habits, with meditation and breathing exercises to help you relax. Pip captures feedback from the skin pores on your fingertip, to show feedback on changing stress levels.
Apps
From meditation to breathing exercises, there are many apps out there to treat different aspects of mental health. The Stress and Anxiety Companion provides tools to help you deal with negative thoughts and anxiety, as well as to identify and manage your personal triggers. Breathe2Relax gives insights into the effect of stress on the body, as well as breathing exercises to manage it. For daily meditation, look no further than HeadSpace, which takes you through personalised guided meditation.
Online therapy
Sometimes talking is the best medicine and this is where online therapists can help. Talkspace matches users to therapists for video calls and messaging. There are even specialist chatbots available such as WoeBot, which tracks your mood and provides insights over time, based on your communication. It even teaches you Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to help you manage symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Together is better
There are times in life when we just need the support of people who are going through the same emotions. HealthUnlocked is a social network where people with similar backgrounds can discuss daily concerns and Let's Mush, is a great social network for mothers to get to know others with similar situations and issues.
Finally, sometimes the best remedy is simply getting back to basics with some well-deserved 'me time,' a good rest and some time away from the tug of digital technologies—whatever works best for you!