Using Tech To Improve Mental Health
Tech advances improve our day-to-day lives in many ways. Learn more tech and mental health awareness benefits.
Mental health is becoming this decade’s cause célèbre. After centuries of responding to mental illness with surgical experiments, secure asylums and social stigmatizing, we’re finally encouraging people to discuss their experiences and accept mankind’s inherent mental fragility. Bryony Gordon’s recent podcast interview with Prince Harry about depression represented a watershed moment for many people, while The Mighty’s real-life stories attract 200,000 readers every day.
Health Benefits – Inside and Out
The internet provides everyone with a voice, but the use of technology in treating mental health conditions goes much further. For example, our ever-present smartphones can discreetly record and monitor behavior in real time. Apps can learn our normal routine and flag up irregularities, such as someone with bipolar disorder entering a period of mania where energy levels spike and sleep becomes impossible. Notifying a relative or medical professional might allow treatment or intervention to begin long before a crisis develops.
There are thousands of smartphone apps available, covering everything from mindfulness to suicide prevention. More importantly, people don’t always have to reach out to a health board or doctor. Forums and message boards are teeming with practical advice borne out of trial and error – even a correctly-tagged photo on Instagram will receive dozens of supportive and helpful replies. It’s hard to overstate the catharsis that can result from writing a blog, or sharing a personal anecdote with friends and colleagues.
Ask the Experts
Online communities and smartphone apps can’t replace the expert advice of a doctor, but they can augment these established channels. Self-management is an industry buzzword at present, from symptom trackers and sleep monitors to medication reminders. With appropriate user permissions, IoT-enabled devices can also harvest vast amounts of data to support research into behavioral patterns. This could transform our understanding of certain conditions, helping to develop appropriate interventions or treatments.
Wearables
Another technology sector with real potential to change lives involves wearables like Spire. This clip-on device monitors everything from breathing to emotions, reporting its findings via a smartphone app. The Fisher Wallace Stimulator delivers cranial stimulation that increases the brain’s release of serotonin and dopamine. This can reduce depression and stress levels, while a recent Israeli pilot study suggests it may even be useful for tackling bipolar disorder.
Taking the concept of wearables one step further, there is great excitement about the potential for VR in areas like aversion therapy or combating the effects of PTSD. This builds on the proven ability of computer games to help teenagers – a demographic historically reluctant to seek help or publicly acknowledge their issues. Tackling unmet clinical needs is a key area where mental health technology could make a difference.
In-Home Care
Another example of this involves eHealth. Being able to access advice from home could be invaluable for patients with social anxiety, agoraphobia or depression. Greater accessibility and instant access to support (particularly through the night) can literally be a life-saver. Skype is already being used for remote doctor appointments, which are perfectly satisfactory for non-physical consultations where a prescription isn’t required. This also benefits a health service struggling to provide optimal care for a growing and ageing population.
Finally, it’s worth noting that crowdfunding has enabled many mental health projects to see the light of day. A search for “mental health” on GoFundMe brings up almost 29,000 results, while Californian incubator Y Combinator made a public commitment last month to take a more active role in promoting mental health. Crowdfunding is bringing a new wave of tech-based solutions to market. This should help future generations of mental health sufferers enjoy a far better life than their ancestors might have experienced…