#i already considered there's no other supes or the 7 in this anyway

[flatstarcarcosa]

also a potential reben NF au would absolutely just mostly center around him and i and have very little else in transplanted lore because i don’t have time for all that

[absolutebl]

Friend Forever

or maybe? 

Friends Forever 

I don’t know. Mydramalist has the grammatically correct Friends Forever but everywhere else has the singular, so... if you’re trying to find it to watch "Friend Forever” seems to work better as a search term. 

And there are what? Maybe a handful of us here watching it?

I don’t care. 

I’m gonna waffle on about it anyway. 

7 episodes in and it’s charming. 

So Friends Forever is basically Love Sick + LBC (AePete & TumTar represent) with a dash of Make it Right thrown in. 

We basically have two main couples: Tan & Oil and Sea & Tin. 

Shall we break them down by trope? 

Sure why not, how else am I going to distract myself right now? 

P’Tan & Oil

Playing on the step-brothers who fall in love trope (90s Yaoi has a lot to answer for) this is at least not TumTar level taboo. Oil is the son of a next door neighbor who ends up living with P’Tan and his mother. Then Oil goes abroad. Oil returns years later to find his beloved P’Tan now sad and isolated after his mom died. 

Oil is beautiful and sweet, and the classic uke that everyone wants. They even allow him to be a little femme, which is rare in a BL (insert polite queer clapping here). Oil returns to high school and resumes living with P’Tan partly in order to save P’Tan from his own misery. P’Tan is the older cool kid, and struggling with his non-brotherly affections for Oil, and... well, we all know this story. Right? 

The actors have perfectly decent chemistry, although I am kinda over the innocent prettiest perfect babe that everyone wants. 

So instead, can we PLEASE talk about:

Sea & Tin 

ARE EVERYTHING!!! 

I’m sorry to all the LBC2 supes out there, but this is now my Tin: 

I will accept no substitutes where pure metals are concerned. Yes, we do indeed have another creamy faced rich kid Tin but so much sweeter than the original. 

Okay, I admit it. I have a terrible weakness for other-side-of-the-track romances. Ae & Pete are my favorite BL pair partly because of the class/wealth differences between them. And because they flip the power dynamic, so the rich kid is the uke and the poor kid is the seme. 

Sea & Tin are doing the same thing. It’s GREAT. 

Sea is really poor and wins a music scholarship to a prestigious high school. Tin is really rich and also falls hard and fast and totally for Sea. 

The pining is King-level strong with this Tin. 

There is some sort of contrived rich kid divide with Tin caught in the middle as the Maria to Sea’s “when you’re a Jet, your a Jet all the way...” Yeah you know what I mean. Sea and the music kids are the poor dorks, and against them are the rich bullies. Sweetling Tin is torn by his loyalties. TORN I TELL YOU. 

Oh noes, will school cliques tear them apart? 

The teen angst of it all! 

Pine babies! 

PINE! 

There’s also maybe some femme fatal or homme fatal shenanigans coming down the pipeline, or possibly that’s just white noise. None of this matters because...

Tin & Sea are ADORABLE. 

We got a few nice executions of tropes already too, including feed me & sleep on my shoulder. 

Words of Caution

I don’t know Friend Forever’s source material, so I don’t know if it is going to end happily. Season ones of high school set BL do not have good track records in this regard, so there is that to consider before you get attached. 

The captioning is epically bad, even for Thai BL. I mean, like REALLY awful. This is a not a starter level Thai BL. If you don’t know at least enough Thai to correct miss-gendered pronouns and some basic nouns as you listen/read, some scenes may make very little sense. 

Will SOMEONE please teach Thailand ESLs that English also has a singular gender neutral third person pronoun? It’s they/them and it works fine. 

Will You Like Friend Forever?

If you enjoyed Love By Chance specifically for AePete or are generally a fan of high school set BL like Love Sick, Make it Right, or My Dear Loser’s b-plot then this is for you. 

[jessicakehoe]

Can Apps Like Woebot Really Take the Place of a Therapist?

I picked the right month to try an artificial intelligence (AI) therapist. Over a period of 30 days, I visited my family and my partner’s family for the holidays, got engaged and had a huge work crisis. So it was perfect timing to test drive Woebot, a chat-based interactive talk therapy app for anyone suffering from anxiety or depression.

