App tracks mental health by studying your phone usage

The smartphone in your hand might be the key to gauging your mental health. Researchers at Dalhousie University have developed (via CBC and Gizmodo) a mobile app, PROSIT, that can detect conditions like anxiety or depression based on how you use your...

FCC makes 988 the 3-digit number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

The FCC voted today to make 988 the official three-digital number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The new rules require phone service providers to direct all 988 calls to the hotline, but the 988 function won’t go into effect until July...

FCC to vote on designating ‘988’ as national suicide prevention hotline number

Americans are one step closer to dialing just three digits for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number. The FCC will vote on changing the hotline’s dialing code to “988,” Chairman Ajit Pai announced Tuesday. A vote is scheduled for July 16, t...

As ‘League of Legends’ summer games begin, the pros talk player health

Today marks the beginning of the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) summer split, where 10 North American teams will compete for eight spots in the Playoffs, and the chance to represent the region at Worlds in the fall. LCS games will take p...

Headspace is offering free mindfulness courses to unemployed Americans

There’s no question that losing your job is incredibly stressful, and since the COVID-19 pandemic began, millions of people in the US have been laid off or furloughed. In an attempt to ease some of the stress that causes, the mindfulness app Headspac...

This emotion-controlling wearable gives you Black Mirror + Iron Man feels

People will usually ask you what are you wearing or what are you eating, but can you imagine being asked what emotion have you picked today? Because if you are wearing Hapbee you can actually answer that odd yet interesting question. Hapbee is the world’s first wearable that lets you feel calm, alert, focused, relaxed or sleepy on command! Will it be revolutionary or just take us one step closer to becoming androids? One user literally said he felt like Iron Man and I am here for it.

While it may seem like a device straight out of a Black Mirror episode, Hapbee (which comes from the word ‘happy’) actually wants to make life easier by giving us the capability to balance and control our emotions. There are 15 years of research and development that have gone into designing Hapbee with patented technology. It uses electromagnetic frequencies that are even lower than your phone’s to better your mental health without causing any permanent changes to who you really are. The device is actually a boon if you look at it from a psychological lens. It can reduce stress, help you sleep better and be more productive at work – three things the entire world could use to deal with the pandemic without increasing their load of emotional trauma. There are many people dealing with high-level anxiety, depression, bipolar disorders for whom coping with the pandemic can be paralyzing and Hapbee can be a relief.

“It’ll allow you to experience the feelings and sensations you desire almost instantly, without ingesting any harmful substances or chemicals while having the ability to return to your normal baseline state within a matter of minutes,” says the team behind Hapbee. Think of it as a playlist for your emotions. The device syncs to your smartphone so you can control it with an app. The physical product is lightweight enough to wear as an accessory around your neck or as a headband, it is visually subtle and should blend with your style. In a world after COVID-19 we will all have to work a little harder on caring for our mental health to get over this big life change, devices like Hapbee can truly change the game. Now I know why the user felt like Iron Man, it is the subtle breathing-like glow from the logo…good thing it has no shrapnel! Cue song – because I’m Hapbeeeeee.

Designer: Hapbee

Reddit lets users support one another with Crisis Text Line partnership

As the topic of mental health becomes less of a social taboo, tech companies are increasingly exploring ways they can do good in this area. Reddit is the latest to do so, today announcing a new partnership with Crisis Text Line. Through this partners...