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Mental health series: positivity app
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The first few months of a new year can be a great time to set goals, reflect on the previous year and make positive steps towards feeling more fulfilled in all aspects of your life. However, winter and the darkness it brings can also be a challenging time psychologically. As we start to see the first signs of spring emerge, this could be a good opportunity to start afresh and make positive changes to help protect your own mental health.
In this insightful and personal blog series, we chat with students that explored the subject of mental health as part of their Ravensbourne Unit work in their second year. Using a mixture of media, they delve into different aspects of mental health and reflect on what helps them personally.
Here, BA (Hons) Digital Film Production student, Curtis Chennells discusses his idea for a positivity app. It is hope that the app will inspire a sense of community, provide support and empower people to take responsibility for their own mental health.
Can you tell me a little bit about your chosen topic for the Ravensbourne Unit and why you decided on this subject?
For the Ravensbourne Unit I decided to create a concept for an app that helps people care for their own mental health. The way in which the interface works is to empower and motivate the user to keep them calm and safe.
I named the technology, ‘The Positivity App’ and it will allow people to communicate, using their own voice to let people know how they feel.
The app is all about positivity; it will display motivational quotes to support you throughout the day and keep you on track. It will also have helpline numbers to talk to someone if you need professional help.
The technology will be aimed at providing support and improving your overall wellbeing and will enable users to talk to like-minded people. The app will have talks organised by professionals, which will cover many different topics related to your mental health. It will also feature more general topics to do with staying motivated and keeping on top of tasks.
The app will allow you to connect to strangers and just talk about whatever is on your mind, within a safe setting. The design of the interface means that it is voice only, allowing you to have a more personal conversation without any pressure to look any certain way.
The app will have many useful features that will support the user. It will be totally free and will be available on IOS and Android.
Elements of the app’s functionality include:
- One-to-one chat function
- Discussion group chats
- Motivational quotes and messages – chosen by experts
- Useful sessions hosted by experts
- Helpline contact details
- Topic prompts to talk about
- Moving background of positive images.
Do you have any personal advice to keep on top of your own mental health?
When dealing with my mental health, I try to always keep a positive mindset and deal with my problems one-by-one. I know there is always help if I need it and there is zero shame in asking for it.