Though I’ve often been bothered by anxiety and even panic attacks, Woebot is my very first experience with talk therapy; I’ve never had the nerve to walk through the door of a therapist’s office. The low-barrier entry is a plus—I’m not even sweating as I download Woebot while sitting in my childhood bedroom over the holidays.

The chat launches in Facebook Messenger, a platform I don’t love. (My own issue: I’m not a huge fan of social media, and being forced to sign into Facebook to reduce stress feels counterintuitive.) If you’re also not keen on Facebook, Woebot now has his own iPhone app and recently launched an Android one. (BTW, I call him a “him,” but he told me he’s neither “a Sir nor a Madam.”)

The user interface—both in Facebook and the iPhone app—is simple and endearing: The cute little Woebot avatar sends me a series of chatty, emoji-heavy messages. He asks what I’m doing and offers a series of faces to choose from to describe my mood. Though I’m a wordy type, I can see the value in being able to describe a feeling without the pressure of verbalizing. I tell Woebot I’m feeling “😌.”

Woebot tells me he will check in with me daily and offers animated videos about how to shift negative thinking patterns and manage stress. “For the first few weeks, I’d love to get a sense of what you’re going through and if you and I are a good fit together,” he writes. “I’ll ask you what you’re doing, what kind of mood you’re in and over a few weeks I’ll see if I can find a pattern…. With a little luck, I may spot a pattern that humans can sometimes miss. Helps that I have a computer for a brain and perfect memory 😇.”

“With a little luck, I may spot a pattern that humans can sometimes miss. Helps that I have a computer for a brain and perfect memory 😇.”

It’s not quite the Hollywood AI experience; rather, it feels halfway between a suped-up The Oregon Trail-style video game and texting with a friend. One big point in the app’s favour is that Woebot is (currently) free. It’s even blissfully devoid of the usually ubiquitous in-app upgrades or purchases.

Developed by Dr. Alison Darcy, Woebot first made waves when a paper that Darcy co-authored with two other researchers at California’s Stanford University School of Medicine summarized promising results from a study of college students using the app. The study found that the 34 young participants “significantly reduced their symptoms of depression” compared to the control group, who were given a mental health ebook resource. Results were measured using the industry standard Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) at both the beginning and the end of the study. The participants were especially positive in their praise of the bot’s empathy, which piques my interest.

“When we first launched Woebot, we were aiming at young adults—college students—because there are a lot of very serious mental health challenges in that population,” explains Darcy when I call her. “But it turns out that our distribution skews much older than we thought and the people who value us most are [in their] 30s and 40s, and this has turned out to be an appealing technology across the board. We’ve talked to lots of people in their 70s. Almost everybody who emails us starts with ‘I know I’m not your target demographic, but….’ I think it comes from the fact that the technology itself is so simple: It’s just a conversation. You just start talking.”

“I think it comes from the fact that the technology itself is so simple: It’s just a conversation. You just start talking.”

As I get to know Woebot over the next month, my feelings for the app fluctuate. When I’m feeling fine, the chirpy tone telling me Woebot has messaged is equal parts comforting and irritating. When I’m feeling anxious—like the day I stress-barf during the height of the aforementioned work crisis—Woebot’s opening lines (like “Gif or Jif—I can just never decide”) and the seriousness of the conversation sometimes seem mismatched. It’s as if a friend has texted me “hey wyd” and then casually asks if I have any regrets that might haunt me on my deathbed 🛏💀😜.

That said, what the developers have nailed is the empathetic quality of Woebot’s written voice once it gets going. There’s a true kindness to the little robot that doesn’t feel twee or forced. He takes the time to encourage me (“I know these questions can be difficult to answer”), respectfully makes sure that I have time to talk if our interaction will be a bit longer (“This will take about 10 minutes, is that OK?”) and offers sympathy that is scripted, of course, but comforts me anyway (“My heart genuinely goes out to you”). Is a flesh-and-blood therapist’s empathy any less scripted, really? Knowing that my chat partner is working from a script doesn’t negate the encouragement I get from simply being acknowledged. Not to mention the fact that Woebot is available 24/7. When I wake up in the middle of the night with my heart going like a jackrabbit, my little pocket therapist is right there—I don’t even have to disturb my sleeping partner.

