#happimynd

[happi-mynd]

LETS HIT REFRESH BUTTON If you want to BOUNCE back from adversities and be more RESILIENT. HappiMynd is here for you!*

50,000 happi users are testimony of it.

Anyone above the age of 13 years can take up a customized and personalized journey for 10 different social profiles, ranging from homemakers, students, corporate professionals, self employed and even senior citizens.

As a start point, use our emotional awareness tool HappiLIFE for FREE, because 95% Indians have never done an Emotional status check in their entire life.

Download HAPPIMYND app NOW (Currently for Android users) and also get services worth INR 5000 as a special gift.

Link- https://bit.ly/HMMobAPP

Be Happi!!😃

[prince876]

Breaking the Spirals of Overthinking and Conquering her Social Anxiety Through Therapy: This is Srivalli’s Story.

Born and raised in the cultural capital of Gujarat, Srivalli is a 19-year-old college student, pursuing her Bachelor’s in Interaction Design. Usually keeps to herself and is a little introverted, but enjoys a good match of badminton. 

She spent 15 years of her life in Vadodara and later shifted to Maharashtra with her family. She currently lives with her sister and mother. 

Moving to a new place comes with all kinds of challenges. No matter how cautious you are, there are often times when it gets difficult to adjust. 

“I spent like 4 to 5 years in Maharashtra, it was a big change for me.”

Moving to a new city raised a lot of concerns in Srivalli’s mind. New people, new faces, new classes, new places ignited her social anxiety. Thoughts engulfed her vision and she tried to avoid interactions with people. 

“What if they don’t like me?” “What if I don’t get good grades?” “ What if I am not enough?” “Will I fit in with people here?” Would I….? Will I….? Can I….? 

Every Indian kid is taught the standard idea – to keep up with whatever expectations parents have. It became challenging for Srivalli to cope with that. 

[yamiiiits]

Why Mental Health is Important?

We all take great care of our health, but have you thought that just as your physical health is important, so is your mental health. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.

Every sixth Indian needs mental health help.

Acording to the World Health Organization, India has the greatest burden of mental and behavioural disorders.

The treatment gap ranges between 70% and 92% for different mental health disorders.

 Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices.

[happimynd]

Working Women – Path to overall wellbeing

A woman born as a girl child becomes someone’s wife after marriage and finally become the mother of her child. For most of the women covering such phases in life, they have to struggle a lot. There could be several challenges for her from our society. The economic challenge is also there in countries like India. Women are the backbone of our society. They have a major contribution to the economic development of our country. For working women, the challenge is more difficult than men, as they need to balance their work and family responsibilities at the same time. In our society, it’s common to see many times women are suffering from issues like gender bias, unequal pay, both mental and physical harassment. Constantly facing such problems can sometimes break their emotional balance and they might suffer from loneliness, depression, anxiety etc. 

What types of emotional challenges do women generally face while working?

In India, women are quite capable of taking care of their household jobs and earn for the family. But while maintaining them they frequently face several challenges from the family, working place or society. Constantly facing such challenges could create several emotional disorders. Let’s have a look at what types of challenges that working women generally face –

Gender Biases – This is very common for women from an early stage of life. In our men dominant society women do not get much importance for their contributions. In some organizations potential and capabilities of women employees have always been underestimated regarding recruitments, salary packages or even promotion. Still, in many Indian families, they utilize the working capacity of a woman and even their entire salary for the household, but still, no one recognizes her contribution. Therefore women never feel independent and have to depend on someone still after earning for the family. 

Difficulty in maintaining work-life balance – A working woman is equally responsible for her family and office. She has to fulfil all the requirements of her household and family members, at the same time needs to perform the work responsibilities she has been given in the office. Maintaining the right balance in all such areas sometimes gets too difficult for her. In India career of women is still considered secondary, and most of the families do not offer them adequate mental support. Women in many cases, therefore, lack emotional wellbeing and happiness in life. Sometimes they even suffer from several emotional issues like stress, depression or anxiety. 

Managing work pressure and satisfying family members at the same time is a big hurdle for maximum working women. In such a situation, they need emotional support, but unfortunately, they don’t get that sometimes. From here they start getting frustrated and feel helpless sometimes. Many organizations, now conduct employee happiness programs and that can work great for such working women who need emotional support. Happiness programs designed for the employees can work below ways –

Such programs can greatly reduce negative emotional thoughts from working ladies

For improving relationships with co-workers sometimes happiness programs work great

For staying physically and mentally fit such programs work well 

Less support in working places – Still in many companies working women get fewer privileges than their male colleagues. Whether it is for the monthly salary packages or promotions many cases women have to suffer a lot. Women in most of the cases work great and take lots of targets to achieve but sometimes have to compromise with less compensation, inadequate maternity and other leaves. Such a situation can lead them to experience insomnia and depression and they start thinking to leave their job. 

From most of our families, working environments and societies women lack getting right emotional support where nobody cares about their career dream. Many people still don’t understand the value of women in developing our social and economic development. 

Pandemic and its effect on the emotional wellbeing of women

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has ruined the overall healthcare system and majorly impacted the overall economic growth of the world. India has already faced 2 waves of the pandemic, where the 2nd one had a severe impact on the country. Many people have already lost their jobs and women in India had suffered a lot! Between March and April 2020 15.4 million women have lost their jobs, which is 37% of the female workforce versus 28% for men. The overall decline in the job market severely affected the emotional well-being of women in India.    

What’s the solution? How women could maintain their work-life balance?

Maintaining a work-life balance starts with emotional wellness. We must appreciate the great contribution of all working women around us and provide them all the emotional support they need to leave a healthy emotional life. Educating people for the betterment of women emotional health is very important. We all should learn the possible ways to accept the fact that men and women both are equally important to make a healthy society, and all women are the backbone of our society to now way their contributions and career dreams can be ignored. 

