Abstract
Youth mental health has reached crisis level with no indication of future decline, prompting U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to label youth mental health the crisis of our lifetime. Access to timely care is a struggle for many, parents are at a loss as to how to protect their children, and hospital systems are overwhelmed.Â
The rise in mental health conditions, loneliness, and harm to self and others is alarming, yet we have no system to trigger the alarm for young people experiencing subtle symptoms or a way to alert their loved ones. Technology has advanced in a way that we can finally solve this. Lowkey brings together a team of technologists, clinicians, mental health experts, and advocates to solve what many have declared unsolvable. Â
Most mental health conditions develop over time, starting around age 14, with symptoms that can be subtle but identifiable and objectively measured. Traditional health systems typically fail to identify symptoms early, causing an average eleven-year delay between symptom onset and diagnosis. With grants from health leaders and forward-thinking businesses, Lowkey’s passive application can be brought to market in less than a year to detect and measure subtle warning signs of depression, anxiety, and loneliness in days, not years, and send actionable alerts with human intervention to improve mental health outcomes now.Â
Introduction
Mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and loneliness often develop gradually, with subtle symptoms easily overlooked or dismissed. When these symptoms go unrecognized or untreated, crucial opportunities for early intervention are lost, potentially exacerbating severe mental illnesses such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia, substance abuse, involvement with the criminal justice system, and loss of housing. This white paper explores how Lowkey, a passive mental health detector with active alerts and the integration of trusted social support networks, can reduce the mental health crisis, improve public health and the economy.
Mental Illness And The Impact on Public Health
"We don't have a system focused on prevention and recovery. We don't have a mental health system. At best, we have one that responds to a crisis." — Dr. Thomas Insel, NIMH Director (2002-2015)
Societal concern around mental health has reached an unprecedented level. For the first time, young Americans aged 18-29 view mental health as the top health threat in the country, surpassing issues such as drug abuse and gun violence. This generation has experienced....
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