How AI tools are helping to cope up with mental issues brought about by the pandemic | Tangled AI
This pandemic has produced economic uncertainty and health issues across the world.
Unfortunately, it has also taken a toll on people’s mental health as new research points out that the virus is tangibly causing higher levels of anxiety among people. People are facing multiple crises together, the primary issue being the deterioration of mental health.
Isolating from the rest of the world can deteriorate your mental health, resulting in rates of depression raking up. Ironically, this pandemic has halted critical mental health services in 93% of the countries across the world, while the demand for mental health services has hit an all-time high. A study even estimates that about 1 in 5 people require mental health help, both psychological and psychiatric.
On the positive side, many blooming technologies may help us combat the mental anxiety caused during this pandemic. #AI has been doing an exceptional job maintaining the mental health balance in people and engaging them in productive activities. AI automation is also doing its fair share in assisting healthcare services. It is very likely that the pandemic will increase the need for AI automation in mental healthcare services in the coming days.
Digital mental health tools and AI automation are a powerful combination that can help people stay positive and healthy throughout the calamity. Let us now understand how #artificialintelligence tools help the world thwart mental issues brought about by the pandemic.
Diagnosing mental health deterioration
AI automated tools help people diagnose and screen potential mental health deviations such as anxiety, depression, and bipolar spectrum disorders. With such a diagnosis, patients are equipped to find the care they need and act proactively to keep mental issues at bay. Equipped with sensors and scanners, it also can monitor heartbeat and pulse rate and make you aware of your well-being.
Bark, a parental control app, uses AI systems to effectively monitor messages for signs of cyberbullying, depression, and suicidal thoughts in children. As there is an increase of 70% in cyberbullying cases during this pandemic, Bark can effectively help parents know about their child’s emotional health. It is also credited with preventing about 103000 severe self-harm situations by children.
Quartet is another AI behavioral health platform that helps screen mental disorders and connects you with the right mental health provider. And it provides self-guided online programs to regulate your mental health.
Virtual mental health counselor
Lack of adequate social life makes you prone to health risks. Such people often end up smoking as much as 15 cigarettes a day. There is also strong evidence that social isolation may lead to premature mortality. But now, with the assistance of AI, you have your virtual mental health counselor.
AI-enabled mental health services are partnering with mental health institutes and renowned psychologists across the world to provide counseling during this pandemic. Also, AI-powered chatbots are made even more powerful to provide virtual therapy to a person suffering from disorders. Virtual therapies are proven to benefit introverted people and those who do not seek help from strangers.
Woebot is an excellent example of a virtual therapy provider that examines a person’s mood and provides a platform in which users can open up their thoughts and emotions through therapeutic conversations. It has been instrumental in fusing AI with people’s empathy and a therapist’s expertise to provide valuable mental health support to millions.
AI productive scheduler
An idle mind is a devil’s workshop. Being inactive for a long time may disrupt your mental health balance. That is the prime reason why depression among unemployed people is soaring during Covid-19. Also, the sudden surge in eating disorders and insomnia has prompted people to follow a healthy lifestyle. AI can help you spend your day indulged in productive activities, which helps you stay sane. You will follow regular patterns of sleep and diet during the pandemic, thanks to such technologies. Prescribing healthy habits such as meditation and exercises as a part of your daily schedule is one of the most beneficial features of AI mental health apps.
Moodfit is one of the best AI tools for shaping up your mood by providing cognitive behavioral therapy. Using #bigdata algorithms, it learns your cognitive-behavioral pattern and prescribes new skills and mindfulness training aligned with your behavior pattern.
Encourages self-compassion and growth
This pandemic has evoked a sense of self-doubt and inferiority complex in people due to their isolated living. But AI has inculcated self-compassion and care in our minds. From recommending inspiring Ted Talks to teaching a new skill, AI-powered apps can help you boost your self-value to a whole new level.
Whenever you’re feeling of FOMO(fear of being missed out) escalates, SelfCare, an AI-powered app, is the tool you should reach for. It provides sound therapy by offering scintillating visuals and music and helps to calm down your nerves. It offers you encouraging challenges like planting saplings, decorating your space, and also relaxing challenges for a moment of mindfulness and calmness.
Summing up
The pandemic has shaken people all over the world in every possible way. From financial crises to health crises, people are struggling to go about their everyday activities. Virologists and scientists are scrambling to understand the ways to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. But there are a group of researchers concerned about a different pandemic — mental illness.
The pandemic has shed light on prioritizing the mental health of people. It has also shown that isolation and lack of human interactions make people weak. Most mental health services are shut down due to isolation norms. Suicide rates due to mental health illnesses are increasing day by day; So people are turning towards AI technologies to help them recover from mental illnesses. AI is acting as a replacement for psychiatrists and psychologists in identifying and treating the patients.