Any woman who wants to check her emotional strength and weakness can try HappiLIFE Screening. It’s a wonderful tool developed by HappiMynd to reveal all your emotional factors and qualities that can make changes in your professional career. 

HappiCHAT can be another great digitally empowered tool from HappiMynd for all the working women who need emotional support and a helping hand who can listen to them. The tool allows you to write your message anonymously and someone from the team of HappiMynd will get back to you soon with all the right emotional supports that you need. 

[jagjeet1]

Your Annual Health Check-up is not yet complete!

health check-up is very important to know your overall physical health status. Most people are generally concerned only about their physical health, but surprisingly they do not care much about their emotional wellbeing, hence the mental health part always gets ignored! Our psychological health and physical health are closely related to each other. A small emotional issue sometimes can affect our health and we go to the doctor for getting medicines just to get rid of the physical problems. But here we miss the root of “our mind” from where the actual problem is arising. Therefore, many times we are unable to fix the problem permanently.

We must understand the importance of our emotional feelings and go for at least an annual check-up for the same parallel with our body. Your emotional health sometimes becomes poor because of several factors like stress or work-related anxiety, relationship problems with partners, friends, or any other family members, undergoing any major change in life, and many more.

What are the symptoms that indicate you need an emotional health check-up?

Spending sleepless nights for a long – Sleeplessness might be related to thyroid problems, chronic body pain, or something physical. But sometimes there can be some emotional factors that can stop you from getting a night of sound sleep. Here you must make sure about testing your emotional parameters with an authentic screening system. Once you get aware of your emotion and intellect, it could become easy for you to start your life towards holistic wellness.

Grouchiness – You might be a happy person in general. But recently you’re experiencing irritability in your mind, and for small issues, you’re overreacting or arguing with friends or family members. These all are happening due to some emotional changes resulting from depression or anxiety.

Trying to isolate from others – Sometimes any of your known people can isolate him from others, avoid any discussion or meeting new people, etc. due to excess depression. In such a situation seeking help from any safe corner might give you the required emotional support.

Eating disorder – Overeating or loss of appetite are not always related to our stomach-related problems. Sometimes mental stress could result in eating disorders like overeating or experience loss of appetite.

Feeling restless – Prolonged anxiety in the mind sometimes create mental imbalances resulting in several health-related issues like headaches, stomach upset, breathing-related problems etc. Here the concerned person should be given the right emotional support for a healthy body and mind.

Resolving emotional issues is not a serious problem in most cases. If you get the right and authentic service you can easily get control of your mind and become able to balance your overall emotional wellbeing. But there is a problem. Most people hesitate to go for a mental health check-up! Why? Let’s have a look at the below points:

• Many think they can handle their emotional problems on their own. Such ignorance can later create serious mental health-related issues!

• Some people have an idea that emotional or mental issues indicate weakness. But actually, recognizing your emotional problems and seeking help indicates you’re a strong person.

• Many have an idea that only crazy people should have concerned with emotional wellbeing. Such an idea is baseless! If you want to become successful in life, you must take care of your emotional wellness first.

• Taking any service for emotional health could be expensive. This one is another wrong idea. There are many online tools available that are affordable, reliable and offer you the utmost confidentiality.

HappiMynd is a trusted name in offering you the most reliable and confidential way of testing your emotional parameters with HappiLIFE Screening. This is a unique concept and scientifically proved to be effective to understand your strength and weakness. This online tool can be highly effective to reveal many unknown factors in your personality.

Expressing your emotional feeling is highly important. But you need the right place to share your feeling to get optimal mental support. HappiBUDDY is another great creation of HappiMynd where a helping hand is just a message away! Here you can write any message anonymously and someone will soon get back to you to offer you adequate solutions for your overall emotional wellbeing.

[prince876]

How teenagers can protect their mental health during COVID 19

Lockdowns are trying times for children and teenagers. They may feel overwhelmed, and experiencing coronavirus stress about falling sick. They may also feel worried about older members of their families. In a lockdown, many of the common activities have come to a halt; And teenagers who are used to spending time outside homes can find it very difficult to be caged inside their house. The lockdown has impacted the lives of young adults. There is a surge in online activity and digital engagement- from social media to online gaming and entertainment. Young adults seem to be inseparable from their gadgets.  Here are a few ways that teenagers can adopt to protect their mental and emotional health during COVID

Try to stick to a schedule

Making and maintaining a schedule for home is particularly challenging. It needs some self-discipline, that a lot of us tend to keep losing. Indulgence is a human tendency, especially during the teen years. But chalk out a routine for yourself and try to follow it to avoid falling into quarantine depression.

Incorporate reading in your schedule

With a lot of screen time, reading, may give you an alternative form of entertainment and will keep you engaged. What was the last comic book you read? Or maybe it’s time to discover Harry Potter with words.

Not just binging, but also creating

 If you’re spending a lot of time online and watching other people’s creations, allow yourself to be inspired. Think of some content you could create and share too!

Spreading awareness, Helping, Reducing Stigma

You can help the cause by educating people about COVID 19, by explaining preventive measures to those who may not know. Some people have been found to hide their travel history or symptoms. This could be due to the stigma and fear around the illness and quarantine. Many people are scared about what could happen once you test positive. You could spread some awareness to bring down stigma and fear. Here are some important tips that you can share with others to help them build resilience within themselves. You can also use Wysa’s free tools to manage any quarantine anxiety or stress that you may be experiencing.

Taking breaks from the news

While keeping ourselves up to date on information, we must take some time off the news and following the statistics of the world or our cities. Unwinding is an important part of de-stressing. trust news only from trustworthy channels.

Staying connected with friends and family

Keep in touch with friends who are far. If you’re home with your family, you may also spend some time with them, by eating meals together, cooking together or exercising together. Here are some ways you can be more connected

Have a baking online party with your friends. Share new recipes with each other, and eat together. All online!

If somebody has a skill they are good at, you can create a small group for learning new skills. For example, embroidery, dancing, playing the guitar and many other activities.

