I found out there are full audio books on youtube a year ago. I just pick a random book that "sounds good" and play it in the background.
Learn a lot from background noise on various random topics.
Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?
221–230 of 236 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?
#222Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hm... it feels about on par with Eliza. Or at least I haven't gotten it to provide any constructive insight or meaningful questions. At its best what kind of interactions can it produce?
Sure, here is an example of a productive exchange: Bot: Hello, I am a chat bot to talk with about problems. What can I talk with you about? You: Well I have a bit of a problem with having trouble getting myself to exercise Bot: And so it seems like there's a way to find out what the right opportunities for you are. You: well I enjoy rowing on my machine Bot: It sounds like a challenge to me, isn't it? Is there someth…
It feels pretty hollow to me. If the person wants to guide themselves through some issue it's possible for them to do it in the format of the bot, but the bot isn't really assisting, and it's actually harder to follow through the thought process when responding to the bot than it would be without it.
Well... that's kind of critical, but I'm specifically interested in this stuff so I'm apt use to a critical eye.
I'm still trying to understand Rogerian therapy... I do think it has particular application because it's centered on the idea that the healing or changes the patient seeks ultimately comes from within that person. The humility of that stance is one where there might be a place for a computer, as it has an opportunity not to try to tell the person who they should be or how they should act, but only to act as a kind of emotional mirror, reflecting the patient's own statements and intentions back to them (hopefully constructively!) Most computer-assisted mental health products right now are, in comparison, very behavioralist.
There's also more to Rogerian therapy, especially empathy which is perhaps forever out of reach of a computer. PRETENDING to feel empathy is possible, of course... but I believe another principle is honesty, and pretending to feel empathy is not honest.
Anyway, it feels like this could benefit from being more reflective: have the bot repeat back to the user more often. It's okay if it can't come up with new ideas or tell the person what to do, but being able to rephrase statements or pull up meaningful past statements could be genuinely insightful without attempting to generate insight.
Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?
#223I found an app called Meomind ( https://meomind.com/ ) recently that has helped me a lot. It has a collection of real recorded therapy sessions from individuals that they've decided to share (with personal details scrubbed I assume) that you can listen to at your leisure. They're categorized as well, so if you're looking for understanding why you have a lack of interest in things, are having relationship issues, etc.…
Is there anything on Android or any way it can be used on web? I don't have an iphone.
It is available in the PlayStore
Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?
#224Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Also delete anything that gamifies passive consumption, e.g. Duolingo Since when is Duolingo passive consumption? I've learned two languages to fluency and Duolingo was my main source of practice. If language learning is your goal, Duolingo is a great app to keep around.
Congrats! I'm actually quite surprised because you must be the first person that learned a language using Duolingo. Most people I spoke with said they only learned how to answer Duo questions, not the language itself.
I always tell folks that Duo is a good place to start learning but you need to augment/replace it with other methods/tools after learning basic pronunciation and grammar.
Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?
#225Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Put some ebooks on your phone and read those. This was the biggest improvement I did to improve my "phone time". I realized I was only kidding myself if the actual goal was zero screen time. Being unproductive and just killing time by yourself isn't a bad thing, but if you spend that time reading something substantial instead of news and Twitter beefs you don't hate yourself afterwards.
Are there some recommend Ebook Apps or just Kindle?
I just use Apple Books and download epubs or buy Books from their store. I’m not too picky to be honest, I just need the words on the screen and I’m good to go
Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?
#226Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree with the principle - but the apps are ultimately comparatively unhealthy compared to hardware ereaders like actual Kindle. I rarely use the app as I've normally got the latter with me if I'm going to have time to read.
Just out of curiosity - why do you find them unhealthy?
Comparatively unhealthy. Smartphone screens are essentially shining a torch in your face; hardware e-readers are designed for one purpose only and that includes having a screen that does not tax your eyes - apps are no substitute for them.
Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?
#227On top of my head.
- Sky Map: point at the night sky, it tells you which stars are there. Dim screen, offline, perfect.
