Analyzing mental changes using AI.

Utilizing "skin analysis" technology

When fatigue and stress accumulate, various changes occur in the skin, such as breakouts or blemishes. Previously, cosmetic companies approached research and development with the goal of "relieving stress to improve skin." However, this time, they took the opposite approach—detecting stress levels based on skin conditions. Leveraging a database of skin and fatigue data from approximately 2,000 individuals, they developed technology that estimates stress and fatigue levels from the surface condition of the skin.

The company also focused on changes in complexion. By examining the constant color changes in the face caused by blood flow, they can determine heart rate and heart rate variability. Heart rate variability is regulated by the autonomic nervous system, and with a smartphone camera, they can detect these subtle movements to estimate the state of the autonomic nervous system. In addition to objective data, they also incorporate subjective data—how people feel when they look at their own face—to assess the accumulation of stress and fatigue.

Focusing on cognitive behavioral therapy.

An app that incorporates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a type of psychotherapy, to help users maintain balanced thinking without feeling overwhelmed by stress. A program focused on developing skills to cope with depressed moods, as well as the development of programs tailored to high-demand themes such as "anxiety" and "insomnia."

Mental health refers to the overall well-being of one's mind, emotions, and behavior, and is essential for a balanced and fulfilling life.

According to the World HealthOrganization (WHO), health is not just the absence of illness but a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. Therefore, mental health focuses on promoting and maintaining this well-being.

Purpose of Mental Health Care

Mental health care is vital as anyone can experience mental health issues, just like physical health problems. Mental health care is needed in various settings, such as communities, homes, and workplaces. In particular, workplaces have seen increased focus on mental health due to rising stress and fatigue in modern labor environments. For instance, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare established the “Mental Health Care Guidelines” in 2008 to promote workplace mental health.

What Does "Being Mentally Healthy" Mean?

Mental health is closely related to physical health, and the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare in Japan identifies four key aspects of mental well-being:

• Emotional health: The ability to recognize and express one’s emotions.

• Intellectual health: The capacity to think rationally and solve problems effectively.

• Social health: Building constructive and positive relationships with others.

• Personal health: Finding purpose in life and actively making choices.

When these aspects are in harmony, a person is considered mentally healthy, and it greatly affects their quality of life.

The Importance of Rest for Mental Health

Mental health is influenced by various factors such as physical condition, socioeconomic status, and relationships. Physical health and mental well-being are interrelated. Proper rest, including sufficient sleep and managing stress, is essential for maintaining mental health. Regular exercise, balanced nutrition, and adequate relaxation are critical components of mental well-being.

Types of Mental Health Issues

Modern society is often described as highly stressful, contributing to mental health problems such as depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, addiction, and cognitive impairments. Depression, for example, affects around 3-5% of the global population. Early detection and treatment are crucial for preventing serious consequences, including suicide.

Self-Check for Mental Health

Self-monitoring is essential for maintaining mental health. Regularly checking for changes in mood, energy, concentration, and overall well-being helps in early identification of mental health issues. Signs to watch for include fatigue, irritability, inability to focus, and physical symptoms like headaches or sleep problems.

Mental Health Care in the Workplace

Workplaces play a significant role in mental health through "line care," where supervisors monitor and support the mental well-being of their team. Managers are responsible for fostering a supportive environment where employees can share their concerns and seek help when needed. Training and resources for supervisors are essential to effectively manage their teams' mental health.

In conclusion, mental health care is important across all aspects of life—personal, professional, and societal. Regular self-checks and being mindful of both physical and mental changes are key to maintaining overall health. When necessary, seeking support from healthcare providers or mental health professionals is essential to address any concerns.

Mental health is an essential part of people’s lives and society. Poor mental health affects our well-being, our ability to work, and our relationships with friends, family, and community. Mental health conditions are not uncommon. Hundreds of millions suffer from them yearly, and many more do over their lifetimes. It’s estimated that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men will experience major depression in their lives. Other conditions, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, are less common but still have a large impact on people’s lives. Mental illnesses are treatable, and the impact they have can be reduced. Despite this, treatment is often lacking or poor quality, and many feel uncomfortable sharing their symptoms with healthcare professionals or people they know. This also makes it difficult to estimate the actual prevalence of mental illnesses. To support them, it’s essential to have good data to understand these conditions – how, when, and why they occur, how many people are affected by them, and how they can be treated effectively and safely. On this page, we show data on the prevalence of mental illnesses and their burden, and people’s attitudes toward mental health.

