iPhone App That Cures Social Anxiety

iPhone App That Cures Social Anxiety

There is a newly-introduced program that offers a surprising promise for those unable to cope with their social anxiety.

The program smartphone app Mobilyze is a logical project of a team of researchers from Harvard University, who are trying to develop an application that can help treat mental health issues, which in this case, social anxiety.

The app was developed by an Australian psychologist.  It uses a very simple method.  Users of the app can see two different faces on their phone screen: one friendly and the other hostile. The two images would then merge and a letter or series of letters will appear on the screen.  The phone user would then need to correctly identify them.

The invention is anchored on the belief that users with social anxiety tend to focus on faces in the crowd who are hostile. The app could help break that fixation by re-training the brain and thereby, reducing anxiety.

Recent studies reveal that using the new smartphone app helped reduce the user’s anxiety by 22 points, as compared to an 8-point drop experienced by a group who didn't use the app.

However, before impulsively buying an iPhone, it is important to consider that not everyone believes that the app could really cure social anxiety.  There is also a study that reveals a similar 22-point drop experienced by a group who focused at pairs of faces without the letter to distract them.

One best cure for your social anxiety, according to one psychologist, is simply doing something about it by first acknowledging that you have a problem and then thinking positive things and diverting your attention to the lighter sides of life or just simply by avoiding excessive stress.

Posted by Melanie Mendoza on Thursday February 16 2012, 6:42 AM EST. Ref: Google. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Shopping. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0