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In the fight against depression, anxiety, stress and other conditions, all means are good. And while no apps or chatbots can replace expert help, it doesn’t hurt to use them as a self-help tool.
«Do I understand correctly that you’re worried about anxiety?»
— Yes, that’s right.
“I’m sorry to hear this, but it’s good that you’re asking for help — in this state, this is the most important thing. It can be helpful to question the thoughts that cause that feeling. Shall we try?
Friday evening, open terrace of a cafe on Lubyanka, I drink cider all alone and correspond with a robot. And “robot” is not a figure of speech: the Woebot chatbot, developed by psychologists from Stanford University, does indeed have someone very similar to WALL-E in the avatar.
It’s autumn 2018, I once again “got off the pills”, occasionally go to therapy and grab at any straw. — just such a straw, but I still feel strange: the robot «knows» about my problems more than friends and therapist, and more often than they «cope» about my condition. We’ve arrived.
Who knows that very soon Woebot will have numerous “colleagues”, including the Russian bot-psychologist “Natasha”.
And also — that support can be received even in the podcast format
At first, the idea of the creators of the podcast «I’m with you» even seems strange to me — how, I wonder, should the «voice» of a stranger, impersonal and generalized, help me personally? But it was done so sensibly that, oddly enough, they help.
And the use of applications to deal with anxiety, stress, panic attacks and depression against the background of all this can be considered the basis of the foundations of psychological self-help.
About them, these applications, and will be discussed.
help yourself
Recently, the number of self-help apps has grown significantly. Which is not surprising: many of us were deprived of the warmth of human communication, began to see friends many times less often, stopped going to a psychologist in person. We adapted to new conditions, arranged our house in a new way and looked for means and tools that would help us cope with anxiety and stress — they have not gone anywhere in these strange times, rather the opposite.
Some learned to meditate using apps, which turned out to be often more convenient than watching and listening to YouTube videos: you can track your progress and receive reminders. Experts, by the way, especially advise1 such applications for beginners who have no idea where to start and need an instructor.
The latter are accustomed to tracking mood, symptoms of their mental state and habits that affect this state: in applications it is easy to keep track of what you are doing, which means sticking to a plan. In addition, this way you can discover your triggers and frequently recurring symptoms.1to discuss later in a session with your therapist.
Personally, I have been with Daylio for 736 days now, and looking at monthly and yearly reports is my favorite thing to do.
It is easy to trace causal relationships between emotions and life events, even minor ones.
Still others have learned to cope with anxiety and panic: most of us meet with a psychologist at best once a week, a maximum of two (and then only if it occurs), and a panic attack or anxiety episode can occur at any time, and we need to somehow cope with it. them in the moment. Well, to live from session to session — too.
The fourth “communicated” with chatbots, getting support and better understanding their condition (let me remind you, however: self-diagnosis is an inaccurate tool, and using it alone is rather irresponsible, so if you have any suspicions, it’s better to contact a specialist).
In general, applications acted — and act — as a hybrid of a manual, a diary and a support group at the same time. In addition, they are available to most of us, unlike professional psychological assistance, and they can be used at any time — without prior appointment and coordination of schedules.
“For many, apps are so far the only way to somehow understand their condition and get some kind of support,” confirms psychologist Sal Reinbaah. — Some qualified psychological help is simply not affordable, others cannot find time for hour-long sessions, others cannot overcome internal barriers and part with stereotypes.
And applications are free (or quite inexpensive), convenient and anonymous
In addition, it is difficult for many to decide to admit their “problems” to other people — even professionals: the fear of evaluation and stigma is too great. And using the app is like leaving an anonymous question on a forum or typing in a request on the Internet, only more convenient.”
“Even if a person is in therapy, the applications allow him to continue the work started in the session,” adds psychologist Tanisha Ranger, who actively uses applications in her work with clients. “In this case, the progress is much more noticeable than in other patients.” True, like many, Ranger is sure that they cannot be a replacement for classical therapy — and should not.
Psychologist Jean Otto agrees: “Real psychotherapeutic work requires vulnerability and openness on the part of the client, and presence and empathy on the part of the therapist. This is the only way to achieve significant change.”
Despite this, experts believe2that in the future, apps will play an even greater role in mental health by providing effective self-help tools for people with various disorders and mental conditions.
The American Psychiatric Association has even developed a rating system that psychologists, psychiatrists, and other professionals can use to decide which app to recommend to their clients, based on perceived effectiveness and potential risks.
How to choose an application?
It happens that psychotherapists, especially those working in a cognitive-behavioral approach, themselves advise their clients on certain applications — for example, as an alternative to a paper diary of emotions. But what if there is no one to ask for advice? What to focus on so as not to drown in a sea of options?
First you need to decide why you need an application at all. To do this, briefly formulate your problem — for example, «anxiety», «depression», «panic attacks», «mood». These will be your keywords when searching (if you feel the need for supportive tools like meditation or a gratitude diary, look for it).
You can search the Internet for a selection of the best apps specifically for your topic or go directly to the app store. When searching, consider:
the availability of the application (free or at a price that is acceptable to you),
convenience for you
functional,
ratings, and most importantly — reviews of other users.
After installing and testing the application, you can start solving your problems with it.
And how do professional psychologists and psychotherapists use them in their work?
Applications through the eyes of a specialist
Arina Lipkina, psychologist
Applications seem to me a great help in psychological work and I gladly recommend them to my clients. For those who have panic attacks, I recommend applications that help to even out breathing and switch their attention to something — specialized applications, such as Anti-Panic, as well as banal Tetris or programs for learning words, are suitable here — when our brain is more than something is busy, it «disarms» the panic.
«AntiDepression» and its analogues are good information component, exercises to work with negative thinking and in general are more suitable for expanding the horizons of clients and generating interest in cognitive therapy in them.
For those clients who need to improve their sleep, as well as those who want to learn how to meditate, I recommend Mo: Meditation and Sleep. In addition to the standard set of nature sounds and breathing exercises, there are bedtime stories and even lullabies — for some even my adult clients, this has a very tangible positive effect.
But Practice: Meditation and Sleep has some good visual breathing exercises. The well-known Calm or any other options are also suitable.
I pay so much attention to sleep issues, because its quality directly affects the psyche
In addition, I ask clients to record short audio messages for me — just in messengers or the Journify application — these recordings are needed to work in sessions and to track relationships (between the events of the day, mood, reactions of a person, his subjective assessment of what is happening), to correct incentives and / or reactions and better understand yourself — and therefore, manage yourself. Those who don’t like voice messages capture it all in Moodnotes and Daylio mood trackers. Between meetings, clients usually send me screenshots of charts and records, and we work with them in the session.
Of course, there is no universal application that would suit everyone and in all cases, so I usually suggest installing different ones, trying and using those that fit and turn out to be the most convenient and effective. Some clients do not like the very format of working with applications — in these cases, we manage with traditional means like keeping a paper diary.
Not a «magic pill», but a handy tool
Let’s summarize. Apps will not replace personal therapy or group work, but they can:
learn to track your mood,
learn self-help skills for panic attacks and anxiety attacks,
normalize sleep,
master the practices of «grounding», slowing down, meditation and awareness.
However, if you:
experiencing deep depression
for a long period of time you notice a lowered mood,
suspect depression,
cannot cope with panic attacks (attacks are repeated over and over again),
often feel acute anxiety, including for no reason,
are generally worried about your mental state,
please do not delay your visit to a specialist. Chatbots and applications can indeed be a good help in working on yourself, a tool for introspection and even self-help, but with the support of a psychologist or psychiatrist, you can quickly solve the problem that worries you so much. It is checked up on own experience.