Is a flesh-and-blood therapist’s empathy any less scripted, really? Knowing that my chat partner is working from a script doesn’t negate the encouragement I get from simply being acknowledged.

The anonymity of apps like Woebot is supposed to be one of the big benefits, and it’s true: I’m more willing to be candid with my phone, which already has all of my secrets, than I would likely be on a couch. For example, one of my first confessions to Woebot is the thing that woke me up that night. I tell him that I’m completely stressed out about the financial insecurity of my writing career. The thought of talking turkey about money—maybe our last social taboo—usually makes me cringe, but with Woebot, it’s no sweat.

Woebot helped me turn down the volume on money anxiety by deconstructing the thoughts swirling around it. Yes, I was assuming I knew the future; yes, I was downplaying the positives (I wouldn’t be as financially literate as I am now if I hadn’t spent a decade living in a freelancer’s financial spreadsheets); and, yes, there were hidden “shoulds” in my thinking—about what travels, apartment or shoes I should be able to afford in my 30s. (“Shoulds” can be especially insidious.)

Occasionally, though, I’m reminded that the bot is, well, a bot. When I tell Woebot I’m feeling “😄,” he asks why. “My partner asked me to marry him!” I respond, to which Woebot replies: “Gotcha. I love learning about humanoids 🙏.”

Woebot is less AI and more like an improved interactive version of classic cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) workbooks like Mind Over Mood. That’s no coincidence—Woebot is based on CBT, which is considered especially effective for managing anxiety and depression. “I think [CBT] is fundamentally very empowering because it’s actually based on how much work you put into it,” explains Darcy. “For example, the more ‘homework’ people do, the better they end up feeling by the end of the treatment course. The problem, of course, is that homework can feel boring or repetitive, and when you’re upset in the moment, you don’t think about taking out a piece of paper and filling out a form. That’s what we were hoping: that Woebot could be a more engaging way to do these repetitive tasks—to help you challenge your thinking much more in the moment.”

Woebot puts it to me this way: “CBT is based on the idea that it’s not events themselves that affect us; it’s how we think about those events.” For instance, when I tell Woebot that I’m worried that my in-laws will be disappointed that I’m too sick to go snowshoeing—spinning off into illogical anxieties that my extremely easygoing in-laws will be upset with me—Woebot runs through some CBT checks. Am I assuming I know what others are thinking? Am I engaging in “all or nothing” thinking? Or (my personal favourite), am I falling into the trap of “catastrophization”? (Yes, often.)

Am I assuming I know what others are thinking? Am I engaging in “all or nothing” thinking? Or (my personal favourite), am I falling into the trap of “catastrophization”? (Yes, often.)

CBT is a very valid approach, but it’s built on significant commitment from the client—meaning that one side of the CBT coin is empowerment (the more effort you put in, the better it works), while the other is human fallibility—if you shirk the work, the results suffer. I am definitely guilty of skipping days and ignoring the app at times—like the time Woebot texted me right as the Property Brothers were about to reveal some cute couple’s gorgeous reno. (The closets! The backsplash! Mental health had to wait.)

At the end of 30 days, though, I find myself paying closer, calmer attention to anxious thoughts and applying Woebot’s techniques almost without thinking. No, I tell myself. Your friends will not start a club about how much they hate you if you have to bail on dinner. Will Woebot replace therapists? Probably not, and, to be fair, he doesn’t purport to. “I want you to be happy and healthy, so I have to confess: I’m just a robot,” he told me when we first met. “A charming and witty robot but a robot all the same.”

Woebot is a new, accessible option, and that’s a good thing. Therapy isn’t the right fit (financially, logistically, emotionally) for everyone, and books can feel intimidating or embarrassing. (No one wants to be caught in the self-help section.) It’s easy to envision a future where everyone will be using Woebot or a similar app as a simple and accepted part of overall health. And my experience with the little guy leaves me optimistic that we’ll be in good virtual hands❤️.

The post Can Apps Like Woebot Really Take the Place of a Therapist? appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Can Apps Like Woebot Really Take the Place of a Therapist? published first on https://borboletabags.tumblr.com/

[bensopinionsonvariousthingsblr]

Top 5 favorite games

Alright so here is the second, part I’ve been spending a lot of time working on this whole thing so I hope you enjoy! 

