mindsetalex

I'd look into active-alert hypnosis: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00029157.2018.1...

We have an alert session in Mindset you can try as well. The flow comparison is quite apt.

When we raised our seed we had already launched two mobile apps and had existing user data (as well as being based on an existing study).

Interesting review! I agree that the use of the word 'trance' isn't accurate nor beneficial for describing hypnosis.

I found their conclusion interesting: "We have argued that hypnosis does not produce a trance or ASC clearly distinguishable from nonhypnotic experiential states, but that hypnotic interventions, nevertheless, can initiate a broad array of alterations in consciousness". So essentially they're arguing that although it's not a distinct altered state of consciousness, it can trigger changes to consciousness?

I haven't heard of the CSTP - will definitely check it out, thanks! Could imagine a world where you use techniques such as these at the beginning of a program to enhance the effectiveness of the program.

I wouldn't necessarily take that away from the study - acting on the same brain area doesn't necessarily mean it's 'kind of imagination', instead that it could just work on similar brain areas as automaticity (or perceived automaticity).

The state vs non-state discussion is still ongoing. The Stanford study linked above highlighted that there is a change in brain activity during hypnosis but there is also evidence for the non-state theories around expectancy, perception etc.

When I say 'state', I don't necessarily mean a distinct cognitive state, instead, I'm describing the characteristics: heightened suggestibility induced by expectation and focused attention.

If you're interested in our science, here's the RCT our app is based on: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/apt.13706

Good question! There have been some studies looking into hypnosis for trichotillomania (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11417149/) which found it was helpful but there needs to be more studies into the area. On a cognitive level, I could imagine why it would be an effective treatment tho.

Hypnosis is simply a state of heightened focus and suggestibility, nothing more. The misconceptions you're familiar with are unfounded but understandable.

We work with respected doctors and researchers and are evidence-focused (Nerva is based on an RCT and we're in the early stages of our own study).

I do think our website is pretty respectable: https://www.mindsethealth.com

Sorry was this our site or TechCrunch?

That's stage 2 of our roadmap

We actually have a course on procrastination (by a different practitioner, not Dr Yapko) but you'll have to learn to like your job yourself haha.

Hey HN, I'm Alex. I’m the co-founder of Mindset Health, a digital health startup that makes hypnosis-based management programs for chronic health conditions.

Hypnosis get’s a bad rap but it’s essentially just a state of focused attention and absorption where you become more suggestible. It’s an experiential learning state that amplifies therapeutic techniques, from CBT to visualization and direct suggestion.

If you’re interested in learning more, here’s a recent study from Stanford on the brain areas activated during hypnosis: (https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2016/07/study-identif...) and a meta-analysis on hypnosis as an adjunct to CBT vs CBT alone (http://coyoteinstitute.us/Hypnosis%20as%20an%20Adjunct%20to%...).

We work with expert doctors and psychologists to deliver audio hypnotherapy sessions (think goal-orientated guided meditation) through mobile apps for various health conditions, like anxiety and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

I work on Mindset Health with my brother, Chris, and small (but awesome) team based out of Melbourne, Australia. We raised our US$1.1m seed round coming out of Y Combinator and are passionate about empowering people to manage their conditions themselves, from home.

We have two programs at the moment, Mindset for Mental Health and Nerva for IBS.

Mindset is based on the work by Dr Michael Yapko, a world-leading expert in the clinical uses of hypnosis and involves teaching coping skills while in a hypnotic state.

Nerva is based on the work by Dr Simone Peters, who ran a randomized clinical study with Monash University that found her 6-week gut-directed hypnotherapy approach helped 71% of participants improve their symptoms by an average of 62%.

We want your feedback, questions, and ideas. We know the topics of ‘hypnosis’ and ‘hypnotherapy’ bring up questions and skepticism and we’d love to dive deeper into those questions.

It’s often hard to know if you need you need help, it’s why we go to a doctor for a checkup - it’s equally important to focus on your mental health as your physical health.

