How Apple will help you understand your mental health with new tools
Most smartphone users are glued to their devices, so it makes sense you get access to health-related features on apps. iPhone’s Health app already lets you keep track of different aspects of your health and fitness. But, later this year, it is getting an important update. During WWDC 2023, Apple announced new features that will help users monitor their mental health.
The new mental health features include tools in the Health app to let you determine if the user is experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety. The forthcoming Health app features will be available as part of iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 and Mindfulness app in watchOS 10, allowing users to take small tests that will help them find out about their mental state. The new Mental Wellbeing section in the Health app has several such tests for different mental health-related aspects.
Friendly steps
Most people do not know if they have a mental illness, and those who have doubts about their mental condition sometimes fear opening up. The upcoming tool has simple steps that will allow users to become comfortable with the process. Users will need to manually enter data, such as the mental state they are in or their mood. Alternatively, they can take tests, the results of which would help the Health app decide their mental state.
Users can reflect on their “state of mind” by logging their emotions or mood for the current time or the entire day, ranging from ‘very unpleasant’ to ‘very pleasant’. These emotions and moods are represented by “multi-dimensional” shapes that feel good to the eyes. While the ‘very unpleasant’ mood is represented by a dark blue colour, the ‘very pleasant’ mood shows a bright yellow colour in the shape. Once you log what emotion you are feeling or the mood you are in, the app will offer you different reasons why you think you are feeling so.
While you are expected to log your mood or emotion every day for the app to give you a better reading of your mental state, it is natural to forget to do that. For that, you can ask the app to remind you to “reflect on how you’re feeling.”
Apart from these, you can take assessments for determining whether you have anxiety or depression. For each assessment, you are presented with psychological questions, under a heading that reads, “Over the last two weeks, how often have you been bothered by the following problem?” There are a total of nine questions in this assessment, including the one that inquires if you are having “thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself in some way.” For every question, you have four choices and one of them will be your answer. The app will use your answers to gauge the level of anxiety or depression you may be suffering.
“There may be times when users can benefit from additional support. In a recent survey, more than 30 percent of US adults said they have experienced symptoms of anxiety or depression,” said Apple. “The same depression and anxiety assessments often used in clinics are now easily accessible in the Health app and can be taken anytime. These assessments can help users determine their risk level, connect to resources available in their region, and create a PDF to share with their doctor.”
Since these assessments are based on typical questions, called Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Apple informs users that their risk score does not equate to a diagnosis of any condition and that patients should consult a doctor for clinical assistance.
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