What does technology mean to you?
Technology is, to me, a useful tool to improve my
life but it doesn't complete my life. I know that sentence is
pretty abstract, so let me explain! In day-to-day life, I go
out, go to uni, go to work and all of the other normal things.
In order to do my uni work effectively, I need access to the
internet to look up things that aren't yet published in books or to
find out where I can get the book I do need. In order to
catch up with my friends, I tend to send them an SMS or post a
message on their facebook wall. If I couldn't contact them in
either of these ways, it'd be harder to stay in touch as we're all
so infrequently home. Mobile technology is awesome in that
respect - I can be sitting at uni, pick up my phone and organise to
have lunch with a friend rather than sitting by myself (which would
invariably result in little enjoyment of the food and much study
instead). Technology means I take breaks but it also means my
time is used more effectively when I'm studying... that is, unless
I start procrastinating.
What types of technology do you use in your day to
day life?
Normally I use the internet on a computer (I refuse
to use it on my phone... I like to have that little bit of distance
between me and facebook) and make calls and send text messages on
my mobile. I very rarely watch TV as I find myself sucked
into whichever program no matter how boring, yet I get incredibly
restless sitting still with no intellectual involvement in the
activity. In short, I annoy anyone with whom I try to watch
TV because I constantly fidget!
Have you sought treatment for any type of mental
health difficulties?
In short, not really. When I find something
upsets me, it's normally best solved by having a rant to a friend.
I normally feel quite fine after that. If I'm going
through a really tough patch, I'll write journal entries as once
the issue is out of my system and onto some paper. I find
that it all seems much easier to fix once I've thought about it
that much. If even that isn't enough, then reading the
stories of Reach Out and working my way through the factsheets
seems to do the trick.
Would you tell me a little about them?
Reach Out has a whole bunch of different stories
and fact sheets on all sorts of issues. You can find people's
reflections on their own issues, which I find really helpful
because you know you're not alone even if those people felt
something a bit different to yourself. The fact sheets are
also really good because they'll give you strategies for getting
through things from as simple as exam stress (something that
stresses me out a bit!) to far more serious issues. Even
though you 'know' how to get through those crazy June and
November months, it helps to have someone mention that taking
breaks is good for your health.
What were your experiences with help-seeking
online?
My experiences with Reach Out have all been
positive. Sometimes I can't find exactly what I want to read
but under those circumstances all I really need is a hug.
Unfortunately, the internet is still incapable of that
one!
How do you think technology would have/or did make
a difference to your mental health?
Technology has overall been positive for me.
It's given me access to far more real-world opportunities as
well as ways to improve on things I do in real-life. The
anonymous information on Reach Out makes me feel safe without
having to ask a 'big, scary grown-up' about how I'm feeling.
Social networking sites give me a way to catch up with
friends when real-life is too busy to go out for coffee.
Although sometimes technology puts extra stress in my life,
I find that it's far more positive than negative.
What advice would you give a health care
professional wanting to use technology in their practice, including
some practical examples?
I think it's really important that whatever
technology health care professionals use, it's functional. A
lot of first-time technology users like the 'bright and shiny'
concepts rather than simple but useful. It's no use having
something that looks pretty but takes a long time to load.
Health care professionals can use simple but useful things
like SMS reminders about appointments, so even if you lose that
little card you'll still be able to make your session. It can
also be good to have an email account for clients to email concerns
between appointments. There is also the possibility of the
professional, after thorough research, using some of the online
services for their field as an additional help for their clients
between visits.
What would you say to a health care professional to
convince them or to sway them into including technologies in their
treatment of young people?
Firstly, the internet is safe if you use it
correctly! Secondly, technology is only scary if you don't
take the time to understand it. Young people are very at home
on the internet - it is often a 'safe place' for them to go,
regardless of what is happening in the real world. It's
important that health care professionals recognise this incredibly
powerful tool because it can make their lives, and those of their
clients, much easier.
