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The most interesting and useful piece of information in this story is buried towards the end: there is an app which implements a gamified version of ABMT therap

The most interesting and useful piece of information in this story is buried towards the end: there is an app which implements a gamified version of ABMT therapy. The BBC didn't even mention its name! From searching around it appears to be Personal Zen (iOS only): http://www.personalzen.com/ http://www.personalzen.com/ Don't know what kind of twisted priorities in the newsroom would focus a story like this on using anxiety to make a political point, versus putting the focus on a way people can treat their anxiety, but hey, that's probably just my anxiety speaking.

brynedwards 10y ago
Found this on Google Play store, looks like another one: http://www.mindhabits.com/mobileapps.php http://www.mindhabits.com/mobileapps.php
etiene 10y ago
Thanks for this!
jontayesp 10y ago
I just tried that app, but actually felt more stress because of the time pressure to find the one "good" guy vs the one "bad" guy (they only appear for a split second). It would be more interesting to initially see one good guy surrounded by many bad guys. As you focus on the good guy, you are rewarded by producing more good guys and bad guys disappear. Instead of gamifying the experience, show the user that focusing on the good guys creates positive momentum.
- ricardobeat 10y ago
  This app seems to be designed by psychologists based on several studies to treat anxiety, it is not a stress-release tool. The original article also mentions the goal is to retrain your reaction / attention to negative stimuli, which may explain the quick reaction time needed. [meta] Your comment is solely about yourself and adds very little to the conversation.
  - tchock23 10y ago
    [meta] The first part of the comment was about themselves, but the second part was a suggestion to improve an app which is absolutely a positive contribution to the conversion.
    - ricardobeat 10y ago
      Parent commenter edited out most of the post after I made my comment.
  - Sammi 10y ago
    Also, learning something new or changing a learned behavior is stressful. Following an established cognitive path feels easy, while going down new or little used pathways is straining. You're really not actually learning anything unless it feels difficult.
  - sp332 10y ago
    The first sentence on the page says it reduces stress and anxiety.
    - makmanalp 10y ago
      In the longer term perhaps? You could say psychotherapy reduces stress and anxiety but not necessarily during...
    - derefr 10y ago
      Most therapeutic (rather than pharmaceutical) approaches to treating anxiety that have a long-term impact, require you to focus on (or at least acknowledge) the stressful stimuli repeatedly in the short term: • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy requires that you focus on stressful thoughts to "pick them apart." • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exposure_therapy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exposure_therapy requires that you experience a stress-trigger and "pass through" the initial phobic reaction to get to the point where you can neutrally observe that the stimuli isn't dangerous.
wineisfine 10y ago
I dont really see what this game can accomplish? Also the link to the scientific study, leads to a meanignless page. Perhaps its rather a placebo game.
ghgfhgfhn 10y ago
Also happy faces on ios/android
hosh 10y ago
For me it was the reverse: The first half of the article describing the warped perception is far more interesting to me than ABMT. Having a mindfulness practice, I don't see ABMT as going to be anything more than a bandaid. That bandaid might have some temporary effects, but it doesn't address existential suffering at all. Further: stuff like the Wim Hof (Iceman) breathing method has greater effect because it teaches your mind to gain awareness and control over your body's fight-or-flight response. It won't address the emotional and mental stuff (which therapy and mindfulness practice addresses), but it does teach your body not to spiral out with fight-or-flight responses, and gives you enough space to work with these emotions. I was also thinking about it: what do I see when I see pictures of violence and threats? Maybe I am idiosyncratic, but when I look at it, I tend to feel a lot of pathos for the suffering involving both the aggressors and the victims rather than personalizing it as a threat to me. (That is, instead of thinking "OMG the world is not safe for me", it is "That's a lot of suffering we're inflicting on each other"). Having pleasant pictures is not enough. The deep mental programming also needs to be addressed.
- ksenzee 10y ago
  Treatments other than mindfulness training are not simply a "bandaid." CBT is the gold standard, for example, and countless thousands of people have found it alleviates their anxiety without their ever even learning what "existential suffering" means. Mindfulness is certainly one of the major tools in the anxiety toolbox, but it is neither the only nor - arguably - even the best tool available. This is especially true given that anxiety is not a single problem with a single cause.
  - hosh 10y ago
    Existential suffering underlies all anxieties. CBT, at best, gets to certain levels of deep seated programming, but does not go to the root cause. Alleviating anxiety is not the same as a cure. Being functional is not the same as a cure. CBT may be considered the gold standard in the mainstream, but it will not always be like that.
    - apatters 10y ago
crazydoggers 10y ago
I just found this one and it's quite good... happy faces! http://www.biasmodification.com/ http://www.biasmodification.com/

brynedwards 10y ago

Found this on Google Play store, looks like another one: http://www.mindhabits.com/mobileapps.php http://www.mindhabits.com/mobileapps.php

etiene 10y ago

Thanks for this!

