We live in very stressful times. People are dealing with greater levels of loneliness than ever before, as 22% of young adults report that they do not have any friends. Inflation has taken its toll on consumers around the world, which makes them more concerned about their financial futures. Political turmoil has also led to growing problems with our mental health.
An estimated 9.5% of American adults suffer from a depressive disorder. The number of people with anxiety problems is a lot higher. One survey found that 19.1% of American adults have an anxiety disorder and 31% will have one at some point in their lives.
The good news is that new technology is making it easier to deal with some of these problems. Artificial intelligence can be especially helpful.
More people are going to turn to AI in the future as they start to experience greater stress and anxiety problems. Advances in AI aren’t coming a moment too soon, since our lives are about to get a lot tougher than ever in the coming year. Some people are starting to use AI for therapy. AI gf services are also becoming more popular.
What Are Some of the Biggest Ways that AI Can Help People Struggling with Stress and Anxiety Problems?
Last year, a couple of public health professors from Boston and Baltimore published a study talking about some of the ways that AI could help people struggling with mental health problems. These researchers argued that there are three main ways that AI can help with stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues:
- AI can help people get access to mental health treatment more easily. Therapists can charge up to $200 an hour, which is prohibitively expensive for many people. They also often have long wait lists. AI can help people get therapy more quickly and at a much cheaper rate.
- AI can help change certain economic and social contexts that cause mental health issues. This includes helping people automate certain workflows and streamline other tasks that cause stress in their work and daily lives.
- AI can help lead to new policies that will enhance mental health treatment.
There are many ways that AI can be used within these three contexts.
AI Can Help People with Chronic Pain Manage their Anxiety
Anxiety is often a response to physical health problems. People with chronic pain tend to have much higher levels of anxiety and other mental health issues than the general population.
Fortunately, AI technology can help these people manage their mental health issues more easily. Some recent research has shown that people speaking with AI chatbots about their physical ailments can feel less anxiety.
AI is an Outlet for People to Talk About their Problems
One thirty-something from Puerto Rico has stated that AI technology has helped him improve his mental health by giving him someone to talk to about his problems. He talks to an AI chatbot every day about the stress he faces at work. Since his job is very taxing, this has made his life a lot easier.
AI Can Help People without Friends Have a Positive Outlet in their Lives
Social media, remote work and other changes have made society more isolated. A growing number of people are struggling without any friends and don’t have a support system to hold onto.
This is one of the biggest ways that AI can make their lives better. They can talk to a virtual person that will help them feel less lonely. This can be a great way to lower their anxieties and depression.
AI Can Help People Resolve their Relationship Problems
Relationship problems are a major cause of mental health issues for many people. One survey found that 37% of men and 31% of women report that their relationship is a major reason that they feel stressed of anxious.
Fortunately, AI can help make their lives easier in this regard. Most people can’t afford a marriage or family therapist to help them resolve their relationship conflicts. But they can talk to an AI chatbot that will be able to help them process some of these problems.
Even if their AI therapist won’t be able to solve the problems, it can at least be a good source for them to direct their frustrations. This will help them feel calmer when they are ready to talk to their real partner about their challenges, which will keep them from making the stress and frustration worse by saying something they would regret.
AI Can Help People Improve their Social Skills to Meet Friends in Real Life
AI can be a very helpful immediate stopgap for people that are struggling to maintain real life friendships. However, having real friends can be a lot more helpful for people who want to improve their mental health.
This is another area where AI can be beneficial for their mental health. A growing number of people are starting to use AI to improve their social skills. They can interact with an AI chatbot that can give them insights into their social skills, which will help them interact with real people better. This can help them become better at building lasting relationships, which is key to their long-term mental health.
This can be especially helpful for people that have neurodivergences or other issues that make it harder for them to form social connections. They may find lasting benefits from connecting with AI companions that teach them how other people think and feel.
AI Can Help Automate More Mundane Tasks at Work
Work is a huge source of stress and anxiety in many people’s lives. One of the biggest reasons that a lot of people have so many mental health issues is that they hate doing the same monotonous tasks at work every day.