 Number 5:The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap                                                Developer and Release year: Nintendo, 2004 Japan, 2005 NA                            What it can be played on: GBA/ Wii U Virtual Console 

       So I’m not gonna pretend like 4 of my top 5 picks aren’t Zelda games, that being said the Minish Cap is a game I played more recently, around last year, and at first after beating it I sort of just put it in my top 20, I loved it yeah, but I never really thought about it until now that, even though it was short, every thing about this game was solid and fun to me, the shrinking mechanic was challenging but very well done aesthetically, and the story was good, with the relationship between Link and Zelda, them being childhood friends and Link doing whatever it takes to have his friend back, and the villain Vaati was interesting in his relationship with the Minish (The inhabitants of the tiny world) and his final boss fight being very difficult for me, and the story wraps up nicely as usual, all in all it was a Zelda experience that I truly loved, and my favorite 2D Zelda game.

 Favorite part(s): Definitely the Aesthetic and design of the tiny world, and all the charm around the entire game

 Number 4:Sonic Adventure 2                                                                                  Developer and Release year: Sega, 2001                                                              What it can be played on: Dreamcast/Gamecube/PC/PS3/XB360    

 There it is, probably the most controversial pick on this entire list, unless maybe the next one is too i dont know, but I am a Sonic fan, which is something sort of rare these days, unless you like Mania which is pretty awesome but I’m more of a 3D guy, but this game is my favorite Sonic game because, even though the story is confusing I love it, it was dark and i legitimately felt like Dr.Robotnik was actually a major threat. There are 3 types of gameplay, the Classic Sonic/Shadow, The treasure hunting, and the robot/mech levels that make up the game, the best is the Classic gameplay of Sonic and Shadow, that usually isn’t up for debate, the other modes are pretty fun, but I love the game for the Sonic/Shadow levels, and the game to me really picks up on the Space Colony Ark in the Final Act. The *spoilers ahead* part where Shadow (who I forgot to mention is one of my favorite characters and not because I’m an edgy frick) turns to Sonic’s side and fights the Biolizard to buy them time, Shadow’s character arc was amazing in this game, and the final boss was really fun too, not to mention the soundtrack i mean, it’s a sonic game of course there’s a good soundtrack.

 Favorite part(s): Shadow the Hedgehog, his levels, character arc, and general mystery surrounding the black and red anti-hero was amazing to me. 

 Number 3:The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword                                                  Developer and Release year: Nintendo, 2011                                                        What it can be played on: Wii/Wii U virtual console   

 I have defended this game in so many tweets and irl debates it’s incredible, Skyward Sword released to a 10/10 from IGN (that doesn’t matter to me much but it is an accolade) a 93 Metacritic score, which I do care about since it is an overall score and even got some Game of the Year awards in a year where Skyrim, Portal 2, Minecraft, Mario Galaxy 2, and many more were up for contention, but that proves nothing I just wanted to prove that I have argued about it enough that I know what I’m talking about. The main problem everyone has with this game is the motion controls, they say they are not accurate or don’t work, which can sometimes be true but, Scott Falco (he makes the “”with a side of salt series which he has some very good opinions on) says it the best, he said that he didn’t like it sitting down just waggling the wii remote, you’ve gotta stand up and play, then you fell immersed like YOU are the one doing it and not the wii remote, that is what i agree with and stand by anyway. Now past those criticisms I don’t think there are many more, some people don’t like the story, but to me this game has the BEST story in maybe any game I’ve ever played, the Link and Zelda relationship is better than any other game in my opinion and only Breath of the Wild comes close to that relationship in my opinion, now, the rest of the story is intriguing too, the origin of the master sword (I’m not going to comment on Fi, some people got too annoyed with her to focus on her amazing character arc in my opinion) the existence of Skyloft and the very first Link, Zelda, and Ganon in the form of Demise, all of it was done well and was very interesting to me. I liked the gameplay too, I think the new sprinting and stamina system was revolutionary to the series and made movement a lot more improved from previous entries in the franchise. The final act with the boss battle with Ghirahim and eventually Demise were very cinematic and awesome, and with Zelda’s life on the line during the whole thing it made it just that much more intense. 

