Pete Smith:
I’m very lucky to have a fantastic family and a some seriously good friends despite the fact that I have neglected our relationships at times. They are, without exception, highly emotionally intelligent and can empathise with my current situation.
The key thing that I am doing differently right now is talking to those around me. I am trying to maintain a constant dialogue about my progress so that I cannot simply slip off the radar and assume the bad habits I desperately want to avoid. But like I say, I’m not great at asking for help so even though I know how approachable my circle is, that’s no guarantee that I’ll vocalise it when I begin to slip.
With all of this in mind, the following seemed a great solution to me.
Smith has created an app that will help him and his friends and family be aware of his depression and reach out to them in times of trouble. It’s an interesting idea and he is looking for input. If you or someone you know struggles with depression, check out the story and tell Smith whether or not you’d be interested in a full blown app as he describes it.
I love this. It reminds me of something we did last year in one of our apps, though it’s not the same market.
Principalm (our mobile school support app) tries to identify trends and patterns in school data like performance and attendance. For Principalm, we don’t need to know why a student’s attendance is slipping. It’s enough that we can recognize it and alert the principal or vice-principal about it. Likewise, positive trends: Congratulating a student who’s recently doing everything right, letting them know you noticed, is a great tool.
Back to Pete Smith’s app: For someone who recognizes they suffer from depression and has a circle of family and friends to use this with, it’d be a huge benefit. Hell, I’m probably one of them. Congrats. 🙂