Get closer to nature We all live with worries and fears, uncertainties, losses that leave us sad and pressures that make us feel stressed. Nature can have a really calming effect on us. We have been living around other animals and plants for thousands of years. Some people say nature helps them feel calmer, more hopeful and less alone. Our research found that going for a walk was UK adults’ favourite way of coping with stress during the pandemic in 2020. In Japan, some people do “forest bathing”, which may improve their mental health. So going to a forest or wood and experiencing the different smells, sounds and textures may really help. To get the best out of nature’s healing effects, try tuning your senses to what’s around you – the trees, plants, birds and animals, for instance, and water such as ponds or the seashore. Take a deep breath and see how you feel. The idea is to get connected with your natural surroundings. Find out more about mental health and nature, including our guide Thriving With Nature, produced with wildlife charity WWF.

More tips

2. Get more from your sleep Anyone who has struggled with sleep will know what a difference it makes to our bodies, minds and ability to cope with life. We all have times when we sleep badly, and some of us live in situations that make a good night’s sleep impossible. For many people, sleep is often the first thing that suffers when we're struggling with our mental health. Adults need between 7 and 9 hours' sleep a night, including enough dreaming sleep and enough deeper sleep. If you’re struggling with your sleep, think about trying a few simple changes. For example: Develop a relaxing bedtime routine to help you start winding down before you actually go to sleep Avoid TV and mobile screens, alcohol and caffeine before bed. This will help you fall asleep and stay asleep. You could also avoid vigorous exercise before bed. Go to bed and get up at around the same time every day, including weekends. For more suggestions, try this guide to sleep and mental health. It includes information about potentially helpful apps and getting professional help if self-help isn’t working for you. More tips Load videoGet more from sleep: best mental health tips series Load videoKeep moving: best mental health tips series

3. Keep moving Our bodies and minds are connected, so looking after ourselves physically also helps us prevent problems with our mental health (it works the other way around, too). Moving our bodies – with sport, gardening, dancing, cycling, walking the dog, cleaning or going to the gym, for example – are great ways to improve our mental and physical health. Exercise releases “feel good” hormones that reduce feelings of stress and anger. It also helps us feel better about our bodies. It can improve our sleep too. If it involves other people, like being part of a team, a class or a group we see regularly, that can also boost our mental health. We don’t have to be professional athletes, or sporty, to get the benefits of being physically active. From walking to dancing and basketball to the gym, the best exercise is simply the one we enjoy. More tips

4. Eat healthy food Food and drink affect our bodies, brains and mood – for good or bad. Sugary snacks and drinks can give us a temporary “high” or sense of comfort that can feel irresistible. But they soon leave us feeling exhausted or jittery. Caffeine in coffee, tea, or so-called energy drinks can also have this effect. A balanced diet with lots of vegetables and fruit is essential for good physical and mental health. How we eat is also important. Having meals with other people can help to grow relationships – with family, friends, partners, and colleagues. This is really important in protecting everyone’s mental health and preventing problems. Food can also get mixed up with our feelings. Some people over-eat or under-eat when they are upset. It may help to talk to someone we trust and get professional support if we need it. More tips Load videoEat healthy food: best mental health tips series Load videoBe kind: best mental health tips series

 5. Be kind and help create a better world If you have ever felt lonely, you will know how much it helps to have even a small connection with someone else. Exchanging a smile or friendly words can be comforting and lift our mood. Research shows that being kind is good for both sides. Being kind can boost our mood, help us feel more capable, strengthen our connections with others and even make us cope better with stress. If you don’t know where to start, you could try small but meaningful acts of kindness, such as offering a smile or a few kind words to another person. You could make their day but also feel better for it - friendly connections with others are vital for our mental health. More inspiration about acts of kindness We can also help others by doing volunteer work and getting together with other people to work for good causes. These things can help us feel connected with others and the world around us. It can give us the sense that we can make a difference. All of this is good for our mental health. More tips

6. Be curious and open-minded to new experiences We can all get stuck in familiar ways, like how we spend our time and what we think about ourselves and the world. This can be self-fulfilling, with our expectations influencing what actually happens, for good or bad. For example, we might say to ourselves: “Things never get better” or “I’m useless” as a response to what others have said to us. It can help to notice these thoughts and try out new ones, such as “I can change things for the better” and “there is so much I can do”. Life can feel more interesting, lively and rewarding when we are open to trying new experiences and experimenting with how we do things. It could be as simple as what we have for breakfast or the route we walk with the dog. It could also need some planning, like an adventure holiday. We might find a new place that it turns out we love, discover a talent we didn’t know we had or meet someone new and important. Load videoBe curious: best mental health tips series Load videoPlan things to look forward to: best mental health tips series

 7. Plan things to look forward to Life throws all sorts at us, and during hard times, we may feel hopeless and not have the energy to plan for the future. Things to look forward to, including fun activities, can help us cope with difficult situations. Making plans for things we enjoy can increase our sense of hope, which is important for our mental health. Our plan could be for anything from small pleasures, like a cup of tea or your favourite TV programme or dance class, to a trip with family or friends, or seeing your favourite film, sports team or singer. Whether it’s a small or a big one, the important thing is to plan it. Decide what you’ll do, when and with who and, if needed, book it. It’s important to follow your plan – and repeat.

