Using AI to Support Your Vitality
AI can be a creative and useful resource to improve our wellness.
AI in the mental health field feels a bit taboo. After all, our work is built on human relationships and made possible only by the assurance of confidentiality.
Still, there are some exciting ways to use this tool to support your wellbeing. I’ve compiled a list of how you can put ChatGPT to work for good.
Disclaimer: while AI tools like ChatGPT by OpenAI can offer tips and insights that can support your wellbeing, it is not a replacement for professional mental healthcare. Always seek the guidance of a licensed mental health professional to diagnose, treat, or manage mental health concerns. AI should be seen as a supplemental resource to assist with wellness.
Personally, I’m excited by the ways we can use our own human creativity combined with this technological innovation to improve our vitality. When using AI as a supplemental resource for our wellness, it can save us time and is as accessible as our smart phones. That said, you simply can’t erase the absolute necessity of the human element. In my findings, even ChatGPT’s answers and solutions largely include seeing a therapist, joining support groups or group therapy. We need each other, and there’s no cheat code or hack for that!
Let’s take a look at some ways we can use AI to support your mental health and wellbeing.
I’m going to be focusing specifically on using ChatGPT by OpenAI because it’s what I’ve experimented with the most and I appreciate that it’s available for free!
Plan a customized self-care day.
I don’t know about you, but many times when I have a chunk of free time I feel completely overwhelmed by how I can optimize such a scarce resource. I can stumble into a bit of analysis paralysis thinking of how to make the most of my day. Now get this: you can prompt AI to create a detailed itinerary for a thorough self-care day including your favorite ways to unwind. Here’s an example of how to prompt ChatGPT: “Create an itinerary for a self-care day at home from 8am to 4pm. Include relaxation activities, mindfulness, yoga, aromatherapy, and journaling prompts.” You will be impressed by what it can create for you and how much brain power it saves you. Now grab your cup of hot tea and enjoy your day of bliss!
Interpersonal effectiveness.
Use ChatGPT to help you fine-tune your communication skills when you need to have hard conversations, send a tough text message, or draft a direct-yet-kind email. In the heat of our emotions, whether it be fear, anger or anxiety, it can feel hard to say what we need to clearly and concisely. As my dear friend back in Houston says, “say what you mean, and don’t say it mean.”
Get customized journal prompts for self-reflection.
This is another great way you can use AI to save precious brain power while continuing to amplify creativity, insight, and wellbeing. Here’s an example of how to create a prompt for ChatGPT: “Create 3 journal prompts to help with self-development.” It will create detailed questions that offer self-reflection, cultivate self-confidence and direct thoughts towards gratitude and personal strengths. So handy if you know you need to do some external processing but need a little nudge towards what to write about.
Learn helpful life skills in a way that is accessible for all people.
You can learn mindfulness, meditation and relaxation techniques and even CBT skills that are specific to your exact stressor. You can have a chat AI walk you through cognitive restructuring and highlight possible cognitive distortions you may be falling into. Again— I can’t stress enough that this is a resource and not a replacement for therapy or mental health care. That said, it is truly amazing to have a resource available any time of day- great for someone ruminating and unable to go to sleep. It can direct the user towards apps like Insight Timer or Simple Habit, or helpful books like The Body Keeps the Score and Burnout. What may be a potential drawback? Again, we often need co-regulation and the human element to help achieve a deep sense of ease or to reach a place of insight.
In pursuit of living our fullest, healthiest, most meaningful existence— I hope to see more safe, ethical and exciting ways technology can help us get a littler closer to these goals.
