With or without our conscious awareness, much of the things we interact with on a daily basis are vying for our attention. The stream of alerts from our cell phones and the constant bombardment from advertisements have correlated with a rise of anxiety, ADHS, and depression that is being observed in youth populations at an unprecedented rate. One surprising way to combat this is by practicing mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness is a practice that emphasizes being aware in the present moment, usually by focusing one’s attention on the sensations of breathing. As described in over 3000 peer-reviewed papers, mindfulness meditation has the potential to reduce anxiety, depression, and stress levels, while at the same time improving one’s overall quality of life. Surprisingly, all these benefits come from just stopping what you are doing and simply being aware of your experiences. In western society, meditation has a certain mystique because most people are unfamiliar with the practice. In comes Andy Puddicombe: entrepreneur, monk, and mindfulness extraordinaire. Drawing from his experience as a Tibetan Buddhist, Andy Puddicombe created Headspace – an app that lets users follow a series of guided, mindfulness meditations. All you need is the app, a chair, and ten minutes of your day.
Born in England, Puddicombe’s journey to Buddhism seems like an unlikely one, that is until a traumatic event left him with severe anxiety and depression. While out with his friends in college, a drunk driver struck the group of students, killing some of Puddicombe’s closest friends. The survivors of this accident all had different ways of coping with grief: some took to alcohol, others tried therapy. Puddicombe, on the other hand, decided to travel the world. He noticed while abroad that he was unable to escape the feelings of loss from that tragic day. After returning back home and briefly going back to school, Puddicombe quit and decided to become a Buddhist monk. He joined a monastery in the Himalayas where he was ordained in the Tibetan tradition. The regimented lifestyle, which included many hours of meditation per day, became a way of life for him. It was at the monastery where he realized the power of meditation. He noticed that much of the anxiety and depression he had in the past had all but disappeared. After a few years of completing his work as a monk, Puddicombe returned to England where he eventually created Headspace.
Headspace was one of the very first subscription-based meditation apps that let users follow guided mindfulness techniques. Garnering a huge following in recent years, Headspace has acquired over 33 million paid subscribers, most of whom use the app intermittently. Users select mediation “packs” that revolve around different topics such as anxiety, self-esteem, or sleep. Like all skills, meditation requires practice and Headspace encourages this by letting user learn at their own pace. Each mediation on the app builds upon the last by constantly incorporating new concepts and ideas. In an interview, Puddicombe argues that “people are so distracted that they are no longer present in the world which they live.” Meditating with Headspace offers an escape from the distraction of the modern world because it forces users to become consciously aware of the experiences and sensations around them. It is upon analyzing the design of the app that Puddicombe’s creativity begins to take form. The app uses a muted color scheme in order to create a calming effect on the user. Additionally, the app incorporates original cartoons that depict characters meditating in everyday life. All of these seemingly trivial details have a purpose: they promote a reflective environment that encourages meditation. Puddicombe continues to play an active role with the app since his voice appears in most of the guided meditations.
As described by Teresa Amabile in “Beyond Talent,” individuals are “most creative when they are motivated primarily by the interest, enjoyment, satisfaction, and challenge of the work itself.” In a recent interview, Puddicombe describes his intention of creating Headspace as a platform to help people. Much of Puddicombe’s work can be credited with his intrinsic motivation to create a product that people derive value from. Puddicombe wanted to demystify meditation and make it accessible to everyday people because of its benefits. He realized the positive effect mediation has had on his mental health and he wanted to share it with the world in a unique and creative way. Further, research suggests that meditation may help cognition and creative because it puts the brain in a state of flow, a concept first described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Perhaps being in this state of flow is what allowed Puddicombe to create Headspace because it allowed his mind to subconsciously integrate his experiences.
With its growing popularity and unique features, Headspace is poised to help people with their mental health for years to come.
Sources
There are other apps that have tried to address mental health issues like Better Help, which is promoted to young audiences in spaces like YouTube and Instagram. Do think these kinds of apps overshadow the real need of people to go seek real, professional help?
ReplyDeleteI have been dealing with mental health issues for many years and at least for me I view this app (and other apps like it) it as an aide. I work best with guided mediation and I really stand by Headspaces's effectiveness. For the best possible outcome, when considering my personal battle with mental health, it should not be seen as the only solution or if you use the app you are suddenly healed but instead as a way to continue and think about tools learned in counseling. I did not know the creator of this app was a monk, but that explains how he gets his voice so calm. Also, I really love the characters he creates because it adds a sort of whimsy to the app on days when I may not feel up to using it.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very important that more discussion about mental health and alternative medicine rather than just purely prescribing medication is becoming more common. This is not to say that I believe medication cannot be extremely helpful when treating mental health problems, but having alternative, or more importantly, supplementary help such as therapy or meditation is so important. I think there's also something to be said about the fact that this app is more accessible both fiscally and distance wise for those that may not have the access and ability to go through therapy.
ReplyDeleteI personally love meditation, especially guided meditation, and I think that the increased accessibility through apps like this, that lower the cost of at least some sort of support for mental health issues. I think that it can work in conjunction with therapy well, or provide an easy gateway to other resources for mental health.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has recently found meditation, I really like this app and the thought process behind it. I feel like meditation can seem like such a far out thing in today's busy, fast-paced life. The environment created by this app helps the user to get more in touch with themselves any time or place. Meditation should be a bigger aspect of our life as it has helped me through some real dark times. I also think society as a whole would be better off if we made meditation a more mainstream activity.
ReplyDelete