A good place to start is to look at mood/emotional wellness/mental health through the lens of our core values, since these influence the products we build. So here they are along with some extra narrative.
- We believe that literally everyone needs some emotional help from time to time and that we're not that different from one another.
Life gives us all ups and downs. Very few people are so blessed with great parenting, great brain chemistry, and no significant negative events in their lives. The remaining 99.9% of us need some help now and then.
- We believe there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to mood and that trying different tools and documenting their results is critical to understand what works for you.
There are many tools and treatments to help people with the health of their moods including psychotherapies like CBT and numerous anti-depressants (too many to list), as well as lifestyle factors like sleep hygiene, exercise, sunlight exposure and more. We all respond differently both in terms of how these treatments effect their mood and the potential side effects. It's all about a willingness to try different tools, not giving up if the first one doesn't work (as is often the case), and documenting your results.
- We believe there are many parallels between working toward physical fitness and mood fitness like putting in consistent effort and tracking your progress.
We're all very aware that we should be good to our bodies by eating well and exercising regularly. Not surprisingly, the same is true with our mood. There is significant scientific evidence that consistent effort can have positive benefits. Examples include mindfulness, psychotherapy techniques like CBT, socializing, good sleep hygience and regular exercise. And much like in physical fitness, the time to build up our mood fitness is before we need it the most.
- We believe in evidence and science and strive to bring you easy-to-use tools that embody that science.
It's unfortunate that there seems to be looser application of evidence and science in treating mental health than in physical health. However, there is still significant evidence associated with many treatments in mental health - techniques that have passed significant study scrutiny. Our focus is these tools and techniques where we can point to specific, credible evidence that they work. Our job is to bring these techniques to you in easy-to-use packaging so that you'll come back and use them time and time again.
- We believe in “new age” techniques like mindfulness and gratitude because the science has made it clear they really work. We also believe in traditional techniques like medication and psychotherapy when appropriate.
There was a time when practices like meditation were thought to just be for hippies. (Though in fairness they were used effectively in eastern medicine thousands of years before.) But that day is gone. There is now significant scientific evidence that techniques like a regular practice of mindfulness and gratitude can have lasting positive effects on our moods.
- We believe in you and are here to provide you the best tools possible to manage your mood!
We realize this sounds a bit "Apple Pie," but it's true. The reason we're here, the reason we're working in the area of digital meets mental health, is because we believe we can make a difference. Please let us know how we're doing.