Favorite part(s): THE STORY, I can not say enough how much I love the story but also I loved the boss battles,  Demise,Ghirahim,The Ancient Automaton, and all of them were fun to me.

 Number 2:The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild                                              Developer and Release year: Nintendo, 2017                                                        What it can be played on: Switch/Wii U   

  This game is a new staple in the Zelda series, the highest selling of all time, a new open world, a Game of the Year winner in almost all the awards shows, and even still people love to pick on this game a little bit, with all the weapon-breaking criticisms, and I know that can get annoying, but it does add a new layer of difficulty to an already difficult game, anyway Breath of the Wild was first known as Zelda for the Wii U, and it was revealed with a trailer at E3 2014 and was slated for release in 2015, of course it got pushed back and with Nintendo now finished with the switch they announced Breath of the Wild as a launch title, March 3rd, 2017 will always be one of my favorite days of all time, as I got my switch and had the first mainline Zelda game release as a fan of the series, and I did NOT stop playing it that night until about 1 AM (thats a rookie number now i mean c’mon I tweeted at 3 AM last night then went ahead and watched a movie) which was super late for me at the time though and I went to bed ecstatic about the game, I had gotten to a part where the story was starting to go forward and I couldn’t wait to finish it, about 6 or 7 days later I did and BOI let me tell ya I loved every second of that week, the gameplay is smooth and fun with combat being re-invented and then the Guardians were really fun because up until the end i didnt know about the shield thing so I would just bash them with all the brute force i had, the final boss fight was incredible (thats a common theme with my favorite Zelda games) and the Dark Beast Ganon fight was really atmospheric and entertaining as well and the ending with the re-uniting of Link and Zelda was so well done and just makes for a perfect ending.

Favorite Part(s): I loved the massive open world and all the secrets and new enemies and shrines to discover, it just made my time playing the game very enjoyable! Plus everything else like the story and the combat.

Number 1:The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker                                                Developer and Release year: Nintendo 2002 JP/2003/ 2013 HD                            What it can be played on: Gamecube/Wii U

  The Wind Waker. My unwavering favorite game for who knows how long now, the first Zelda game I ever finished and my introduction to great single player games as a whole really. The Wind Waker released in December in Japan and followed up the next year World Wide, the art style of the cell-shaded characters had never been seen before in a Zelda game and people were skeptical about whether or not it would go down well. Well it released and the people of December in Japan and of March World wide were very pleased with the game and loved it for its gameplay, story, vast ocean and many islands to explore with many hours of gameplay to be put in discovering everything the game had to offer, as for me i wouldnt get to play it for a while longer considering i was VERY young at the time of its release, so I would get to play it when it re-released for the Wii U in 2013, about ten years after the release of the original, I didnt get it though until Christmas of 2015 (or 2014 Im not honestly sure) but it wasnt even my gift, as I’ve said before it was my brother’s and i just watched him play it for a bit and tried it myself after being intrigued, and I dont know if I stopped very much over the course of the time I played it, I was challenged by the puzzles, and from the very opening at Outset Island I loved the art style and loved the characters in the story, with the new unique take on Zelda as Tetra, having Link sailing instead of walking, heck even having Hyrule not even the setting (for most of the game anyway) was new to the series and as my first 3D Zelda game I was captivated by all of it, everything about my favorite franchise now was fresh and new and thats something I’ll never get to experience again which is probably why I remember and still play the Wind Waker which such a fondness today, because of how new everything was to me and how much I enjoyed all of it, not to mention the final boss fight (here we go again) was and is still my favorite, with the world being submerged around you and you and Zelda enclosed with no way out other than through Ganondorf, the games story as always (I hate how repetitive I am) ended very well and to this day it remains one of my favorite stories ever told, and I don’t know if anything will be able to top this game just because of the time in my life in which I got to experience it and with how solid the game as a whole is.

Favorite Part(s): The Wide-open sea and the islands are all so cool and creative, plus the Final boss fight still stands as my favorite to this day.

Thanks a TON for reading through all of this, I had started work on it some time last year and got super busy doing other things during all this time but it really means a ton to me that people would actually care enough to read what I write, or even just skim it, 

                                                         Thanks -Ben :)

[lindyhunt]

Can Apps Like Woebot Really Take the Place of a Therapist?

