Can video games help diagnose, monitor, and treat depression? | Dr Emilia Molimpakis | TEDxLondon

There is no blood test or thermometer that can help diagnose depression or mental health conditions, explains neuroscientist, Dr Emilia Molimpakis. Instead the way medical professionals assess depression is limited to questionnaires and self-reporting by patients, which simply aren’t as accurate or reliable as the tools you’d use to assess physical illnesses like diabetes. Fortunately, Emilia is tackling this issue through her research and shares how specific biomarkers - like the sound of your voice or facial microexpressions - can actually reflect a person’s mental health state. Combine this research with some very cool video-game technology and you have Emilia’s special video games that can track a patient’s mental health biomarkers over time and support doctors in treating them more accurately. Emilia is a neuroscientist with a PhD & post-doc from UCL in Linguistics, Neuroscience & Psychology. She is an expert in using language as a biomarker for cognition - there are fewer than 10 people in the world doing exactly what she does! Her startup, thymia, uses video game-inspired technology to help doctors quickly, accurately and objectively assess and monitor depression via digital biomarkers. Emilia won the Young Innovator’s Award 2020-21 and was recently named one of the top scientists for mental health worldwide. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@MrDrevnak]

Remember back in 2008 I was going through a very bad depression my dad just died me and my girlfriend broke up that year ago until I start playing elder scrolls Oblivion that game really helped me through my depression one of the most worst episodes I had ever I start playing the elder scrolls Oblivion getting lost in the world it really did help me

[@xaosoax81]

I find myself in a pretty desperate situation where I have been trying to help a loved one, but the mental health facilitators and the system keeps failing him. Is there a way I can contact Dr.Molinpakis and use this tool to diagnose and help my brother?

[@beckashwin]

Dont know what's up with the channel moderators. You could try getting in contact with her on Internet. Might help

[@stevesaurr5606]

There is a video game titled ‘Persona 5’ that you and your brother could consider. The game is rather innocuous at the beginning, but can be eye-opening the longer one ventures into the themes and systems of the game. It is not likely something you could monitor alongside your brother, as the game takes a long time to complete, but it is very potent, enjoyable, and accessible in the ways it tells its story. The video game took the concepts and realities of mental health and presented them in ways I could understand much better. I’d recommend it for your brother.
Of course, psychiatry and/or therapy may be your best options. I am not a medical professional, but I hope you continue to explore and engage your options. All my best

[@xaosoax81]

Thank you for the recommendation ❤