8. Learn to understand and manage your feelings Feeling very upset can interfere with our lives, making it hard to think clearly or work, relax, study, sleep or deal with other people. Many of us will know when we’re upset but not be sure what we’re feeling. Is it sadness, fear, shame, loneliness, anger or something else? We don’t always know why we’re feeling that way. It often helps to give our feelings our attention without judging them, without telling ourselves we’re stupid or weak to feel the way we do. It may seem strange and uncomfortable to do this. But practice and patience with ourselves will help. Naming what we’re feeling is also likely to help. So, we can say to ourselves: “I’m feeling really irritable today but also sad.” Another helpful step can be to work out what has led to us feeling this way – might it be a disagreement or disappointment that you’ve had? Some women might find that their periods sometimes (or always) affect their moods. Talking kindly to ourselves, in the same way, we might reassure a small child we care about, is also important. It can be very comforting. You might feel uncomfortable initially, but give it a go – it might just help. Some people feel better if they write down their feelings in a notebook or on their phone. You might want to think about how to protect your privacy before doing this. You could try repeating something positive about yourself a few times each day. (This is sometimes called a “mantra”. “I am on a journey, growing and developing”, for example.) Research shows this reduces negative thoughts and feelings. Some people also feel that an activity called “mindfulness” is helpful. Talking with someone else can also be helpful – and that’s our next suggestion…

9. Talk to someone you trust for support Many of us have learned to bottle things up inside us and try to ignore painful feelings. It can take a lot of courage to tell someone else how we’re feeling or what we’re finding hard, especially if we don’t usually do that kind of thing. Just talking things through with a person we trust can help and feel like a relief. Use your own words. It’ll make you feel safer and less alone, and that will help protect your mental health and prevent problems. Talking may also change how you see and feel about the situation in ways you find helpful. Another possible benefit is that talking may strengthen your relationship with the person you speak with. This will benefit both of you and make it easier for them to turn to you when they need support themselves. Information about talking with friends about your mental health Information about talking with a health professional about how you’re feeling

10. Be aware of using drugs and/or alcohol to cope with difficult feelings Many of us sometimes use drugs to block out “difficult” feelings such as sadness, fear or shame. No one wants to feel bad; for some people, drugs and/or alcohol offer temporary relief. Unfortunately, they don’t stop the feelings from returning and may make things worse or create other problems, including damage to mental and physical health, relationships, work, or study. If you think you may be using drugs or alcohol to cope with difficult feelings, it may help to notice it without beating yourself up about it. Being understanding and kind to yourself is good for your mental health. A possible next step could be to talk with someone you trust or one of the charities that offer confidential, free information and advice, including how to reduce the harmfulness of using drugs. Have a look at Talk To Frank, for example. You could also look for other ways of coping with painful feelings, such as getting help with the situation causing them, if possible, and finding a trusted person to talk with. This could be a friend or relative, a colleague, a person working for a charity helpline, your GP or a counsellor. Many charities around the country offer low-cost or free therapy. Find more detailed information about getting help with your mental health from many potential sources. Some people find it helps to go to “anonymous” meetings, such as Narcotics Anonymous, to share with others who have/had similar experiences. Some of these meetings are also now online.

11. Try to make the most of your money and get help with problem debts Money problems can be unavoidable, and we may have no choice about being in debt. Fears about paying debts, bills and essentials such as food and electricity can be very stressful. If we feel responsible for sending money back home or are the only earner in our household, we may feel burdened and isolated. Feelings like this can make it harder to cope with everything, including the money problems themselves. There are things we can do to help prevent financial problems causing issues with our mental health. We might feel ashamed of what we’re going through, which may make it harder to tell anyone, leaving us feeling alone with it. The truth is, we’re never alone with money problems. Research shows they are one of the most common and serious sources of stress for many people. Even if our finances are impossible to change, sharing our fears with another person who’s not involved and who you trust is likely to help us feel less alone and overwhelmed. This may help us to see new ways forward. If we are struggling financially, including with debt, it can be helpful to talk about it with an expert at a charity that offers free money advice. They are very experienced with what can go wrong with people’s finances and what may help. It can be really helpful to ask for help before any debt becomes unmanageable. But getting help will benefit everyone. Here is a list of organisations that offer free advice about financial problems, created by the charity Money and Mental Health. Talking with one of these free, expert advisers could also lead to you finding out about new possibilities, such as benefits you’re entitled to, your legal rights, ways to reduce the size of your debt repayments and other ways to save money.