jontayesp 10y ago

I just tried that app, but actually felt more stress because of the time pressure to find the one "good" guy vs the one "bad" guy (they only appear for a split second). It would be more interesting to initially see one good guy surrounded by many bad guys. As you focus on the good guy, you are rewarded by producing more good guys and bad guys disappear. Instead of gamifying the experience, show the user that focusing on the good guys creates positive momentum.

ricardobeat 10y ago
This app seems to be designed by psychologists based on several studies to treat anxiety, it is not a stress-release tool. The original article also mentions the goal is to retrain your reaction / attention to negative stimuli, which may explain the quick reaction time needed. [meta] Your comment is solely about yourself and adds very little to the conversation.
- tchock23 10y ago
  [meta] The first part of the comment was about themselves, but the second part was a suggestion to improve an app which is absolutely a positive contribution to the conversion.
  - ricardobeat 10y ago
    Parent commenter edited out most of the post after I made my comment.
- Sammi 10y ago
  Also, learning something new or changing a learned behavior is stressful. Following an established cognitive path feels easy, while going down new or little used pathways is straining. You're really not actually learning anything unless it feels difficult.
- sp332 10y ago
  The first sentence on the page says it reduces stress and anxiety.
  - makmanalp 10y ago
    In the longer term perhaps? You could say psychotherapy reduces stress and anxiety but not necessarily during...
  - derefr 10y ago
    Most therapeutic (rather than pharmaceutical) approaches to treating anxiety that have a long-term impact, require you to focus on (or at least acknowledge) the stressful stimuli repeatedly in the short term: • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy requires that you focus on stressful thoughts to "pick them apart." • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exposure_therapy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exposure_therapy requires that you experience a stress-trigger and "pass through" the initial phobic reaction to get to the point where you can neutrally observe that the stimuli isn't dangerous.

wineisfine 10y ago

I dont really see what this game can accomplish? Also the link to the scientific study, leads to a meanignless page. Perhaps its rather a placebo game.

ghgfhgfhn 10y ago

Also happy faces on ios/android

hosh 10y ago

For me it was the reverse: The first half of the article describing the warped perception is far more interesting to me than ABMT. Having a mindfulness practice, I don't see ABMT as going to be anything more than a bandaid. That bandaid might have some temporary effects, but it doesn't address existential suffering at all. Further: stuff like the Wim Hof (Iceman) breathing method has greater effect because it teaches your mind to gain awareness and control over your body's fight-or-flight response. It won't address the emotional and mental stuff (which therapy and mindfulness practice addresses), but it does teach your body not to spiral out with fight-or-flight responses, and gives you enough space to work with these emotions. I was also thinking about it: what do I see when I see pictures of violence and threats? Maybe I am idiosyncratic, but when I look at it, I tend to feel a lot of pathos for the suffering involving both the aggressors and the victims rather than personalizing it as a threat to me. (That is, instead of thinking "OMG the world is not safe for me", it is "That's a lot of suffering we're inflicting on each other"). Having pleasant pictures is not enough. The deep mental programming also needs to be addressed.

ksenzee 10y ago
Treatments other than mindfulness training are not simply a "bandaid." CBT is the gold standard, for example, and countless thousands of people have found it alleviates their anxiety without their ever even learning what "existential suffering" means. Mindfulness is certainly one of the major tools in the anxiety toolbox, but it is neither the only nor - arguably - even the best tool available. This is especially true given that anxiety is not a single problem with a single cause.
- hosh 10y ago
  Existential suffering underlies all anxieties. CBT, at best, gets to certain levels of deep seated programming, but does not go to the root cause. Alleviating anxiety is not the same as a cure. Being functional is not the same as a cure. CBT may be considered the gold standard in the mainstream, but it will not always be like that.
  - apatters 10y ago

crazydoggers 10y ago

I just found this one and it's quite good... happy faces! http://www.biasmodification.com/ http://www.biasmodification.com/