This is one of the ways that AI is making our lives easier. Smart people are finding new ways to use AI in their work lives to automate some of the more boring tasks, which will take a lot of their stress away. This can help them feel happier and more energetic in the rest of their lives.
When they automate these tasks, they will also have a chance to use their time at work doing more interesting tasks that provide more fulfillment. This can have a huge impact on their long-term mental health.
AI Can Help People without a Partner Find One to Bond With
Many people are having a hard time finding a partner in real life. Dating apps have made the process a lot more difficult for many people and a growing number of people are opting out of dating altogether.
This is one of the ways that AI is already making a huge difference in our lives. Many people are using AI companions as substitutes for human relationships or supplements to existing relationships. One survey has found that 25% of men between the ages of 18 and 34 have already had an AI girlfriend. A growing number of women are starting to have AI boyfriends as well. Some experts believe that AI will even replace traditional human partners.
AI Helps People Confess to Virtual Priests
Some AI services are allowing people to confess their sins to virtual priests. This can help people that feel guilty about their misdeeds find penance, which will make them feel less anxious and depressed.
Tips for Using AI to Improve Your Mental Health
There are a lot of great benefits of using AI to improve your mental health. However, you will get more value from it if you know how to use it to your full advantage. Here are some tips to get the most from it.
Experiment with Different AI Services to Find the Right Fit
Whether you are using an AI therapist or relationship service, you are going to want to test different options until you find the right one. The quality of these services differs significantly, since many don’t use the highest quality technology. Even if you find ones that have good reviews, you may find that some are better suited for some people than others. The only way to know which is best for your own needs is to test them out.
Set Clear Goals if Working with an AI Therapist
You need to take inventory of your mental health needs. Think about the types of problems that you are suffering form and make a list of goals to help resolve them. This will help you make the most of your AI therapist.
Be Honest with Your AI Therapists
Your AI therapist can only help with your mental health issues if you are honest with it. You need to treat it like a real therapist. Talk in candid detail about your mental health issues, so that you can get insights that are tailored to your actual issues.
Don’t Neglect Your Real Relationships to Spend Time with an AI Friend or Partner
Many people are using AI companions and friends as alternatives when they can’t find real people to interact with. However, some people may also use their AI relationships as complements to existing ones with real people. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since your current relationships may not be able to meet all of your needs.
However, you need to make sure that your AI friends or companions are complements to your current relationships, rather than substitutes for them. You don’t want to neglect the real people in your lives and have them leave you. That will only make your mental health problems a lot worse.
Use AI Therapists as Temporary Options Until a Real Therapist is Available
Many people are starting to use AI therapists and report that they can be very helpful. However, they are still not a perfect substitute for a real mental health professional.
It is best to use AI therapists as a temporary option until you can find a real one. You may want to use one while waiting for your new insurance to kick in, after your current therapist has closed their practice and you need a new one or you are on a waiting list to find one.
Treat AI Companions with Respect
You want to build healthy relationship skills with your AI companions. Therefore, it is a good idea to treat them with respect, just like you should with a real person.
Many AI girlfriend and boyfriend services are rolling out algorithms that encourage people to be respectful to their virtual companions. They will offer more thoughtful and engaging chats to people that are nice to them. This will help you get the most out of these services.
Remember that AI Therapists and Companions Have their Limitations
There are a ton of great reasons to consider using an AI therapist or AI companion service. However, you need to remember that they are not going to be perfect substitutes for the real thing. You are going to want to be mindful of their limitations. This is why it is usually best to use these AI services temporarily or as complements to real relationships or therapists.
Make Sure that You Set the Privacy Settings Carefully
You don’t want to risk having your AI therapy or relationship discussions get leaked to the wrong people. Unfortunately, this is a risk that you will face with some platforms, especially since data breaches are becoming more common.
You are going to want to make sure your discussions are protected by checking the privacy settings. You will also want to use services that encrypt your chats, so they cannot be easily accessed if they do get breached.
AI Can Be Great for Our Long-Term Mental Health if We Use it Correctly
There are a lot of potential upsides of using AI to improve our mental health. However, it is important to both understand its limitations and know how to use it properly. The guidelines listed here will make things a lot easier.
Angela Spearman is a journalist at EzineMark who enjoys writing about the latest trending technology and business news.