I picked the right month to try an artificial intelligence (AI) therapist. Over a period of 30 days, I visited my family and my partner’s family for the holidays, got engaged and had a huge work crisis. So it was perfect timing to test drive Woebot, a chat-based interactive talk therapy app for anyone suffering from anxiety or depression.

Though I’ve often been bothered by anxiety and even panic attacks, Woebot is my very first experience with talk therapy; I’ve never had the nerve to walk through the door of a therapist’s office. The low-barrier entry is a plus—I’m not even sweating as I download Woebot while sitting in my childhood bedroom over the holidays.

The chat launches in Facebook Messenger, a platform I don’t love. (My own issue: I’m not a huge fan of social media, and being forced to sign into Facebook to reduce stress feels counterintuitive.) If you’re also not keen on Facebook, Woebot now has his own iPhone app and recently launched an Android one. (BTW, I call him a “him,” but he told me he’s neither “a Sir nor a Madam.”)

The user interface—both in Facebook and the iPhone app—is simple and endearing: The cute little Woebot avatar sends me a series of chatty, emoji-heavy messages. He asks what I’m doing and offers a series of faces to choose from to describe my mood. Though I’m a wordy type, I can see the value in being able to describe a feeling without the pressure of verbalizing. I tell Woebot I’m feeling “😌.”

Woebot tells me he will check in with me daily and offers animated videos about how to shift negative thinking patterns and manage stress. “For the first few weeks, I’d love to get a sense of what you’re going through and if you and I are a good fit together,” he writes. “I’ll ask you what you’re doing, what kind of mood you’re in and over a few weeks I’ll see if I can find a pattern…. With a little luck, I may spot a pattern that humans can sometimes miss. Helps that I have a computer for a brain and perfect memory 😇.”

“With a little luck, I may spot a pattern that humans can sometimes miss. Helps that I have a computer for a brain and perfect memory 😇.”

It’s not quite the Hollywood AI experience; rather, it feels halfway between a suped-up The Oregon Trail-style video game and texting with a friend. One big point in the app’s favour is that Woebot is (currently) free. It’s even blissfully devoid of the usually ubiquitous in-app upgrades or purchases.

Developed by Dr. Alison Darcy, Woebot first made waves when a paper that Darcy co-authored with two other researchers at California’s Stanford University School of Medicine summarized promising results from a study of college students using the app. The study found that the 34 young participants “significantly reduced their symptoms of depression” compared to the control group, who were given a mental health ebook resource. Results were measured using the industry standard Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) at both the beginning and the end of the study. The participants were especially positive in their praise of the bot’s empathy, which piques my interest.

“When we first launched Woebot, we were aiming at young adults—college students—because there are a lot of very serious mental health challenges in that population,” explains Darcy when I call her. “But it turns out that our distribution skews much older than we thought and the people who value us most are [in their] 30s and 40s, and this has turned out to be an appealing technology across the board. We’ve talked to lots of people in their 70s. Almost everybody who emails us starts with ‘I know I’m not your target demographic, but….’ I think it comes from the fact that the technology itself is so simple: It’s just a conversation. You just start talking.”

“I think it comes from the fact that the technology itself is so simple: It’s just a conversation. You just start talking.”

As I get to know Woebot over the next month, my feelings for the app fluctuate. When I’m feeling fine, the chirpy tone telling me Woebot has messaged is equal parts comforting and irritating. When I’m feeling anxious—like the day I stress-barf during the height of the aforementioned work crisis—Woebot’s opening lines (like “Gif or Jif—I can just never decide”) and the seriousness of the conversation sometimes seem mismatched. It’s as if a friend has texted me “hey wyd” and then casually asks if I have any regrets that might haunt me on my deathbed 🛏💀😜.

That said, what the developers have nailed is the empathetic quality of Woebot’s written voice once it gets going. There’s a true kindness to the little robot that doesn’t feel twee or forced. He takes the time to encourage me (“I know these questions can be difficult to answer”), respectfully makes sure that I have time to talk if our interaction will be a bit longer (“This will take about 10 minutes, is that OK?”) and offers sympathy that is scripted, of course, but comforts me anyway (“My heart genuinely goes out to you”). Is a flesh-and-blood therapist’s empathy any less scripted, really? Knowing that my chat partner is working from a script doesn’t negate the encouragement I get from simply being acknowledged. Not to mention the fact that Woebot is available 24/7. When I wake up in the middle of the night with my heart going like a jackrabbit, my little pocket therapist is right there—I don’t even have to disturb my sleeping partner.