Reconnect with old friends who you may not be in touch with presently. Ask them how they’re doing.

Write and Share: You can take some time to write reflections, short stories, ideas and share them among friends! 

Exercise, Sleep, and a Healthy Diet

 This is important to boost your immune system. Also important for your mental health. 

Seek Support

Reach out to parents, mentors if need be you can also reach out to professionals who are providing mental health care in these challenging and testing times. 

We at Wysa have released free tool packs for all to help you cope with the stress of isolation and to manage current health anxiety. You can download the app here. If you find it difficult to talk in person, you can always talk to Wysa, an AI penguin written by therapists that you can talk to anonymously about your mood and struggles.

[prince876]

“I sent out nearly 400 emails, literally. It wasn’t an easy task. With each email, I was expecting a positive response.” 

Divya could not adapt to the disorganisation of the institute. She began looking for new institutes within the country as well as abroad. 

Each day seemed long-drawn-out. Every email that turned unresponsive, a pinch of stress was mounting on Divya

All the competitive exams including GRE, GMAT and more, along with preparing documents like SOPs and LORs began wearing her out. 

Frustration shot up and demotivation took over the control. It was time for her to step in and reach out for help.

“If something feels wrong, then asking for help is not a big deal. It doesn’t make you weak. We must reach out to people from time to time.” 

Divya reached out to YourDOST through her organisation’s association. 

As she was absolutely new to the world of counseling, she took every step cautiously. 

But she knew one thing – to trust the process and believe in herself to continue.

She connected with Chitrank, who helped her throughout the entire process. Right from opening an account with YourDOST to a bit of technical support in terms of scheduling appointments. 

[prince876]

“For any kind of work, motivation is needed, and in PhD, stipend is that motivation to work.” 

The first few weeks went in interacting with seniors, friends and family back home, sharing her concerns about the campus life. However, she was discouraged for expecting the basic minimum. 

As if the poor lab equipment was not enough to be problematic, the processing of stipend created further difficulties. 

The board failed at initiating and processing the stipend amount of the students. They did not receive their stipend until the end of the semester. 

All the students were distressed and came together to make a kind of movement to catch the management’s attention. 

“One day the students decided to form a union and reach out to the director of the institute. And I was the representative for the Science department.”

All the students were determined to create an impact, and with their share of difficulties, they finally got an appointment to address their concerns with the director. 

However this light of hope did not glimmer for too long. The director failed to attend the meeting and instead his secretary was asked to note down the issues. While the issue was resolved, it consumed a lot of time.

[prince876]

Toxic Positivity: Keeping the “Good Vibes Only” Approach

This pandemic situation has taken a toll on everyone’s life. Many people lost their jobs, loved ones, and faced long periods of uncertainty. Whenever you expressed any negativity, people kept reminding you to “stay positive or “It could be worse.” It was also asserted that at least you have a job, a roof over your head and still breathing.

#Good vibes, optimistic, toxic positive, validate, social media, outlook, judge, hard times, critical thinking skills, reality

[jagjeet1]

You Are Taking Care Of Home — Who Is Taking Care Of You?

Women and men both are responsible to maintain a proper balance in any family. Women or homemakers take care of the household where their husbands are the earning members of the family. But such roles have changed drastically now we can see women are performing multiple roles whether taking care of their child, managing the entire household and earning for the family. Still in the countries like India, many qualified and capable women are not working because of several issues like –

Unavailability of the right and trustworthy places where they can keep their kids during their working hours

Difficult to maintain work-life balance due to irregular working hours

Lack of support from their family members

Comparatively less salary package than that of a men colleague

Safety issues

Many times homemakers in India have to leave their jobs and stop dreaming of a bright career just for their family needs. Just for taking care of their household and kids they sometimes have to leave their jobs, and unfortunately in most cases, they don’t get any family support. Failure to achieve desired success can sometimes create several emotional health issues in homemakers like depression, anxiety etc.

In India, poverty can be another reason for women to feel isolated from society. In India women who are not economically stable can feel unsafe and sometimes might experience difficulty in maintaining their emotional wellbeing.

Sometimes in few working places, women employees experience less favour while comparison with their male colleagues. Here less job satisfaction can be another issue for women to feel inferior and experience emotional problems.

Safety is another main reason for women to avoid many places. Many times they have to face harassment issues outside and that can create an adverse psychological effect on their mind. The report says domestic violence is more common in homemakers than working women. In India, 31% of married women face physical or emotional violence by their spouses, and still, they keep silent just after thinking about their husbands and family.

Homemakers are more likely to experience emotional problems than men. Sometimes few hormonal changes in the body especially at the time of getting pregnant or post-pregnancy women could experience depression and frequent mood changes. Researchers said in homemakers’ depression, anxiety and a few unspecified psychological distresses are 2/3 times more common than in men.

The contribution of a homemaker can’t be ignored anyway. For the development of our society and economy, women have a great contribution, so we must secure their emotional wellbeing. We must prioritize social, economic and legal factors instead of mainly focusing on individual and lifestyle-related factors. There must be proper training and education system that can help people to understand women emotional issues and find the right solution for that. Our society has a big responsibility to take proper care of girls education, make women financially independent, provide adequate security to them and especially educate people about respecting them and recognize their contribution to our society. The emotional wellness of a homemaker should be given top importance so that they can be emotionally fit all the time and become more productive in every part of their life.

HappiMynd has recently taken a great initiative for the emotional wellbeing of all the homemakers in India. They’re offering 2 fantastic online tools that can help any woman to get enough emotional support. For every homemaker, it’s very important to go for a self-emotional screening. HappiLIFE Screening is such a fantastic online tool that can help them to realize their true potential. It can help them to understand their weakness and strength, and reveal many unknown factors in their personality. To become successful in life one must always feel happy from their mind. Hence it’s important to understand their emotional parameters. HappiLIFE Screening is a great choice here to inform you about all your emotional parameters.

