THIS SMARTPHONE APP CAN TELL IF YOU'RE DEPRESSED EVEN BEFORE YOU KNOW IT YOURSELF

Mental illness and depression is one of the major causes of death around the world. People suffering from depression refuse to come out and speak due to the social stigma. While the cause of the illness may vary from person to person, they all have one thing in common: a smartphone!

Paul Dagum is the Founder and CEO of a startup based in California, called 'Mindstrong Health'. Dagum along with his two associates, set up the organisation to help people with mental illness deal with their condition using smartphones.

'Mindstrong Health' uses an app to monitor how its users operate their smartphones. Analysing patterns such as how they type, tap, and scroll, the app gathers cognitive and emotional data that can help point to signs of depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse.

The app is intended to replace psychiatrists and be an emotional support tool for people. The app's data analysis system is capable of figuring out if a person's patterns are off and the signs point to a relapse into depression. This way, the app can notify the person's doctor so that they can handle the situation even before the person has a mental breakdown.

And the best part is that your privacy is safe, because all the data gathered from a user is processed solely by the neural network behind the technology.  It's in essence an early warning system for doctors with at-risk patients.