Tech

Mental Health Apps Won’t Get You Off the Couch


“Everyone is so excited cough about therapy these days. I’m curious myself, but I’m not ready to commit to paying for it. A mental health app seems like a good stepping stone. But are they really useful?”

—Mindful Doubt


Dear,

The first time you open Headspace, one of the most popular mental health apps, you’re greeted with a blue sky—a metaphor for the undisturbed mind—and encouraged Take a few deep breaths. Instructions appear in the sky telling you exactly when to inhale, when to hold, and when to exhale, rhythms measured by a white progress bar, as if you were waiting for the loading process. down completed. Some people may find this relaxing, although I bet for every user whose mind is at ease drifting into pixel blue, others are glancing at their watch, glancing at their inbox or worry about the future—perhaps about the ultimate fate of a species that must be guided to perform the most basic and automatic biological functions.

According to a report by the World Health Organization, shortness of breath or shortness of breath is a common side effect of anxiety, along with depression, which has increased by 25% globally between 2020. until 2021. It’s no coincidence that this mental health crisis has coincided with the explosion of behavioral health apps. (In 2020, they’ve raised over $2.4 billion in venture capital investments.) And you’re certainly not alone, Mindful, in doubting the effectiveness of these products. Due to inequality and inability to access affordable mental health services, many have questioned whether these digital tools are “evidence-based” and whether do they serve as an effective substitute for professional help?

However, I think such apps are not intended to be a substitute for therapy, but rather represent a digital update to the self-help genre. Like the paperback books found in the Personal Development section of bookstores, such apps promise that mental health can be improved through “self-awareness” and “self-knowledge”—qualities that, like so many of their roots (self-care, self-empowerment, self-examination, ), nurtured by individuals in the twilight of public institutions and social safety nets.

Of course, helping yourself is an awkward idea, philosophically speaking. It involves splitting yourself into two entities, the helper and the beneficiary. The analytics tools offered by these apps (exercise, mood, and sleep tracking) invite users to be both scientists and subjects, noting their own behavioral data, and at the same time look for patterns and associations—that anxiety is related to a bad night’s sleep, for example, or regular exercise improves satisfaction. Mood registration requires users to identify their emotions and comes with a message that emphasizes the importance of emotional awareness. (“Acknowledging how we are feeling strengthens our resilience.”) These insights seem indisputable—the kind of intuitive knowledge that everyone knows. accessible without the aid of automated reminders—but if breathing exercises are an indication, these apps are designed for people who are completely unfamiliar with their nervous system.

Of course, for all the focus on self-knowledge and personalized data, what these apps don’t help you understand is why you’re nervous or depressed in the first place. This is a question most people seek to answer through therapy, and it’s worth asking about the mental health crisis of our society as a whole. That dilemma is clearly beyond my expertise as a columnist, but I’ll leave you with a few considerations.

Linda Stone, a researcher and former Apple and Microsoft executive, coined the term “screen apnea” to describe the tendency to hold your breath or breathe more shallowly when using a screen. This phenomenon occurs across many digital activities (see “email apnea” and “zoom apnea”) and can lead to sleep disruptions, lower energy levels, or increased depression and anxiety. settle. There are many theories as to why prolonged device use puts the body into a state of stress — psychological stimulation, exposure to light, the looming threat of work email, and consumer spending. apocalypse — but the bottom line seems to be that digital technologies trigger biological states that mirror the fight-or-flight response.

It’s true that many mental health apps suggest activities or “tasks” that involve turning off one’s phone. But these tend to be tasks done individually (push-ups, walking, guided meditations) and because they are completed to be tested, monitored, and included in the overall mental health index. a person’s body, applications will eventually assign a utility value to activities that should be enjoyable for their own sake. This makes it harder to practice those mindfulness techniques—living in the present, giving up prudent self-monitoring—supposedly to reduce stress. In other words, by trying to raise more self-awareness, these apps will end up adding to the disunity that so many of us already feel on virtual platforms.

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