Homemakers need special support for their emotional wellness and there must be someone who can listen to them and suggest the best solutions for their healthy emotional health. There could be some tough times in every women life when they need mental support. HappiBUDDY is there for you. A helping hand is just a message away. Through HappiBUDDY you can express anything related to your emotion while you need support. You can drop your message in the chat room anonymously and someone from the HappiMynd team will get back to you to provide you with the required solutions.

All the tools of HappiMynd ensure complete assurance of confidentiality. They’re fully reliable and affordable as well

[prince876]

HappiAPP – A Healthy Ritual for Your Emotional Well-Being

Small changes lead to significant changes in life. These changes may lead to better or worse depending on the choices you make. A daily dose of happiness will lead to a happier you in the longer run, however, if you tend to stay stressed in your day-to-day life that might lead to various psychological issues like:

Anxiety,

Self-esteem issues,

Blood pressure,

Palpitations,

Headache, etc. 

At HappiMynd, we want all the good things for you. Consider HappiAPP as one of our efforts to keep you healthy, happy and stress-free.

What is HappiAPP?

HappiApp powered by Thrive is a self-help app that has the potential to enhance your emotional and psychological well-being by engaging you in brief activities and recommending mind soothing content daily. Even if you have a busy schedule, you can do these activities and enjoy the content in your free time. Sometimes all you need is a nudge to make healthy practices a habit.

HappiAPP will also help you to set goals and develop healthy rituals for emotional resilience and mindfulness.

In fact, mental wellness mobile apps are proven to be efficient in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Source 

Who Should Use HappiAPP?

Self-care is for everyone and due to the high penetration of smartphones and the internet, self-help apps are an ideal way to start taking care of emotional wellness. HappiAPP can be useful for:

People who are aware of their emotional health status and know what needs to be done. If you are unaware of your emotional health status, we would advise you to take HappiLIFE screening and talk to an expert.

If you are always on the go, then it is for you. The mobile app can seamlessly fit in your busy schedule. All you have to do is engage in brief activities daily.

If you are suffering mild and moderate symptoms of emotional health issues, HappiAPP can help you manage that.

People who thrive on daily affirmations. 

Why Choose HappiAPP?

HappiAPP powered by Thrive is a unique mobile application that is easily accessible, user friendly and well-researched. Features that make it stand out are:

The application is based on a five-stage solution around Awareness, Prevention, Early Detection, Self-Management and Therapeutic Treatment. The product is designed to holistically look at emotional wellness than only focusing on the problematic areas

The application is currently being used by 2800+ organizations and 3.8+ million users globally

It is the only NHS approved mental wellness app supporting prevention and early detection of emotional and psychological issues 

HappiAPP has also been accredited by ISO270001

It is completely confidential and has internationally recognised security standards

HappiAPP is the ideal way to start your journey towards emotional and psychological wellness. One small positive change every day will lead to a bigger, better and happier change in the future.

Do not take your emotional health for granted. It is as important as your physical health. Your body depends on both for ideal functioning. HappiAPP can be your partner in this journey. It will fuel you up with motivation and zeal to do more. You will have something positive to look forward to every day. When surrounded with positivity, high self-esteem and confidence, you will perform better, achieve more and handle your emotions well.

When are you starting your journey towards holistic wellness?

[prince876]

How Poor Mental Health Can Affect Your Physical Health?

There is a definite link between mental health and physical health that we often fail to understand. It is often told to us that our physical health is important to maintain a healthy body but no one tells us about the importance of mental health. When was the last time that you did something about your mental health? It is crucial to understand that physical health and mental health work together for our overall well-being. WHO defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” A lot of us are unaware of the proneness and potency of mental illnesses. According to industry research, about one in five adults has mental health issues in any given year. Depression is not the only problem. There are a lot of issues spanning from ones that affect the mood to those that affect behavior and cognition. Few examples are: Anxiety Eating Disorders Schizophrenia Addictive Behaviors Autism How does Mind Affect the Body? You might be wondering how does mental health affect physiological health? Neglecting your mental health can lead to serious complications like: High blood pressure Heart diseases Asthma Obesity Compromised immune system Poor mental health can also affect the ability to make informed and healthy decisions and fight off serious illnesses. In fact, depression alone can cause insomnia, fatigues and increase sensitivity to aches and pains due to abnormal brain function. Taking care of mental health is crucial. Tips on Maintaining Healthy Mind and Body Mental health and physical health work in synergy. Hence, taking care of one won’t benefit much. You need to take care of both. If physical health is not up to the mark, then mental health will suffer and vice versa. Below are few tips to take care of your overall well-being: Exercise Exercising is a foolproof way to enhance your mental health and physical health. It releases good hormones in the body like endorphins and serotonin, which can help you to feel good and ease anxiety and depression. These hormones have the potential to make you work for a higher purpose. HIIT or yoga, the choice is yours.

Keeping Track of Your Mental Health Like we keep track of our BMI, cholesterol levels, vitamin levels etc. It is important to regularly assess our mental health. There are various screening tools available online. There’s one website called HappiMynd. They offer customized screenings, which is great because it is exactly what you need. If there’s an issue, you will get to know and therefore, take immediate action.

Using Self-Improvement and Management Tools Self-improvement and management tools can help you take care of your mental health daily. We all work on thriving and getting better each day but do not how much progress have we made. Such tools are a great way to keep track and manage mental health anywhere and anytime.

Maintain a Schedule Maintaining a daily schedule is very important, especially with the commencement of lockdown. We all are home and without a schedule, it is easy to feel aimless. Hence, it is crucial to do daily activities on time, like eating, working, exercising, sleeping, etc. Sleeping well for seven or more hours is recommended. Not getting enough sleep can lead to depression, stress and anxiety. Avoid using the phone one hour before sleeping and after waking up. It can affect your sleep quality.

