Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting more than 40 million adults. Over the past few years, monitoring and the subsequent treatment of anxiety has posed several challenges.

The world has become increasingly aware of the need for more ways to not only discuss, but to aid, people who are struggling with mental health challenges. While many techniques have been proposed and implemented, the question remains of how technology can play a role in reducing stress, anxiety, and ultimately, depression. This is an even greater challenge when it comes to helping students who are facing greater mental obstacles than previous generations.

Well, inventor Robin Stewart of Dirac Links, LLC, has come up with a potential solution that can help students in real-time not only identify stressors, but develop customizable ways to heal through the use of technology. Already the owner of several patents, he recently spoke with the PW Perspective about a new concept that they created.

“I’m a DC native but my dad moved us to Alexandria, where I went to T.C. Williams. I’ve always had an inquisitive mind, and was a constant thinker, so every time I would come home from Old Dominion University with these designs, my father would encourage me to patent my ideas. I started doing that and the majority of my ideas have been centered around ‘how can I help make life easier for people?'”

“My first patent came out of a necessity, as I lost a friend to a horrible motorcycle accident and created the jacket lights to help riders become easier to see, especially in difficult weather conditions.”

Being an inventor wasn’t his only passion, as he also taught in Prince William County schools, and it gave birth to his latest idea.

“I taught mathematics with middle schoolers for 15 years, and I started seeing this paradigm shift regarding what was happening in their lives. I learned that as an education, you have to develop a rapport with children, and it’s about showing them how much we care. As a result, I was able to get them to change the trajectory of their thinking. Sadly, one student I knew committed suicide, as well as a former workout buddy of mine. It made me pump my breaks and say to myself that I had to do something.”

He continues. “When it comes to students having direct access to help them in times of crisis, there’s a huge void. If a student needs talk therapy, or if they need counseling, it’s hard for them to say in the moment, ‘I need this right away.’ So, with the sensors, we started figuring out how to make it easier for young adults to address those problems when they begin.”

“You know how they have smart watches? I contacted Dr. Marquez who is at the VA and asked him how the sensors could be used to interface with young people? I also reached out to George Mason and Marymount University engineering classes to show them what we were doing. We also got student involvement to help us determine what was the best way to ascertain their needs.”

So, how does it work?

“Our sensors connect students to licensed health care professionals, because the ratio to counselor to students should be 250:1, but that is way too high, and in some schools it’s 400:1. Our purpose is to create a platform for communities of color to provide a resolution when they need it most”

“We started right before the pandemic, so it helped us to accelerate the concept once it began. It’s as the old saying goes, ‘thoughts become thangs,’ and as I was talking to the doctors and clinicians, they said to me that the greater the emotional trauma, the greater impact that it has on you. For example, if someone is afraid of snakes, and one shows up, it’s going to produce a neurological and chemical response in the body, resulting in fight or flight syndrome.”

“The way the process works is that we’ve created wristbands, and a d-ring that learns to detect, treat, and respond to daily physical as well as mental stress patterns emitted by the user.”

The interactive platform incorporates psychoacoustics, psycho-imagery, and cognitive reframing techniques to aid in the managements and treatments of anxiety, chronic stress, and emotional disorders. What the wearable systems will do is also intuitively deliver methods to aid in physical and mental well-being.

“When you’re talking to a behavioral therapist, they’ll play some frequencies, and those vibrations will help to calm the individual down. However, it’s trial and error because they don’t know which specific ones will work. They don’t have a biometric scan which will show them what they are specifically dealing with at that time.”

The platform, Robin states, is designed to do just that. The sensors contain scenario-specific algorithms tailored to the individual’s multi-stress scenarios. “We create a data profile to determine every action of an individual’s every activity. Whether it’s walking, running, going up and down stairs, everyone’s different in how they approach each activity.”

If there’s an anomaly, the band has an automated customization feature that allows the user to understand why they’re experiencing stress patterns at the moment and provides a visual and rhythmic approach to create a sense of calm. It will even go to the point of having a background suitable to their liking, such as a beach or lake. A countdown ensues, and the frequency will be automatically played, giving a sensory feel that specifically caters to their biorhythms.

Currently, the platform is on Android, and Dirac Links is testing it to be iOS compatible.

How do they address HIPAA laws? It’s approved by the parent first, so the students will be allowed to participate in case studies to have the band cater to their specific levels.

Another impressive feature is that when the wristband detects high levels of stress, there will be a customizable image that can communicate with the user to provide a more personal touch. It even helps change the lights in the home for a more calming mood effect.

“Our goal is to have it ready by September on both Android and iOS,” says Robin. “Most importantly, we want to start getting it to the help the most vulnerable populations.”

What is his motivation for putting this all together? “I follow Philippians 4:8,” he says.” Whatever is true, honest, just pure and of a good report, think on these things.”

“Growing up, we didn’t have the visualization, and now we have so much auditory stimuli as well as the visual, our minds can get over stimulated. If we’re able to get an individual to understand there are options to help, then let’s get them the help they need.”

“Now, the clinician can see what they’re going through, and have a custom-designed video to help see the quantitative data to provide a solution. It will give the child a positive stimulus.”

He wants to place this in as many schools as possible in Prince William County, and hopefully beyond.

Check out their website for more information.