- Samsung's "Ultra power saving" mode. Turns your smartphone into a dumb phone: phone calls, SMS only, black and white screen. Internet access requires action on your part (i.e. opening the browser). And as you may guess from the name, it really saves battery. Other manufacturers most likely have something similar.
- For most of what you are doing, you don't need any apps. Social media, news and things to learn can all be done on a browser. Pick one with an ad blocker when you are at it (Firefox, Brave, ...).
- On Android, there is a root feature that allows you to freeze apps. I use Titanium Backup for that, but there are other apps that can achieve a similar effect without root (Greenify, Island,...). Frozen apps stay in storage, you keep your data, but they can't be accessed and don't run in the background. It you have some social app that annoys you but you are not sure if you really want it gone, freeze it, and unfreeze it when you need it, if you need it. It saves battery too.
Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?
#228There are no mentally healthy apps to have. You also have to enforce any rules you make and are always already in a fight that you cannot loose. The smartphone is net negative on mental health. I would only make arguments that you can get distracted really easily if you are too focused on something bad. Like today if you become a stalker you really need to be ill because there is so much distraction with the phone th…
If they're as bad as you're saying (and I'm not sure I disagree) then the answer would be to go back to a flip phone that only does calls and maybe has a camera.
This also needs willpower which you need daily to fight it.
Over the last couple years i have seen older people who had good focus completely taken hostage by smartphones making them victims. It's normal for people to watch TV and be on the Phone half the time. I've seen lifelong sport fans who watch sports and are more on the phone than with their eyes on the match.
There is no right life in the wrong one.
I would identify these things and just try new activities the can counter that and de-accelerate.
Things like swimming, hiking, cycling are great. Paddleboarding. Watching sports live or only with friends.
Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?
#229Not apps but things that have helped me: * remove All notifications from non-message & Calendar apps. * condition everyone around you that you might not reply messages in time. (crucial to make above work) and ofc you have to follow that too. * (if you have the financial means) get another device without ANY distraction what so ever, ideally disconnected from the internet (except maybe syncing files) For me it is a e…
> condition everyone around you that you might not reply messages in time i would add turning off read-receipts if possible in your message apps, as well as online notifications, and last seen
I'm on the other side of the fence with read receipts. There are times I don't care if someone replies, I just want to know if they got the message so I don't feel the need to call. I also don't feel the need to send those "ok" or "got it" messages to just affirm that I received the message, because the read receipt takes care of it.
That being said, it cuts both ways. At work, if I read a message asking for something, and they know I got it, I feel more pressure to drop what I'm doing to take care of it, or at least let them know where it's at on my priority list. Turning off the read receipt means I can't view others, so I leave them on. The app does have a "peak" feature to read the message without showing it as read, which is very useful... especially if I happen to be checking it after work hours.
Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?
#230Delete every recreational app on your phone. Also delete anything that gamifies passive consumption, e.g. Duolingo. Put some ebooks on your phone and read those. Stop mentally associating the phone with the infinite novelty generated by algorithmic social and YouTube feeds. Do not open your web browser unless you have a specific search query in mind. Disable all notifications except for the calendar and clock. Treat…
I try to use pencil and paper before getting on a computer. You stop thinking with images when you do this. I was so distracted by other apps that I created an anti-to-do list application for myself (no features or notifications, etc.). If somebody wants the simplest possible to-do list at the menu bar, I'm running a beta test right now; https://vanka.me/redline
I broke down and bough Analog[0] for something like this. The idea of paying so much for some index cards and a block of wood was a bit crazy, but the cards were the exact design I'd want. Looking around all over, I wasn't able to find anything else quite like it. If feels like holding the Apple Reminders app on paper. The wooden holder I thought was a gimmick, but I got it anyway... I actually kind of like it. Similar to your app in the menu bar, it's always there on my desk to bring me back to the task at hand. The whole thing reminds me a little of how I did GTD back in the day, but with a lot less rules to follow.
Funny enough, Analog has this idea of Today, Next, and Someday... which were they exact 3 lists I had finally settled on in Reminders after realizing every other system I looked at was too complex. So the move was pretty seamless. For now I'm still keeping my Next and Someday lists in Reminders.