Don’t Wait to Get Help In a lot of cases, people start seeking help once the crisis has occurred. According to a study by the Columbia University Medical Center, less than a third of American adults who screened positive for depression received treatment for their symptoms. Getting help as soon as you sense something wrong can prevent serious conditions. HappiMynd provides affordable, reliable and confidential services for various emotional health conditions. They offer self-improvement and management tool that can help you thrive and maintain your emotional health. It’s a safe and secure place where you can also vent your feelings and seek help from a team of experienced psychologists as per your need. It is a great option for people who are seeking emotional support without compromising on their confidentiality.

[prince876]

How to Successfully Embed AI into your IAPT Service | Webinar

Mayden and Dorset will be joining HappiMynd, on the 19th of October at 11:00am BST for a virtual panel discussion on how to successfully embed AI into your IAPT Service. It will include learnings from Steps2Wellbeing, Dorset and advice from Mayden on safe adoption of digital tools

Explore how online referral tools can create a holistic digital pathway.

This session draws on the experience of Dorset Healthcare on how IAPT are reducing administration times, maximizing clinical time, and improving access without increasing risk. The webinar will cover:

How to improve access with new digital tools 

How to bridge the gap from referral to treatment 

Busting myths about the safety of online delivery 

Exploring the journey of an online system for clinical teams

Case study: Improving client safety, engagement and quality of care with AI

Increasing access with a digital referral tool to ensure that clients are supported

Implementing effective e-triaging to fully utilise clinical time during sessions

Improving client experience and maintaining engagement with AI chat functions between session. 

Register for this webinar here.

Until Dorset Healthcare introduced HappiMynd, patients who self-referred to IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) service would do so via telephone or an online form. The online form worked well. However, there was concern that patients experiencing psychological stress may find it too lengthy.

To overcome this, HappiMynd was added to the website to guide patients through the referral process in a more interactive and personalised way.

At point of assessment, the data collection burden required was resulting in the perception of a rushed experience for the patient. Instead, the HappiMynd chatbot collects most of the dataset prior to the appointment. From a therapist’s point of view, this means at least a 50% time saving that can then be spent talking and listening to the patient about the actual impact of their symptoms and difficulties.

With HappiMynd, patients can access self-help resources on the platform immediately following referral. This means that they can start to work on managing their symptoms whilst waiting for therapy. Therapists can also use the platform to send specific resources to individuals, allowing patients to receive workbooks in real-time that they can fill out for their therapist to view. This has helped the service to really enhance the provision and quality of online one-to-one therapy.

Dorset Healthcare will share what was required for successful implementation of AI, what lessons can be shared and what other services should consider in their selection.

Mayden will also present on how to ensure that any app is safe and secure for patients. The benefits of health tech apps are proven to improve waiting time, provide better data insight and give higher patient engagement. The difficulty comes with careful selection from the wealth of choice available. Mayden’s Fiona Dawson will discuss  how clinical leads can uphold clinical safety standards while putting the best digital tools into the hands of clinicians and patients.

You can find more details on the webinar here, and register here.

Introducing the speakers:

Ross O’Brien, Managing Director, HappiMynd

Ross is Managing Director of HappiMynd UK, the world’s most popular AI therapy chatbot. He was previously Associate Director of Innovation and Technology at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust and Service Lead for the Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service. Ross is known for enabling digital access to healthcare at scale and ensuring the public have a voice in the design of and access to services. HapiMynd is a global leader in AI-driven mental health support that engages talking therapy patients through etriage and therapy. HappiMynd has facilitated over 100 million conversations in 65 countries across the globe.

Kelly Colbeck, Senior IAPT Service Manager, Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust

Kelly works as the Urban Senior Service Lead for Steps2Wellbeing, Dorset Healthcare University Foundation Trust’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service. She has over 17 years’ experience working in Primary Care Psychological Therapies services, working as a Graduate Mental Health Worker before the inception of IAPT.

Fiona Dawson, IAPTUS Director, Mayden

Fiona is Director at Mayden, the company behind iaptus – the leading digital care record for psychological therapies in the UK. iaptus is used by more than 100 NHS organisations nationally, securely holding the records of over 6.5 million patients and supporting the care of 65% of patients referred to the NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. Fiona is a keen advocate for interoperability and is passionate about what technology can do to support healthcare. For the past 20 years, Mayden has been creating insightful and interoperable software, working with over 30 partners, to provide the NHS with digital healthcare solutions that change what’s possible for clinicians and patients.

Image Credits: Photo by Bench Accounting on Unsplash

[prince876]

What Is Emotional Detachment Disorder?

As human beings, we experience different degrees of sentimentality. Most of us can think of someone who we consider overly emotional; As well as of someone who just isn’t so. The variety of feelings and emotions is all part of human behavior. Participating in someone else’s life and understanding their journey is at the core of how we connect with one another and how we function as a society. However, some of us may not feel the emotional connection as strongly as the others, leading to a condition known as emotional detachment disorder, but there is nothing to worry about.  We are here to help. 

What is emotional detachment disorder?

As the name itself suggests, ‘emotional detachment’ points towards the lack of ‘emotional attachment.’ An emotionally detached person is resigned from emotions, someone who seems to distance themselves from the human connection. Emotional Detachment disorder stems from a lack of empathy– that is, the lack of one’s ability to put themselves in someone else’s shoes and share their emotional state.  Our ability to empathize with other people defines our ability to forge strong bonds and long-lasting relationships.

Causes of Emotional Detachment Disorder

While there are many studies looking into the causes, it is not quite clear what causes an emotional detachment disorder. That’s mostly because lack of empathy is difficult to measure on two counts- it’s existence and the reaction it causes. As a human being you may or may not associate with another person’s feelings, but this is hard to tell because

a)     You don’t empathize with your surroundings at all. b)   You empathize but do not express your emotions or react to the same.

Nobody voluntarily chooses to be emotionally detached from their surroundings, it’s a condition one develops over time. Here are the plausible causes for the same.