It’s the difference between brief therapy, where you’re learning specific coping skills and is much more solution focused, and talk therapy which is much more problem focused.

What if we’re the founders? It’s hard to set boundaries from your company when you ARE the company.

I think he means you could be sorted by your application before they watch the video. That definitely a possibility.

It's mainly for international teams but not all international teams get them. It's mostly just to clear some things up.

Depends on whether your vid was unlisted - ours was public and we got 450 views so we can't really see through the noise.

I would think a video without a view isn't a good sign but I'm not sure how it all works.

Is one of the goals of OpenAI to help implement government regulation or do you think its better on an organisation/industry basis? I think its going to be difficult to get countries like China and Russia to follow industry guidelines without UN resolutions, even then it's super difficult to monitor until it's too late.

Hey there, just letting you know hat we’ve listened to what you said and added a skip intro function and fixed the crashing issues.

Cheers We’re still working on the download and save function but it will be our next update!

:(

Very similar to Forest - Stay Focused in mechanism

Cheers man, appreciate the positivity.

Awesome, thanks for taking the time to check it out :)

Thanks for the suggestion! Yeah, we did consider that but we felt that it would lead to the paradox of choice; where choice overload could harm the overall usability and enjoyment of the app.

We overall prefer the subscription model that gives you unlimited access to the entire library, like Netflix and Headspace, then the pick and choose method of traditional cable companies.

I appreciate the idea tho, we will continually add more packs to hopefully provide greater and greater value. You are also able to suggest new packs and we'll add the most popular!

Yeah definitely makes sense for that, we'll add it in for you next update :)

Cheers, I hope you like it as well!

Thanks for your feedback, glad you liked it!

That’s one of the reasons we put that introductory session in; to help get rid of some of the misconceptions surrounding hypnosis.

We know it can be a bit difficult to fit in but think of it as the same amount of time as short tv ep but instead of draining your productivity you’re actually improving yourself.

Cheers! We believe that in order for hypnosis to be successful it needs to be packaged beautifully and intuitively (have you seen any of he other apps out there)

We don’t have a yearly subscription so I’m not sure what you’re talking about.

If they accidentally renew we will. It makes business sense to keep customers happy and we want our users to really be getting the benefits of the app.

I feel that you may have a negative view of the entire subscription model not our application of it :)

No worries Bill, I understand that hypnosis has a lot of negative perceptions and stigma surrounding it and that it will require strong scientific evidence to fully become mainstream and accepted.

Was just talking about my own personal experience as founder and daily user, in the vein of an experience review as one user requested in another comment.

https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/hypnosis-for-ptsd-ev... A placebo-controlled study found that it was effective as a treatment for PTSD and had significant and durable effects weeks after. As well as trials in treating IBS https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11151439 showing similar levels of long-term effectiveness. These trials are only a subset and only show the effects removing the effects of placebo in double-blind trials and the ability for long-term effects; not evidence that our app works.

There is also evidence that hypnosis is highly effective in conjunction with CBT in treating psychological disorders, but similarly, the research is still early and not immediately transferable to Mindset https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.lib.monash.edu.au/doi/ab.... Additionally, a (small) study found hypnosis had a significant ability to enhance self-efficacy, affect, and sports performance in soccer players https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/pdf/10.1123/jcsp.2.2.....

Currently, we're relying on the evidence supporting hypnosis itself rather than research conducted into the efficacy of Mindset. Considering the stage we're at we think that's reasonable, especially considering we provide a significant opportunity for users to experience the effects themselves in the app.

In the future, however, we definitely will conduct double-blind trials into the effectiveness of Mindset but it is just not possible at this time.

Thanks for taking such a considered look at the app, appreciate the interest!

If anyone is interested in an Android version of Mindset feel free to join the waiting list and we'll give you early access when it becomes available :)

http://www.themindsetapp.com/android

Thanks for doing that and for letting me know!