Sam talks about her experience with ReachOut.com and the
role technology place in her life.
What does technology mean to you?
Technology is, to me, a useful tool to improve my life but it
doesn't complete my life. I know that sentence is pretty
abstract, so let me explain! In day-to-day life, I go out, go
to uni, go to work and all of the other normal things. In
order to do my uni work effectively, I need access to the internet
to look up things that aren't yet published in books or to find out
where I can get the book I do need. In order to catch up with
my friends, I tend to send them an SMS or post a message on their
facebook wall. If I couldn't contact them in either of these
ways, it'd be harder to stay in touch as we're all so infrequently
home. Mobile technology is awesome in that respect - I can be
sitting at uni, pick up my phone and organise to have lunch with a
friend rather than sitting by myself (which would invariably result
in little enjoyment of the food and much study instead).
Technology means I take breaks but it also means my time is
used more effectively when I'm studying... that is, unless I start
procrastinating.
What types of technology do you use in your day to day
life?
Normally I use the internet on a computer (I refuse to use it on
my phone... I like to have that little bit of distance between me
and facebook) and make calls and send text messages on my mobile.
I very rarely watch TV as I find myself sucked into whichever
program no matter how boring, yet I get incredibly restless sitting
still with no intellectual involvement in the activity. In
short, I annoy anyone with whom I try to watch TV because I
constantly fidget!
How do you deal with difficult situations?
When I find something upsets me, it's normally best solved by
having a rant to a friend. I normally feel quite fine after
that. If I'm going through a really tough patch, I'll write
journal entries as once the issue is out of my system and onto some
paper. I find that it all seems much easier to fix once I've
thought about it that much. If even that isn't enough, then
reading the stories of Reach Out and working my way through the
factsheets seems to do the trick.
What is ReachOut.com to you?
Reach Out has a whole bunch of different stories and fact sheets
on all sorts of issues. You can find people's reflections on
their own issues, which I find really helpful because you know
you're not alone even if those people felt something a bit
different to yourself. The fact sheets are also really good
because they'll give you strategies for getting through things from
as simple as exam stress (something that stresses me out a bit!) to
far more serious issues. Even though you 'know' how to
get through those crazy June and November months, it helps to have
someone mention that taking breaks is good for your health.
What were your experiences with help-seeking
online?
My experiences with Reach Out have all been positive.
Sometimes I can't find exactly what I want to read but under
those circumstances all I really need is a hug.
Unfortunately, the internet is still incapable of that
one!
How do you think technology would have/or did make a
difference to your mental health?
Technology has overall been positive for me. It's given me
access to far more real-world opportunities as well as ways to
improve on things I do in real-life. The anonymous
information on Reach Out makes me feel safe without having to ask a
'big, scary grown-up' about how I'm feeling. Social
networking sites give me a way to catch up with friends when
real-life is too busy to go out for coffee. Although
sometimes technology puts extra stress in my life, I find
that it's far more positive than negative.
What advice would you give a health care professional
wanting to use technology in their practice, including some
practical examples?
I think it's really important that whatever technology health
care professionals use, it's functional. A lot of first-time
technology users like the 'bright and shiny' concepts rather than
simple but useful. It's no use having something that looks
pretty but takes a long time to load. Health care
professionals can use simple but useful things like SMS reminders
about appointments, so even if you lose that little card you'll
still be able to make your session. It can also be good to
have an email account for clients to email concerns between
appointments. There is also the possibility of the
professional, after thorough research, using some of the online
services for their field as an additional help for their clients
between visits.
What would you say to a health care professional to
convince them or to sway them into including technologies in their
treatment of young people?
Firstly, the internet is safe if you use it correctly!
Secondly, technology is only scary if you don't take the time
to understand it. Young people are very at home on the
internet - it is often a 'safe place' for them to go, regardless of
what is happening in the real world. It's important that
health care professionals recognise this incredibly powerful tool
because it can make their lives, and those of their clients, much
easier.