Written by Lucy Peters
Anxiety disorders make up the largest amount of mental illness cases in the U.S., affecting 18.1 percent of the population each year, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Anxiety disorders can develop from various risk factors including genetics, personality, brain chemistry, life events, and the environment you live in. When left untreated, anxiety disorders can lead to other mental health problems, like depression, or even physical health problems, like high blood pressure. Thankfully, anxiety disorders are highly treatable and can be avoided by making some lifestyle changes. One thing that is changing how people deal with anxiety disorders is smart home technology. Thanks to new innovations, there are ways that smart home technologies can help people reduce their anxiety.
They take the stress out of home management
A potential source of anxiety and stress for homeowners is having to worry about whether or not some important home appliances or components are working properly. With smart home technologies, you don’t need to worry much about that. Most smart home technologies work independently and are built to work efficiently with as little maintenance as possible. For example, with a properly wired smart thermostat, you can relax knowing that your internal home temperature is always at your preferred level. You can use it to monitor or change the temperature in your home even when thousands of miles away.
You can use some smart home technologies to relax
An anxiety attack can happen at any time when you are at home. If you suffer from an anxiety attack, you may require immediate guidance in dealing with it, which is where a smart speaker comes in. There are skills designed for smart speakers that can help you tackle some of your anxiety problems. For example, Mindscape is a free therapy skill for Google Home and Amazon Alexa that can help you relax by taking you through breathing exercises and asking you about the issues causing your mental distress. Through the smart speakers, the skill can offer you targeted advice on how to overcome what’s bothering you so that you can reduce your anxiety.
They boost safety and security at home
Feeling perfectly secure at home is vital for people with anxiety disorders. You can use various smart home devices to boost security and safety at home. For example, smart cameras paired with smart sensors can keep an eye on your home at all times and alert you and the authorities immediately when there is an intruder. Similarly, smart fire alarms continually monitor your home and alert you when there is a fire so that you can spring into action and save yourself from property loss or injuries. Smart carbon monoxide detectors also give you peace of mind knowing that there are no traces of the dangerous gas in your home.
Anxiety disorders can make it hard to relax even in your own home. Luckily, you can invest in various smart home technologies that can drastically reduce your anxieties so that you can live a stress-free life at home.
Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals. The program in online and independent study and open to qualified professionals.