WatchOS 10 implements mental health apps – but can they help you?

Long is the debate on whether Mental health apps actually work

Table of Contents Table of Contents

Apple’s WWDC 2023 was a huge hit, revealing a stunning array of hardware and software alike on which Apple has been hard at work for the past year or so. What struck us was watchOS 10 and the fact WatchOS 10 implements mental health apps – but can they help you?

watchOS 10 implements mental health apps right on your wrist

Nowadays, we understand more than ever that mental health is just as important as physical health. However, our health-tracking devices, like the Apple Watch, haven’t fully caught up in providing tools that actively guide users to take care of their minds. But watchOS 10 aims to change that.

During the WWDC 2023 event, watchOS 10 was unveiled with exciting improvements to the Mindfulness app.

It introduces new prompts that ask users to log their momentary emotions and daily moods, presented as colorful visuals to help them recognize how they feel.

Previously, the Mindfulness app only offered breathing guidance and timed moments of reflection for all users. (Apple Fitness Plus members could access audio meditations as well.) Although you could set reminders to use these features, they didn’t provide much information about your overall mental health.

Now, in watchOS 10, the logged moods will be integrated into the Health app’s new “State of Mind” section, where you can track trends in your emotions.

Even more importantly, you’ll be able to see how other lifestyle factors tracked in the Health app, such as sleep, exercise, and even sunlight exposure through the Apple Watch’s ambient light sensor, may be affecting your state of mind.

The Health app collects various information that could be connected to your mood, including sleep and exercise. Additionally, watchOS 10 introduces a new vision health feature that tracks the time you spend in sunlight. This information can also contribute to understanding your state of mind.

This isn’t even the best part

Mindfulness app and iOS 17

Once your iPhone is updated to iOS 17, the Health app will offer a convenient feature. You’ll be able to perform commonly used assessments for depression and anxiety. Based on the results of these assessments, you might receive recommendations to seek medical guidance or talk to someone about your feelings.

Do mental health apps, like the mindfulness app, actually work?

This is a tricky subject, and there’s a lot of opinion surrounding such a question. Assessing the effectiveness of mental health apps is still in its infancy, but Stephanie Collier, MD, MPH, over at the University of Harvard posted an article on our exact topic.

Stephanie essentially stated that mental health apps are a neat little tool that you can use alongside traditional therapy to help you that little bit more. However, you should not use them to replace traditional therapy.

“Research on the mental health effects of mobile apps is still in its infancy, and we will have more to guide us in the next few years. Low-touch interventions like mobile apps may help get you through a rough time, or at least help increase your symptom awareness. Will it treat your depression? Probably not, but it may help if you believe in it.” – Stephanie Collier, MD, MPH

“Having a secure place to speak about your stressors, seeing your concerns validated in the eyes of another person, and developing a trusting relationship are all components of therapy. A mobile app removes the human element of a therapeutic relationship, which we know is a critical ingredient in treatment success. However, mobile apps can complement therapy through symptom trackers, reminders, reinforcement of skills, and community features to set goals and share progress.” – Stephanie Collier, MD, MPH

Are mental health apps a placebo?

Personally, I think that these things work if you believe in them, which is essentially a placebo effect. However, if it works, it works, where’s the harm?

There’s a fantastic video that explains the wonderful world of placebos here if you have some time to kill. But essentially the video by Medlife Crisis explains that a placebo is your mind adjusting how you feel based on expectations you have for something.

Apple is telling you that this mindfulness app is great for those who struggle with a bad time and want to get some help feeling a little bit better. It’s not an evil thing to do, but they are incentivizing you to buy a watch capable of running watchOS 10 because it may help you feel better.

Whether the mindfulness app, or other similar apps for that matter (we’re not singling out Apple; there are others available), will actually help you depends on whether or not you believe in their effectiveness.

When to seek help

The obligatory section here due to the topic of the article, know when it’s time to seek help. If you have found this article because you’re enquiring about the legitimacy of mental health apps because you feel stuck, trapped, or whatever, then it’s probably time you seek help.

Through that be a friend, co-worker, parent, therapist, just talk to somebody. Don’t suffer in silence, mental health affects hundreds of millions of people globally, you are not alone.

If things are really bad, feel free to use any of the services below:

• UK Samaritans: 116 123
• US 988 hotline: 1-800-273-8255

Here is a Wiki list of all the Suicide hotlines for every country in the world.

Final Word

The takeaway from this is that these apps do work if you believe in them, but that much is up to you. If you are seeking active help, the mindfulness app part of iOS 10 could be a great addition to your therapy or active help.

Apple is finally taking mental health seriously and we hope this encourages other companies to follow suit.