Technology and Mental Health

[nyxsong]

I am an avid user of technology as I sit here I am using my pc to write this post, my mobile is tracking emails from a friend and off to my right a tablet sits ready to navigate the web whilst I am gaming, so yeah I dig technology, I see it as a gateway to a huge world, a tool that helps bring down borders and give free flow to the information that might otherwise be quashed, but it has it's down sides as well. As the world turns more digital every day, the distance between those who can access and use these tools and those we don't grows greater. I am lucky enough to have a role which allows me to assist my peers with learning about technology and so I know first hand some of the common fears people have, and I also know the role symptoms like paranoia and mania have in altering the way we use and view the online world. I would love to know how people use technology and what gaps they face. Does technology play a part in your interaction with the world? Does it seem so scary you just don't want to go near it? Can people see the technology playing a part in thier journey towards 'recovery' or for those who have achieved clinical recovery did it play a part?

[Alessandra1992]

There are some great free apps I encourage anyone to try. One of my personal favourites is Balance This. It is a little game that distracts me from any anxiety, and nowadays, if I am playing with my phone no one thinks it is strange as everyone is playing on their phones, iPads and whatnots wherever I go. There are also great free mindfulness apps and meditation tracks, mood diaries and apps like mood gym. Sometimes I think we are a bit too risk averse in encouraging ourselves to try new technologies and ways of embedding behaviour changes that work for us.

[kenny66]

online discussion for me is safer than face to face and I feel much more relaxed about meeting someone not face to face. I am not a tech head but am relatively comfortable using technology day to day. Its my face to the world.

[chemonro]

Technology will never replace the paragraph! *doe eyes*

[nyxsong]

Nor should chemonor, nor should it. Radio did not replace the piano it just gave it a new voice 🙂

[kristin]

Hi Nyxsong,

I'm just cathcing up on some of the earlier posts, having jumped in feet first myself. I've probably been too busy talking to listen (read) as much as I should. What's that old adage about 2 ears to listen and 1 mouth to talk so we should listen twice as much as we talk? I wish! I think that's one I'll be working on for a lifetime!

You sound like my son, sometimes I think he's wired to the technology himself. Sometimes I tease him that he's the local "help desk". It's great you are able to help others to gain access. It is something which worries me too - another have/have not divide (and yet again skewed towards having material wealth to buy technology).

I think technology definitely has its place. We wouldn't be connecting on this forum without it, and it's a wonderful thing to have access to. I find it very helpful to play Lumosity games via my pc; and I get involved in forums with online news too, via sites like The Conversation and Independent Australia (I've really had a gutful of the mainstream media, and it's not satisfying to argue with the paper or the tv). Both of these things have been important in my journey to wellness. The Lumosity games have been incredibly helpful in learning to manage my PTSD, as well as helping with things like remembering people's names.

The online forums are important because at heart I'm a very social person, and very passionate about what's going on in the world. I also need to have lots of quiet time, and the papers & tv just depress me with their bad news and bs! So the online forums allow me to engage with the news in an environment where I can engage with like-minded people and see that I am not alone in my outrage or joy at the news. I can also read and research for myself, so it has increasingly been an education journey too.

I'm not a tech-junkie - I have a clunky old pc my son put together from bits in the hard rubbish a couple of years ago, and my phone is my sister's old iPhone - they do for me.

I guess my concerns are to do with the difficulty of switching off because it's there 24/7, it can be very overstimulating using technology and can also get in the way of face-to-face relationships. But if you suffer a dearth of social contacts then it has lots of possibilities. Which can also be a concern, because when you are isolated and vulnerable you can be prone to letting someone into your life when in reality you know little about them. They may not be who they say they are (even if they're not deliberately lying) - I guess it's harder to use one's intuition to screen people you interact with on-line, and sometimes that might a good thing, other times not so good.

Thanks for asking. I guess I've run off at the mouth again (or fingers or something! - probably a runaway/slightly manic brain).

Best regards,

Kristin

[PD_Perhaps]

One of the latest technologies to hit the market is a non invasive vagus nerve stimulator. Studies have shown that a vagus implant can improve peoples lives with epilepsy and depression. the good news is that only the last year a few devices have hit the market that will stimulate the vagus nerve via a branch from three different areas where the nerve is closest  to the surface. One is in the ear, which is approved for epilepsy in a number of countries, another is for the forehead and is approved for epilepsy and depression in other countries except Australia, and the third that I found is approved in Australia for cluster head aches that is used on the neck. There is ongoing research with these devices to treat and hopefully relieve some of the symptoms in different areas including various mental illnessess. Alas, it is still early days..

[Phoenix82]

I used Luminosity also, when I was having ECT, I lost a lot of memory from the treatment and so used it to help.

On the flip side, having such easy access to news was a problem for me in my recovery. As is the nature of it, most of it is so negative and depressing, it was a big trigger for me. I had to remove all access to it at my worst. Including Facebook, haven't been on it in about two years now.

🙂

[NikNik]

@Phoenix82 I can so relate to your experience about the news! It's something @Jacques and I have discussed before too.

I personally don't listen to as much news anymore. I watch the Project, which has a good balance of "good" news and "bad" news. I also have the 'Good News' section of the Huffington Post as my homepage http://www.huffingtonpost.com/good-news/ It can still be a bit sad - but often the stories are about hope and the positive things people do for the world.

I honestly think more good things happen in the world each day, than bad... it's just the bad stuff that sells papers / website visits / viewer numbers unfortunately.

[Mazarita]

@Phoenix82, @NikNik, others,

I too limit my contact with the news for mental health reasons. I scan ABC News website and local news website once a day and that's it. Any articles I actually follow up and read are not about the violent hating issues. Someone once pointed out to me when I was living in a big city that there were essentially 4,000,000 people living together day after day in relative peace. There is a lot of good or at least ordinary stuff going on, just people moving through day after day, living the life cycle that we all go through. I find that reassuring, especially when compared to the scarily sensational spin we often see on life as portrayed in the media.