1. Trauma

While most of us live in civilized societies governed by the rule of law, a lot of human interactions may be outside the purview of the same. People who witness a violent crime, trauma, and/or war and war-like conditions tend to grow a thicker skin. People suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder grow emotionally detached with the passage of time. Instances, like witnessing a crime like murder or being caught in the middle of a wartime rampage, can change the overall perception of emotions.

2. Conditioning

Our personas are largely shaped by our upbringing and our experiences. Some children who grow up in strict households develop a layer of toughness or lack of general empathy because of repetitive suppression of their own emotions. Parents in certain cultures ingrain the mindset of detachment and may even punish the expression of emotion, thereby inculcating emotional detachment in their children’s hearts and minds.

3. Abuse

Facing physical and mental abuse at the hands of parents, relatives, and caregivers can turn a child into an emotional reclusive. In a lot of households where physical punishment is meted out for acting out or bad behavior. As a result, children often withdraw emotionally and grow up to be emotionally distant adults. 

4. Medication 

A host of medications that treat mental health conditions like stress and depression may contain substances that alter the mental makeup and hormonal inflow in an individual’s bloodstream. Certain supplements that are supposed to make us feel better in turn stunt our emotions and cause numbness.

5. Exposure to current events

Due to the constant barrage of information on social media, one can’t help but feel emotionally disoriented from time to time. News of terrorism, pandemics, poverty, and war can induce feelings of delusion and helplessness over the human condition. Over the long run, this can desensitize us and cause a general lack of empathy and feelings in general.

Signs/ symptoms that you are emotionally detached

Like many other mental health problems, emotional detachment builds up on you slowly, one day at a time, depending on unique circumstances. Here are some signs you should watch out for:

Feeling of emptiness or lack of emotion – An emotionally detached person struggles to empathize with people around them. They feel numb and disconnected from emotions that move people involved and elicit reactions in response. 

Being harsh or lacking in general kindness – We often come across people who don’t mince words while delivering sensitive or potentially painful news to people. While there is nothing wrong with being straightforward, those who don’t attempt to be kind to those in need can be disconnected from their emotions.

Shutting out emotions – Not everyone discusses their emotional hardship openly. Emotionally distant people regularly shut out their feelings and sweep burning issues under the carpet. This practice can intensify emotional detachment creating long term repercussions. Confrontation of difficult situations is necessary for a fulfilling life.

Loss of interest in fun activities – As the emotional distance in a relationship increases, there are marked differences in behavior. An emotionally detached person may lose the ability to fully cherish life experiences, even those they actively enjoyed being part of in the past. This listlessness and apathy are a cause of concern.

Neglecting relationships – Emotional detachment can be traced back to a shift in priorities. You may pick work or social commitments over your personal responsibilities once or twice, but when a pattern of neglect emerges, there has been a break in the relationship.

How to reverse Emotional Detachment?

None of us are born emotionally detached; it’s a condition that develops over time. If you think back, as children we laugh when we’re happy, we cry when we’re sad, we grimace when we’re angry and kick our feet in rebellion when we don’t get what we want. Adults don’t have the same luxury of expressing themselves, although some of us shut out an expression of sentiments entirely. In order to reverse emotional detachment, it’s important to single out what caused the emotional subversion in the first place. Getting in touch with one’s feelings and expressing how we feel are important steps for self-discovery and re-alignment with emotions. Here are some ways we can do that:

Re-wiring the thought process An emotionally detached person has subconsciously created invisible barriers to human connection. A licensed therapist can use tested strategies to help you relieve painful instances in life to fully experience the bottled emotions and accept reality. 

Cognitive-behavioral therapy CBT refers to cognitive behavioral therapy that can help with various aspects of emotional regulation. Treatment focused on realigning mental conditioning to open up responses to external environments and react better to emotional cues in daily interactions with those around.

Building a support system Coming to terms with the emotional disconnect and letting your family and friends know of your condition is an important step towards acknowledging you have a problem. Talking things through with them is most likely to help incite an emotional response since they know you better than others.

Minimize stress Excessive stress can also numb the senses. Stress hormones can make unprecedented changes to your nervous system and cause some long-term damage. Try to make a note of your stressors and take active measures to rein them under control.

Talk to a therapist From time to time, all of us need a safe space to express ourselves and speak our minds freely. Emotional numbness can also stem from not feeling secure in the surrounding environment due to fear of rejection and judgment. Initiating a conversation with a therapist can help in these circumstances. Remember, HappiMynd offers online therapist services or you can always just talk to HappiMynd which will always be free.

Emotional detachment in relationships

Here are some tell-tale signs that you are in an emotionally detached relationship:

Your partner does not open up to you. Whether the good is good or bad, your partner does not share open elation or deep sadness with you. There is a superficiality of emotions in their behavior.

They don’t participate in your life. When you are experiencing strong emotions, they don’t seem too moved by it- they act indifferent.

An emotionally disconnected spouse is uninterested in physical intimacy as well. Lack of interest in sex is also a sign of emotional distance.

Your partner avoids spending time with you and looks for excuses to be away. 

Every relationship is given and take. Sometimes your needs will have to be prioritized over your partner’s and in other cases, the opposite should be true. If this barter is missing from your relationship, your partner may be emotionally uninvested.

Expression of affection is missing from your relationship. If the frequency of “I love you” has gone from less to nil, your partner may be disinterested.

They are curt and non-responsive in conversation. When you try to engage them in dialogue they stay silent and/or answer back in one-word responses.

1.  What does it mean to be emotionally detached?

Emotional detachment is a mental disorder that limits a person’s ability to feel and express feelings and sentiments consistently. It mars their connection with the outside world and makes their interactions suppressed and less meaningful.

2.  What does lack of empathy mean?

Empathy is what connects us to the human race at large. Lack of empathy refers to a person’s inability to relate to another human being’s emotions and circumstances. 