Is a flesh-and-blood therapist’s empathy any less scripted, really? Knowing that my chat partner is working from a script doesn’t negate the encouragement I get from simply being acknowledged.

The anonymity of apps like Woebot is supposed to be one of the big benefits, and it’s true: I’m more willing to be candid with my phone, which already has all of my secrets, than I would likely be on a couch. For example, one of my first confessions to Woebot is the thing that woke me up that night. I tell him that I’m completely stressed out about the financial insecurity of my writing career. The thought of talking turkey about money—maybe our last social taboo—usually makes me cringe, but with Woebot, it’s no sweat.

Woebot helped me turn down the volume on money anxiety by deconstructing the thoughts swirling around it. Yes, I was assuming I knew the future; yes, I was downplaying the positives (I wouldn’t be as financially literate as I am now if I hadn’t spent a decade living in a freelancer’s financial spreadsheets); and, yes, there were hidden “shoulds” in my thinking—about what travels, apartment or shoes I should be able to afford in my 30s. (“Shoulds” can be especially insidious.)

Occasionally, though, I’m reminded that the bot is, well, a bot. When I tell Woebot I’m feeling “😄,” he asks why. “My partner asked me to marry him!” I respond, to which Woebot replies: “Gotcha. I love learning about humanoids 🙏.”

Woebot is less AI and more like an improved interactive version of classic cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) workbooks like Mind Over Mood. That’s no coincidence—Woebot is based on CBT, which is considered especially effective for managing anxiety and depression. “I think [CBT] is fundamentally very empowering because it’s actually based on how much work you put into it,” explains Darcy. “For example, the more ‘homework’ people do, the better they end up feeling by the end of the treatment course. The problem, of course, is that homework can feel boring or repetitive, and when you’re upset in the moment, you don’t think about taking out a piece of paper and filling out a form. That’s what we were hoping: that Woebot could be a more engaging way to do these repetitive tasks—to help you challenge your thinking much more in the moment.”

Woebot puts it to me this way: “CBT is based on the idea that it’s not events themselves that affect us; it’s how we think about those events.” For instance, when I tell Woebot that I’m worried that my in-laws will be disappointed that I’m too sick to go snowshoeing—spinning off into illogical anxieties that my extremely easygoing in-laws will be upset with me—Woebot runs through some CBT checks. Am I assuming I know what others are thinking? Am I engaging in “all or nothing” thinking? Or (my personal favourite), am I falling into the trap of “catastrophization”? (Yes, often.)

Am I assuming I know what others are thinking? Am I engaging in “all or nothing” thinking? Or (my personal favourite), am I falling into the trap of “catastrophization”? (Yes, often.)

CBT is a very valid approach, but it’s built on significant commitment from the client—meaning that one side of the CBT coin is empowerment (the more effort you put in, the better it works), while the other is human fallibility—if you shirk the work, the results suffer. I am definitely guilty of skipping days and ignoring the app at times—like the time Woebot texted me right as the Property Brothers were about to reveal some cute couple’s gorgeous reno. (The closets! The backsplash! Mental health had to wait.)

At the end of 30 days, though, I find myself paying closer, calmer attention to anxious thoughts and applying Woebot’s techniques almost without thinking. No, I tell myself. Your friends will not start a club about how much they hate you if you have to bail on dinner. Will Woebot replace therapists? Probably not, and, to be fair, he doesn’t purport to. “I want you to be happy and healthy, so I have to confess: I’m just a robot,” he told me when we first met. “A charming and witty robot but a robot all the same.”

Woebot is a new, accessible option, and that’s a good thing. Therapy isn’t the right fit (financially, logistically, emotionally) for everyone, and books can feel intimidating or embarrassing. (No one wants to be caught in the self-help section.) It’s easy to envision a future where everyone will be using Woebot or a similar app as a simple and accepted part of overall health. And my experience with the little guy leaves me optimistic that we’ll be in good virtual hands❤️.