Tired Minds from COVID-19... "Diagnose and Treat with an App"

Ministry of Health and Welfare Supports Psychological Stability with 'Maeum Program'... Distributes Depression Self-Assessment App

On the 13th, as the number of new COVID-19 cases approached 200 with 191 confirmed, marking the highest in 70 days, citizens are receiving diagnostic tests at the Yeongdeungpo-gu Public Health Center screening clinic in Seoul. The number of new cases has remained in the triple digits for six consecutive days since the 8th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] A mobile application (app) has been released to soothe weary minds and support psychological stability amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has developed and distributed the mobile app 'Maeum Program' to support the mental health recovery of people experiencing psychological difficulties due to COVID-19. This app is available for anyone to download and use from app stores.

The Maeum Program app provides guidance on psychological stabilization and recovery methods for post-traumatic stress disorder (trauma) or insomnia that may occur after experiencing a crisis event, as well as coping methods for grief responses after losing family members or close people.

It offers various training methods that help relieve physical and mental tension, such as diaphragmatic breathing, muscle relaxation training, and meditation. It also introduces the 'Safe Zone Training' method, which helps users feel mental stability by recalling places they have visited before that felt safe or comfortable.

After signing up, users can practice stabilization techniques and then view and manage their practice history within the app.

The Maeum Program supports voice guidance and videos to help users easily follow the training. For additional information or mental health assessments, it conveniently links directly to the National Trauma Center website or mental health evaluations.

To provide psychological support amid the prolonged COVID-19 situation, the 'Mental Health Self-Check' app and the 'Maseong-ui Todak Todak' app are also available.

The Mental Health Self-Check app offers primary screening and secondary in-depth screening for major mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety disorders through self-assessment. It provides interpretations of screening results and information on each disorder. Users can check their mental health status changes by reviewing their self-assessment history, enabling early detection of mental illnesses and prevention of relapse through continuous monitoring.

The Maseong-ui Todak Todak app is a program that helps regulate emotions by correcting distorted or negative cognitive and thinking patterns in problematic situations, thereby alleviating depressive symptoms. It uses cognitive-behavioral therapy methods by exploring cognitive errors of the protagonist through stories related to daily experiences and encouraging users to think about appropriate coping strategies.

If additional counseling is needed, users can call the 'Psychological Counseling Hotline (1577-0199)' for consultation.

Yeom Min-seop, Director of Mental Health Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, “As the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has left the public physically and mentally exhausted, we expect that these mobile apps will help people check their own minds and take care of their mental health.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.