3.  Can humans turn off their emotions?

 As humans, we are born with emotions. We laugh and cry, frown, and grimace to express the way we feel. However, some people can condition the mind to not feel emotions to shelter themselves from hurt or pain. Shutting down emotions in a relationship can hamper communication between two people.

4.  Is a lack of empathy a disorder?

Yes, lack of empathy is a serious psychological disorder that can lead to other more serious psychiatric problems.

5.  How do you know if you are emotionally unavailable?

Clues to emotional unavailability are present in our interpersonal relationships. If you suspect that you’re emotionally unavailable, it’s because of one or more of the following reasons:-You draw boundaries early on in a relationship-You deliberately keep people at arm’s length and refrain from getting close and revealing too many details about your persona to anyone.-You’re quick to get out of relationshipsMoving on from relationships does not seem as hard to you as it is for other people. You can cut bonds and remove people from your life without much consideration since they weren’t that close to you in the first place.-You’re disinterested in working through bad phases-Good times and bad times are part and parcel of all relationships. But as an emotionally unavailable person, you can be reluctant to put in the work to overcome difficult situations that build character in a relationship.

6.  How to fix emotional detachment?

Emotional detachment is a mental condition that interferes with a person’s ability to process and identify with someone else’s state of mind and emotions. In order to fix this dissociation, the patient experiencing detachment has to:-Make an active effort to pay attention to those around him/her, to try to understand what they’re going through even if they don’t empathize with their condition.-Talk through difficult and trying situations they may find themselves in, instead of walking away.-Read books of satire and fiction or watch movies that can drive emotion to awaken feelings.-Attend group counseling sessions where people open up in detail about their situations and try to relate to their core values.-Practice empathy in small gestures before building up to more complex emotions.-Seek help.

7.  How to treat emotional detachment disorder?

Emotional detachment can be treated by counseling and therapy through the application of behavioral techniques directed at developing mindfulness and emotional cognizance of the surroundings in the person’s mind. These techniques aim at developing mindfulness and affective empathy while reversing months or years of negative conditioning. Some popular techniques for treating emotional detachment disorder are:-Cognitive-behavioral therapy (You can use HappiMynd for CBT as well)-Group Counselling-Neuroplasty

8.  How to help someone with emotional detachment disorder?

 If you want to help someone with an emotional detachment disorder here’s what you can do:-Maintain steady communication.Discuss their day to day interactions with people without judgment. Let them share the inner workings of their mind and help them get to the core of their detachment.-Find shared groundPeople empathize with other people who are like them. Help the person suffering from this disorder see others in a positive light. Highlight what they have in common and their most likable traits to incite an initial association.-Share your life experiencesTell them instances of empathy and connection from your personal experiences. Or how you felt about someone else’s predicament or personal struggle. Give them reasons to practice empathy.-Don’t give up on themWorking through emotions with someone who has built a wall around themselves is not an easy task; you have to climb a little higher every day. However, don’t give up on them easily and be with them through their struggles. The effort will not go unnoticed and they will thank you for it later.

9.  What is emotional detachment in marriage?

Marriage is a relationship with the highest emotional intimacy.  So when it’s missing in a marriage it can affect both spouses negatively. Emotional detachment in marriage is characterized by the lack of emotional involvement and connection between two people who share their lives together.

[prince876]

Taking charge of your mental health: When you should ask for therapy

From the beginning of our lives, our parents gradually teach us how to care for ourselves. Self-care, and asking for help are integral to our lives. However, self-care is equivalent to physical wellbeing in a layman’s language. We’re rarely told to express our emotions, to understand our emotional and mental well-being; Because mental health cannot be seen or easily accounted for, we have largely failed to take care of it as well. In fact, it is considered as an attention-seeking act by many and has been turned into a taboo. It’s hard to imagine how society’s stereotypes and unconcerns themselves instead of helping. 

According to a WHO statistic, one in four people will suffer from a mental health condition at some point in their lives. According to the Mental Health Foundation, 20% of adolescents suffer from a mental health condition in any given year. The issue and risk of suffering is so grave that the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Federation for Mental Health recognizes October 10th as World Mental Health Day, since 1992. Yet, we are still struggling with awareness and interventions.  

What Causes Mental Health Concerns?

Lifestyle

We live in a world that is rapidly changing, faster than we can adapt. There is an influx of news and knowledge. The pressure to perform, the ongoing and never-ending comparison, the inexplicable amount of political, social, environmental events around has fuelled the stress and fatigue further. It is not always easy and feasible to be on your toes. We may feel vulnerable due to different life conditions or life stages of our lives. This can cause stress, anxiety, depression which leads to further ripple effects. Mental Health Awareness is the need of the hour, the world over. 

Societies

The digital world is a big part of our society. Social media makes others’ lives increasingly accessible. Yet, we don’t see the entirety of other people’s lives, but only the parts they want to show. We see more successes, and we tend to compare our lives to others. We automatically calculate where we stand. The more we compare, the more dissatisfied we become. The continuous churning of these emotions, and feeling of not there yet, not like others, causes tremendous pressure on your mental and emotional wellbeing. The concepts of beauty, successes, balance, all are defined by digital mediums today.  

Personal History

Our personal history includes our past relationships with friends, families, teachers, and others. Trauma, abuse or neglect in our lives, can put us at risk of developing a mental health problem. Not just the environment, but our biological histories can also make us resilient and vulnerable to certain life afflictions. Genetic factors also play a part in mental health problems. 

Uneventful Circumstances

There can be sudden accidents and losses which cause us distress and are hard to grapple with. Natural calamities can drive us into shock as well. This can trigger breakdowns and have an impact on our emotional and mental wellness. 

When Should You Pay Attention?

If you’re looking for some signs that would help you figure out whether you should seek professional help, below are some behavioral or emotional changes you could look out for.

