The advancement of technology has had a significant impact on every single industry. A major part of the health technology industry focuses on physical illnesses and diseases, but technology also has a direct impact on brain power as well. With constant development, technology has created solid influence on mental health care sector as well.
According to the latest research, the average amount spent by a youngster on technology is at least nine hours a day. The human brain is highly sensitive when it comes to stimulation. There are different ways in which technology is revolutionizing mental health care of humans, some of which are discussed below.
Ways Technology Is Revolutionizing
Mental Health Care
Behavioral Development
There are a number of mobile applications which cater to mental health. People use these apps on a regular basis to record their daily activities.
For example, apps that provide complete details and calorie count of every food that you take, apps that will record how many glasses of water you consumed in the entire day, and etc. There is even an app that can train you to not reach for comfort foods such as chocolate and alcohol. These kind of apps are closely related to brain power and help people in changing/developing their behavior.
Psychological Development
As the prevalence of mental disorders, depressions and other fears that directly triggers the mind power of a human being, scientists have turned to technology as a tool to aid their patients.
There are multiple software designed for patients with depression, anxiety, fears and etc. For example, there is a software called Fear Fighter which helps people diminish their fears.
Besides that, there is highly popular software named Avatar Therapy which is a new approach to treat certain mental conditions. It is uniquely designed for schizophrenia patients and helps them in controlling the voices they hear and hallucinations they experience.
Training Applications
Technology plays a significant role in developing mind power. Today, there are millions of YouTube videos available that help a person in many ways.
For example, if you are looking for training lectures on leadership; you will find top rated lecture series. Similarly, if a person is not confident enough, there are various workshops available over the work that aid a person in the most efficient way.
Even if we talk about children and teenagers, there are problem-solving, critical thinking, speaking, and other various kinds of applications available that will help them in boosting their mental health care.
Social Development
With the advancement of technology, people today are becoming dramatically social which has a positive impact on their mental health care. Today, even if somebody feels lonely and isolated, there are various social media platforms where you can engage with new people and can make a lot of friends.
Besides that, social media has given a platform where people can even showcase their hidden talents without being judged. For example, singing, photography, art/crafts, blogging and etc. It helps in keeping people busy and engaged all the time. You can now openly voice your opinion with the current trends with the help of Twitter.
From Manual to Automated
With the rapid revolution in technology, everything has become automated. This saves a lot of human time and energy. For example, if we talk about official work, from data collection to data recording, from documentation to employee attendance, everything can be done in a few clicks. This has allowed the human brain to work quickly and save energy for other work as well. It has successfully created a more personalized approach to mental health care.
Virtual Reality
Today, scientists use VR technology to treat medical patients who have a different sort of disorders including depression, phobias, autism, etc. It is also used as rehabilitation for patients. This is the most advanced kind of tool that helps your brain to function and in balancing the mental health of people.
Associate director for medical and virtual reality at the USC Institute of Creative Technologies, Skip Rizzo has worked on ways to use Virtual Reality in collaboration with the US army, to treat soldiers of PTSD. The system was initially funded to accurately recreate war incidences in Iraq. The basic purpose of the system was to deactivate the deep-seated “fight and flight” response and to activate “extension learning.”
Nonetheless, it was concluded that together with talk therapy, the treatment considerably reduced the symptoms of PTSD. “The VR helped me,” said Steve Healy, who served in Iraq, “I remember the simulation better than the original incident at this point. It’s taken some of the edge off. I feel like I have fewer, shorter, less intense episodes.”
Memory Development
If we compare millennials with the previous generation, it is clear that their IQ level and brain power is much higher than the old generation. Why? Because of technological advancement.
Technology is changing the way we think. For example, you have a meeting, set up an alarm for that, want to know more about a person, look through their social media account and etc. The impact of technology on memory has been revealed in several types of research.
Nonetheless, the widespread use of technology has both positive and negative effects on the memory systems of students. The frequent exposure of students to technology has rewired their brains to be completely different from the brains of children of the previous generations. Moreover, technology allows students to scan information more quickly and efficiently. Technology gives access to multiple sources of information, allowing them to be more creative.
It’s ripe for innovation
The area of mental health services is often overlooked and has lagged behind regarding technology. However, mobility has paved a pathway for increased accessibility and engagement of patients. According to a research, 58 percent of mobile users have at least one health-related application downloaded in their mobile phones. The widespread adoption of tech tools in mental health services has helped achieve individual goals.
Neuromodulation
Minimally invasive, non-pharmaceutical treatments are being developed for the treatment of a wide range of psychiatric and neurological diseases. Low powered electrical devices such as electroceuticals can be implanted or placed on the skin to treat conditions like Parkinson’s, mood disorders and depression, chronic pain, and schizophrenia.
Intravenous immunomodulators or checkpoint inhibitors
Intravenous immunomodulators or checkpoint inhibitors facilitate the body’s immune response by blocking the action of cancer-causing proteins. These immunotherapies could translate into life-saving treatments for glioblastomas and other forms of brain cancer in the near future.
Technology is doing wonders for our brain power and mental health which is exciting, and one should take complete advantage of the technology available to make their lives convenient and happy. Did we miss out on anything? Let us know in the comments below.
Technology has impacted our way of living nowadays big time. There are a lot of benefits we can get from there, but as great as those benefits are, we should also be aware of the danger they bring, no matter how minimal they are.
Now, we are in a world of technology. Technology helps to advance the world’s works in every way. Thank you for sharing this information.