Dr Paul Morgan, Deputy CEO of SANE Australia, says the app – named Talking Anxiety – offers users the chance to hear from others who may be suffering similar problems.
“It's a really personal, private thing when you're sat there on your sofa on your phone or iPad. It's like getting a private briefing.”
The app provides basic information about anxiety disorders, including details about how to get help and how sufferers can help themselves, as well as a video library of people who have experienced anxiety disorders first hand.
Les Zigmanis, a SANE ambassador who first struggled with depression and anxiety in the late 1980s when he was a teenager, believes that the many resources available today are a vast improvement on those of 20 years ago.
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“It really helps to know that what you have is treatable and common. When I first saw a doctor I was 25, and when he said that [what I was feeling] was normal, that was such a huge relief.”
Talking Anxiety: The new app that aims to tell anxiety sufferers they're not alone.
That moment of making contact proved a major turning point for Les. Until then, he says, “there was information out there that I wasn't able to access.”
“The app is a really good way to get an understanding of what you might be feeling.”
While it shouldn't replace seeking professional help, he says, it's a good first step for those not sure of what action they should take.
The information on the app can also be used to help family and friends of those suffering anxiety disorders understand what they might be going through, he adds.
“It's a good bridge to give family some empathy. I think ignorance is a really important thing to deal with, with depression and anxiety."
SANE Australia has a range of resources to assist people enquiring about mental health problems and related issues. Click on www.sane.org or call the helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263).
