Tag Archives: digital health

How technology could solve the social care crisis

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With the recent furore surrounding the Tory policy to make the elderly pay for their own care, does this signal the start of a new era in which we are all called upon to contribute to our own health, care and wellbeing? Recent statistics from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) indicate that this may well be the case!

The proportion of the UK population over the age of 65 is estimated to reach 25% by 2045, up from just 18% today. With more people requiring care and less people working to sustain the economy, we are facing a health and care crisis.

But what if technology could change the way we deliver care? What if the caring roles undertaken by carers and family members could be replaced by machines and robot technology? While there may be some upfront financial costs, the costs of maintaining this type of care could be much more affordable.

Many may initially feel reluctant about this type of approach, but as our lives get busier and the costs of care increase, advances in technology may be the key to solving this social care crisis.

Four NHS-approved mental health support apps

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With #mentalhealthawarenessweek drawing to a close it’s worth taking a look at the free mobile apps available to support those living with a mental health condition. The following apps are NHS-approved. None of the apps listed are intended to replace medical advice and if you are concerned about your or someone else’s mental health you should seek medical attention.

  1. Chill Panda

Google Play or Apple App store

This fun app is mainly aimed at children and adolescents but those of us who are young at heart may also enjoy using it. The central character is, you guessed it, a Panda, chosen because of its calm and peaceful nature. Developed by a clinical psychologist, it is a fun way to relax and distract yourself when feeling stressed and anxious. The app has a number of supportive features under the banners of Feel, Chill, Do and Play.

Feel – Placing your finger over your smartphone camera allows the app to take your heart rate. You are then promoted to say how stressed or anxious you are feeling using a sliding scale. Based on your heart rate and response, the Panda will then recommend some activities to make you feel better.

Chill – As the name would suggest this section is designed to help you relax. Through the use of square breathing exercises, you breathe in and out at a steady rate in time with the Panda. This will slow your heart rate and help you feel more in control of your breathing.

Do – keeping active is well-documented as a way to reduce stress and anxiety and this has been incorporated into Chill Panda. This section prompts you to do light exercise and stretching as well as “Panda Yoga”. The exercises can take as little as 5-minutes to complete – enough time to help you feel relaxed again.

Play – Two games within the app are intended to distract you from whatever it is you are anxious about. The “Painter” game is based on the concept of colour therapy, encouraging you to be creative by colouring in a number of different templates. The “Panda on point” game involves tilting your phone to get the Panda to a certain point on screen. It’s a fun distraction and great way to put a smile back on your face.

Chill Panda also has some useful information, for adults and children, about what anxiety is and helpful tips on how to manage it.

  1. Stress and Anxiety Companion

Apple App store

This great little app helps you to control your breathing, relax, reframe your negative thoughts and develop new techniques to manage stress and anxiety.

The home screen welcomes you with a number of choices: Relax now; reframe a thought; or create a card.

Relax now – Find a quiet space to lie down and listen to a number of recorded relaxation exercises.

Reframe a thought –Identify a negative thought that you are having. Now identify what triggered this thought. Give as much detail about the negative thought as you can and rate how anxious it is making you feel. The next step is to think of a new, more realistic, thought that you could use instead. Going through this process helps you to think realistically about your fears and concerns and helps you to stop catastrophising them.

Create a card – The app allows you to create positive affirmation cards, with beautiful, scenic backgrounds to admire.

In addition, there are also breathing tools and distraction brain games e.g. count down from 1000 in sevens until you reach zero or practice your times tables. These games can interrupt negative thinking. There is also a section to learn more about anxiety, relaxation techniques and the impact of diet, exercise and sleep on anxiety levels.

  1. Catch It

Google Play or Apple App store

Similar to the Stress and Anxiety Companion this app encourages you to challenge negative thought processes. When logging in for the first time you are prompted to create a pin. This ensures that no one can see your private thoughts. The app encourages you to think through your negative thoughts in 3-stages: Catch it; check it; and change it.

Catch it – record details of your mood at a particular time – what mood are you experiencing? How strong is the mood on a scale of 1-5 (5=strongest)? When and where are you experiencing this mood? What happened or what prompted you to feel this way? What were you thinking about just before this mood game on? Answering all of these questions helps you to identify your mood triggers so that you can do something about them.

Check it – Read over what you’ve written in the Catch it section and think of different ways that you could look at the situation

Change it – Now, what would be a more helpful thought process? Write it down and then rate how your mood changes from the start.

  1. FearFighter

Google Play or Apple App store

FearFighter is a 9-step cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) course designed to be completed over 9 weeks. It contains videos, questionnaires and tools to help those people suffering from any form of panic or phobia to overcome these. Each step takes around 50 minutes to complete and the app recommends that you complete each step fully at one time. The course aims to teach you a wide range of coping skills and techniques to help you through times when you are feeling particularly scared or anxious.

All of the apps listed above have their own unique benefits. They are all free so download them all and see which one you prefer. These tools are available to support you to feel better so why not get started today?