Mood App
"Mood" is a companion app that tracks your thoughts and mood over time and using Natural Language Processing (NLP) will analyse your journal entries to surface previously overlooked, unrecognized, or unassociated impacts, whether positive or negative, helping users to lead happier, healthier, and more conscious lives.
Context
Potentially unsurprisingly, after having recently gone through a redundancy, a switch in country and beginning on a change in career, the biggest challenge I’ve faced has been managing my mental health. Even though I consider myself to be a pretty emotionally stable and mindful person, over the last 4 months I’d blink and find myself two or three days into a low mood spiral, having totally lost my motivation for training, studying and generally not being a hermit.
It was only after going to therapy that I was able to start being more conscious about the impacts certain events were having on my mood. Things that I hadn’t even noticed were actually causing me pretty significant swings in the way I felt and once I was able to better understand what they were, I was able to avoid them. Conversely, I was also able to be more conscious and deliberate with things that helped put me in a better frame of mind, which in combination played a large part in stabalising my mood and mitigating such large swings. Thing is, this is not easy work.
I spent months trying a number of different products (most of which I'll talk about below) to help make this process more manageable but never felt that any truly helped me do what I wanted to do. Sure they would allow me to track my mood over time and allow some rudimentary event analysis but what I wanted was something that would sort through what was going on in my life and help me understand what could be making me feel as shit as I did.
From that, the idea for Mood was born.
The Market
The Global Mental Health App Market has seen significant growth over the last few years and is expected to continue picking up pace until in 2032 the market is expected to be worth around $23.8B.
This growth is generally accepted to be because of a number of macro factors such as the knock on effects of the COVID years, unemployment rates, prevalence of social media, loss of general job security, global instability, regional conflicts and more. This, on top of the increasing cost of living crisis and negative (but improving) stigma around discussing mental health, means that people are looking for more affordable and accessible ways to effectively manage their mental health.
Competition
Research & Validation
Research Assumption:
Adults often experience mood swings and changes in emotions without being able to understand why which negatively impacts their life.
Research Statement:
Our aim is to confirm that adults have trouble noticing mood changes and that it is a sufficiently big challenge that warrants a solution.
Research Method:
In order to understand users experience and sentiments towards mood change, low mood and mood management we ran a series of Semi-Structured Qualitative Interviews (SSQI) over Google Hangouts.
Audience:
We spoke with 10 adults ranging from 24 to 45 years old, a mix of genders (60% male, 40% female) and locations (UK, Spain, Netherlands, Norway, Australia).
User Survey Questions:
https://bit.ly/MoodAppInterview
Success Criteria:
The assumption will be correct if over 30% of respondents experience mood changes frequently or more often
The assumption will be correct if over 30% of respondents find it difficult to understand why their mood swings occur
The assumption will be correct if over 50% of respondents believe that understanding their mood swings would improve their overall well-being
The assumption will be correct if over 40% of respondents would be interested in a tool that could help them better understand and manage their mood swings
Results & Insights
Success Criteria Results:
🟢 The assumption will be correct if over 30% of respondents experience mood changes frequently or more often (40%)
🟢 The assumption will be correct if over 30% of respondents find it difficult to understand why their mood swings occur (50%)
🟢 The assumption will be correct if over 50% of respondents believe that understanding their mod swings would improve their overall well-being (60%)
🟢 The assumption will be correct if over 40% of respondents would be interested in a tool that could help them better understand and manage their mood swings (70%)
Mood Experience Insights
Many users might report difficulty in recognizing early signs of mood changes. They often realize a shift only after experiencing a significant low mood.
Users often struggle to pinpoint the exact causes of their low moods.
Users frequently mention feeling lethargic and lacking energy during periods of low mood, which affects their motivation to engage in physical activities or daily tasks.
Users generally feel that their quality of life diminishes during low mood periods, affecting their overall sense of happiness and fulfillment.
Most users believe understanding the reasons behind mood changes is crucial for managing their mental health effectively. They feel it helps in identifying patterns and triggers.
Users value self-awareness and believe that understanding their mood can lead to better coping strategies and improved overall well-being.
Mood Tracking Insight
Some users use informal methods such as keeping a mental note, while others might use apps or journals inconsistently.
Users often feel overwhelmed by the amount of detail some apps require for each mood entry.
Users who use pen & paper most like the tactile feel of writing and find it meditative.
Users sometimes struggle with being emotionally honest when logging their mood, especially during low periods.
Users always have concerns about the privacy and security of their personal mood data when using apps.
Users can sometimes wonder 'what's the point' when in the middle of a low mood during logging and journaling.
Product Requirement Insight
Users desire a quick, straightforward method for logging their mood with minimal effort to ensure consistency.
Users prefer an app that integrates with calendars, fitness trackers, and other health apps for a comprehensive view of lifestyle factors affecting mood.
Maintaining consistent mood logging is challenging; users favor interactive features like gamification, community support.
Privacy is paramount, with users wanting clear information on data protection, access, and enhanced privacy features, including local data storage options.
Users appreciate features that identify patterns and common triggers based on their mood entries, providing actionable insights.
Users show strong interest in an app providing real-time insights and reminders to consistently log mood changes.
User Persona
User Stories
As a user, I want to record daily journal entries so that I can track my mood and thoughts over time.
As a user, I want to rate my mood on a scale after each journal entry so that I can quantify my emotional state.
As a user, I want to quickly and easily record my thoughts and mood so that I log more often.
As a user, I want to view a history of my mood ratings so that I can see patterns and trends over time.
As a user, I want to receive insights and analysis of my mood trends so that I can understand what triggers positive or negative moods.
As a user, I want to receive daily reminders to write a journal entry so that I can maintain a consistent tracking habit.
As a user, I want to receive suggestions for activities that could improve my mood based on my journal entries and trends so that I can improve my mood.
As a user, I want my journal entries and mood data to be securely stored and private so that I feel safe using the app.
As a user, I want to export my journal entries and mood data so that I can share them with a therapist or keep a backup.
As a user, I want to see graphical representations of my mood over time so that I can easily visualize my emotional patterns.
As a user, I want to set customizable prompts for my journal entries so that I have guidance on what to write about each day.
As a user, I want to connect with a community of peers for support and shared experiences so that I feel less alone in my mood journey.
As a user, I want to integrate Mood with other apps (e.g., fitness trackers, calendar) so that I can correlate my mood with other activities and events.
