How Can Technology Help You Take Care Of Your Mental Health?

Mental well-being and technology are two sides of a coin. The advancements in technology have proved to be very life-altering for people but the virtual world has had mixed impacts on the implications of their mind as well as physical well-being.

Affecting almost all facets of an individual’s life, technology has also contributed to numerous new and advanced ways to tap into the sphere of mental health care.

The internet, as a whole, has brought the world closer and is, in turn, acting as a medium of spreading information about the mental health concerns and issues as well as courses of treatment from around the globe. Along with being a source of enlightenment, it has also proved to be a contributing factor towards the monitoring of various facets of an individual’s health through the day.

It is very upsetting to know that depression is the most commonly occurring mental illness at the moment. To cater to the wellbeing and health of the ever-rising population affected by mental illnesses and disorders, technical advancements are being applied.

The practical implications of technology on mental health can be seen by the following facets.

Many applications and devices have been introduced in the present times to measure and balance the stress levels and help in regaining the mental stability. A few of the innovations introduced to help individuals be on top of their game mentally are listed below-

PIP stress management device

This is a tiny device that is connected to a smartphone application. It is made in order to access the prevailing stress levels in a person’s body at any given point in the day.

It functions on the mechanism that the skin pores present on the surface of the fingertips of a person are sensitive of any change in the body. It has been proven that the skin pores are extremely sensitive at any given point in time to the levels of stress an individual.

The functionality of the application, to be used on a smartphone, is quite simple. The landing page of the application shows an image of a winter season. When the tiny device that is being held in between the fingers of an individual, the image slowly moves towards a summary effect depending on the stress levels of a person. When a person is able to manage his stress levels and bring it now to a normal frequency, the image on the application changes to a summer scene.

This application is a wonderful way to begin a journey towards better mental health and heightened mindfulness.

Various people take different times to de-stress and this device helps in inculcating a healthy habit of lowering stress and enabling good mental health.

Meditation and stress releasing applications-

Multiple applications have been introduced in the present times in order to inculcate a habit of meditation in people in order to help them regain their mental peace and have a healthy lifestyle in this time of unending stress and negative external inflictions.

One of the few examples of such applications is an application known as Calm. It is one of the best mental relaxation and stress relieving application available in the market at present. With a spectrum of services such as breathing exercises, guided meditations, bedtime stories, sleep meditation and, visual aid for relaxation.

Another such application is the Insight Timer. It has a similar outlook and can be used to relax at any time during the day. It has support meditations to relieve stress and provide comport caused by different stressors. Services such as guided sleep meditation, time-bound meditation, motivational lessons, etc. are what make this application a major hit among people looking for an option to relax and calm their minds for better sleep and increased consciousness.

Chatbots for accessing the mental health-

Patients may feel comfortable having a online health consultation with the doctor or maybe vary of it. Patients lso looking to book face to face health consultation can look up for the various hospitals. Chatbots are computer programs that replicate human conversation. At times, people suffering from any form of mental illness such as anxiety, stress or depression, have trouble talking to a person about their problems openly, even if it is a doctor.

Chatbots are a savior for such individuals or a robotic process. Although it does not compensate for the actual human connection, it is able to access the mental status of a person and provide multiple options for the improvement in their condition. Mental health or Mental disorder is a sensitive topic and people are more open to sharing personal facts with a Chatbot than an actual person.

Wearable Tracking Devices-

Devices such as Fitbit, Runtastic, and Garmin are available in the market to help access the stress levels and physical state of an individual in real-time.

Not only do they help in recording the physical activity done, calories burnt, heart rate, pulse rate, etc., they also help in tracking the reaction of the body in times of stressful situations and after rigorous exercise. Not only does it help in ascertaining the major stressors for an individual, but they also help in controlling the mental toll caused by turmoil and stressful situations.