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HEALTH93
COSMOPOLITAN.CO.ZA | SEPTEMBER 2019spokesperson did not
respond to a request
for comment by press
time.) Instead, Woebot
wanted to know how
I felt that very moment.
From a drop-down
menu, I selected
‘anxious’ – I was
seriously freaking out
about college finals,
graduation, and my
side hustles as a
freelance writer and
an Etsy shop owner.
It had me write down
some of my negative
thoughts so we could
reframe them together.
‘What if I don’t get all
my assignments done?’
I wrote. ‘Does this
thought assume things
will turn out badly?’ it
asked while explaining
a mental distortion
trap called fortune-
telling. ‘The truth is,
we can’t tell the future,
but it *feels like* this
outcome has already
occurred.’ Huh.
Strange but helpful?Getting weirder
The more I used the
bot, though, the more it
seemed, well, robotic.
The same pattern
happened every day:Between10amand
5pm,I’dgeta version
of a ‘u up?’text:‘Hiya,
I hopeyou’rehaving
a lovelyday,Kara.’
I’dselectmycurrent
emotionalstatebefore
launchingintoa CBT-
relatedlesson.But
sometimesit felt
likeWoebotwasn’t
reallylisteningto
me.Onetime,when
I said,‘I feelstressed,’it
responded,‘I’mexcited
to getto knowyou
better.’Cool.Thanks.
Anotherkindof
annoyingthing:I was
onlypromptedto
givemythoughtsat
certainpointsin a
convo.Forexample,
afterselectingmy
emotionfortheday,
I wasableto expand
onthatin myown
words.Butduring
a lotof ourchat,unless
I tappeda separate
‘typea response’
button,I wasstuck
withprewrittenrepliesto keepthesession
going.AndwhenI did
optto typemyfeels,
sometimesI’dget
a weirdresponse,
like‘Wouldyouhelp
a Woebotoutanduse
thebuttonsbelow?’Emergencyalert
Althoughtheexperience
waswaydifferentfrom
talkingto a person,
Woebotdoeshave
a smartsafeguard
to preventself-harm.
Story:whenI asked,
‘Whatif I can’tfinish
everything?’my
botsaid,‘Mycrisis
systemshavebeen
triggeredbecause
I’verecognisedan
emergency.Areyou
in crisis?’At first,I was
confused.‘Wait,am
I in a crisis!?’I worried.
I tapped‘No,’then
realisedI’dunwittingly
setoffsomesortof
emergencyalgorithm.
Woebotexplained,
‘Okay.Mycreatorshave taught me to listen
carefully in case you
need help. That’s why
I trigger my crisis
setting when you
say things like “finish
everything”.’ If this
had been an actual
emergency, I could’ve
typed in ‘SOS’ to
access crisis resources
immediately. Soon we
were back to chatting
about my deadlines.But was it worth it?
After four days,
I tried to interview
my bot on its therapy
qualifications – you
know, for journalism.
When I asked, ‘Are
you a therapist?’
Woebot didn’t really
understand. It said,
‘Got it. Okay... I’ll
tell my creators, and
they’ll try and design
a better process.’
By the end of the
week, I was tired
of talking about my
stress 24/7. The CBT
exercises helped me
create a temporary
calm, but then again,
so does seeing
a human therapist.
Ultimately, I decided
to ignore my pseudo
shrink unless I needed
a quick hit of CBT.
The rest of the time
(sorry, bot), I just left
it on read.Expect once-a-day checkinsabout
your emotional stateandwhat’s
making you feel sometypeofway,
followed by activities ikesetting
positive intentions (freeoniTunes
and Google Pay).YOUPER
A cutepenguininvitesyoutochatabout
yourmood,thentheapp(freeoniTunes
andGooge P ay)eadsyouthroughCBT
exercises.Andfor$30(aboutR460),you
canchatwitha reahumancounseor
onitsp atform.WYSAOTHERAPPSITRIED...‘This therapy is
really untested,’
says Dr John
Torous, director of
digital psychiatry
at Beth Israel
Deaconess
Medical Center.
Some initial
research (like one
study paid for by
Woebot, FWIW)
suggests chatbot
apps can reduce
symptoms of
depression or
anxiety in college
students, but
there’s no hard
evidence they’re
helpful for others.
If you’re worried
that you might
have depression
or another mental-
health condition,
you should see an
actual doctor to
make sure you’re
getting effective
treatment, says
Torous. ‘Then,
with a primary
plan in place,
these can help
supplement your
treatment.’The more I used the bot,
though, the more it seemed,
well, robotic. Every day
followed the same pattern.If you or someone
you know is considering
suicide,callSADAG’s
emergencyline:
0800 567 567.S O M E
R E A L
T A L K