Fearing and an Internal Alarm

When you feel worried or scared about your internal shifts, you should consider paying attention. (Our body reacts to fear by a fight or flight response. How do you imagine your mind to react when a threatful situation is coming from inside, rather than outside? Mr. B was feeling low, yet being able to function at work. He sensed something is amiss yet couldn’t point a finger to it. When someone asked him what was his difficulty, he answered, “I don’t know. Everything seems the same, but I am feeling unusually low, and not in control.”. This is Mr. B’s internal alarm.) Since this is your own intuitive internal alarm, telling you something is not right. Don’t try to ignore these feelings. Rather, seek mental health help at this point. 

Unmotivated at Work

Another marker would be observing how you are functioning at work. Work is a social situation, and also a necessity to life. Therefore, constantly feeling like you don’t want to go to work, or not being able to perform tasks you could easily before, should be a point where you can ask yourself the question, is something wrong? Am I feeling alright? Even if the concerns might seem trivial like bad bosses, work pressure, you can seek help and consider using self-help wellness tools and techniques as well. There are many meditations, exercises, relaxation sounds, cbt techniques available for free that can help you regain your energy and help cope with such situations.

Constant Irritability

Irritability can arise out of excessive worrying and stress. Sometimes when we are overworked and don’t have a sufficient breather, we may feel irritable. Prolonged stress can cause further reactions in our wellbeing and on our bodies. You may observe yourself to see if you are feeling distressed by small irritants. If this lasts for more than two weeks, it is a good indicator to see if you want to seek help.

Withdrawal from Social Life

Sometimes we may keep our tasks at work in check, but other areas of our life will see a change. If you are feeling alone, unmotivated to enjoy an evening out, try to be curious about what might the reason be? Is it a particular day which has been rough, or have you been pulling away from social commitments, or socializing with friends and family? Spending too much time alone, and not seeking social contact is unusual. However, everyone has their own preference for how much time they need for themselves and how much social contact they need. This is always a personal balance. So to check this, you can refer to any differences in your personal preference and social activities.

Changes in Sleep and Diet

Human beings have an approximately constant pattern of eating in terms of time and appetite. There is a similar pattern to our sleeping cycle as well. You must pay attention to any changes in these areas, that last more than a few weeks. This is an indicator of your mental health needs because the mind and body are not always separate. The body functions with the mind. Our body is our home, and our stress and challenges arise and are faced with in this home itself. Therefore, paying attention to your body is necessary even when we talk about our mental health!

Sudden Life Changes

We can’t always be prepared for what’s coming. Sometimes, even when we see something coming beforehand, dealing with it in real-time can be really hard. There can be sudden breakups, financial losses, sudden losses of friends, partner, family, pets that can really bring us down. Mourning and grief are some of the toughest predicaments human beings have to deal with. It is not always possible to get through these life changes alone. And it is completely alright to ask for help at such times when we are vulnerable.

Addictions

Contemporary challenges also include increased work and relationship stress, thereby increasing dependency on substances like alcohol and drugs. People are not only susceptible to substance addictions but also an addiction to social media, dating apps, pornography, among other digital media. These addictions are tough to battle on your own. Therefore, if you feel you can’t go without one or more of the things mentioned above, it is a good idea to seek professional help.

Abuse or Trauma

Can I Seek Therapy Even if I Feel Normal?

The answer is YES. Therapy is not only for the times when life gets rough. Therapy is sometimes for maintenance. You might have taken help from therapy before during a rough phase, and now you feel like checking in on yourself periodically even though the crisis has passed? This is totally normal, and healthy. Go for it!

Therapy is not always for crisis and a route when overwhelmed. You may get the sense that you don’t know yourself very well. You may feel confused about what you like, what you dislike, what stresses you and what are your boundaries. Not knowing is also a good reason to go, even if you are not feeling visibly disturbed, therapy can help you unearth and understand yourself better.

Also, there are times when we don’t know exactly what we are seeking therapy for because we feel normal on the surface, but deep down we feel there is a challenge. With the help of your therapist, you may be able to better understand what are the areas of your life where you might need help. There is nothing wrong in not knowing why you’re going, and only knowing this much – that you want to go. That is enough. Whatever your reason may be, it is okay, and it is enough.

Even if you are second-guessing yourself about making that appointment with a therapist, because you feel normal, it is alright to go and see what happens.

Don’t ignore the power of Self Help 

It is always good to have a library of self-help activities you can do. You may be on the Waitlist for an appointment with a therapist or you may not feel ready as yet; You may feel you want to stay back and see if you can work on it on your own. For such times, there are some self-help tips to get you through.

Reading

Read something light, and breezy. Choose your booklist according to your idea of fun and what you want to read, rather than feeling pressured to read something to fit in.

Engage in activities that involves mind and body

Getting your hands dirty is always a good idea. It gets your body involved and gives you a sense of activity and also togetherness. Doing these in groups, and participating in workshops can be a bonus too! Like pottery

Exercise

Moving your body to a rhythm can be really cathartic and energizing. Physical activity also releases the feel-good hormone, which is not just good for the body but also your mental health. 

Cooking

This is one way of self-care, through which you can nurture yourself, in the most basic and important ways. You can whip up something that you’re really fond of and treat yourself. Sharing could be really fun too!

Leaving the house

There are days when leaving the bed, or leaving the house can feel really strenuous. However, on such days, taking a walk, or just getting out of the house for a little while can be a breath of fresh air. Literally! While it may feel impossible at first, 20 minutes of fresh air on a bad day can do wonders.

Immersing yourself in music

There is a lot of value for mental health in music. Groove and rhythm are basic to biology and human life. Even our heart has its own beat. Therefore, playing, and instrument or listening to music can be really helpful. It soothes the mind.

Support from Others:

Reach out to people. Trust is an important component of this. It may be really difficult to open up and show your vulnerabilities. This is not only self-help but also forming support for others. This also means appreciating the context others come from and being able to listen to them. In all, this increases empathy in and around you.

You can also avail the therapist services offered by HappiMynd – completely anonymous, chat-based support by professional therapists.

Volunteer: