Life goals, responsibilities, mean colleagues, hectic lifestyle, materialism, family issues, health problems, social media. These are a few reasons modern man is vulnerable to mental health problems. Speaking your heart out is an easy solution to fix all your mental health problems and do you have where the problem arises? We don’t have anyone to share our stories or speak everything out.
That’s where Wysa came into the picture. It will not only listen to you but also shows you the path to healthy mental health. This is a first-hand review of the Wysa app which is designed to interact with real people like you and me.
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What is Wysa?
Wysa is an AI chatbot-based conversational app that provides you with a safe place to talk and to get guidance regarding stress, depression, Anxiety, sleep problems, relationship problems and everything you can imagine that directly or indirectly affects your mental health. Wysa uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to understand the mood, and behavior of the user and then offers solutions.
Wysa also offers certain breathing exercises, and meditation techniques, sounds, hypnotic stories to calm and de-stress your mind. There are also different sounds, and sleep stories for those who are struggling to get a good, deep sleep. Not just that, Wysa also offers you one-on-one sessions with professional therapists where you can chat with your dedicated therapist and you will get a response in real-time from a real therapist.
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Every conversation on Wysa is anonymous and that’s why Wysa never asks you to log in to their app. Simply add your name and start talking to AI Penguin. Wysa AI is trained after research by top universities and mental health organizations of the world including Harvard Medical School, Columbia University, NHS, Washington University, University of Cambridge and much more.
If you need a 4 AM friend who can listen to you without judging you or taking advantage of your vulnerabilities, Wysa is that friend.
For those who are having doubts about Wysa being just an AI chatbot, as of now, Wysa has covered 11 million lives, has more than 500 million conversations, and helped 5 million people around the globe. Wysa app also has a 4.9 rating on Apple App Store and a 4.7 rating on Google Play Store with more than 139k reviews.
There could be hundreds of other apps that claim to be the best mental health apps but when it comes to Wysa, it is one of the well-designed, thoughtful apps that actually understand its user.
Wysa App Review: The AI Chat
The whole base of Wysa is its AI-powered chatbot. Here is how it talks and it helps you overcome that bad phase of anyone’s life.
On the home screen, you will clearly see a calming penguin that is ready to talk to you. You just need to tap on ‘Talk now’ and it will open the interface for chatting with AI.
It is so simple and easy to talk. It is similar to what you do on WhatsApp. In this space, you can speak about all your problems and in return, you will get some calming replies that can give a different perspective. The good thing is, Wysa initiates the conversation and actually makes you feel like someone is listening to us with undivided attention. You also get exercise, and games in between the chat which is fun, easy, and relaxing.
In between the chat, if you had to leave the conversation for any reason, you can continue it next time.
Sometimes, AI gave generic answers and it takes, or say, asks a lot of questions before jumping to the final answer. Maybe that is how it works but a person who is feeling heavy will not like that process. If you are finding yourself in mild stressed or depressed, you will love the Wysa responses and give you a new perspective about life problems.
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Wysa App Review: The Exercises
Wysa is not limited to chats, it also offers you certain exercises to calm your mind during the day, manage your anxiety, stress, and anger, build confidence, get energy, improve your productivity, improve your self-esteem, and mindfulness, and improve the quality of sleep.
Not just for adults, Wysa is also suitable for kids, adolescents, and even for different phases of life like pregnancy, financial anxiety, overcoming loneliness, and coping with trauma. Wysa try to know your mood and mood swings and then offers you solutions in form of breathing exercises, meditation techniques etc.
To start these exercises, you just need to go to the Self-Care section of the Wysa app and there you will find different tabs for each trigger. Some of the triggers can be solved with a mere conversation with AI and it sometimes gives you pretty good advice while some problems like sleep problems can be solved through some breathing exercises.
Depending on the trigger, it offers you breathing exercises, visualization techniques, guiding healing meditation, mystical meditation, games, sounds, sleep stories, and much more.
For sleep, Wysa has some really calming sounds and hypnotic stories. You can simply play them and turn off the screen and it will keep on playing those sounds for you.
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Wysa App Review: The Interface
The whole interface of Wysa is super clean, intuitive and easy to use. The developers used pastel colors and plain font that doesn’t feel intimidating to anyone. The graphics, animations, media, everything is plain and simple without any flashy, poppy colors.
I also like the layout of the Wysa. On the home screen, you get all the sections. At the top, you get quick buttons to start your self-care at any point in time. You can also initiate the chat right from the home screen. If you have hired a one-on-one coach for therapy, you will find it right on the home screen of the Wysa app.
At the top, there is an SOS button that you can tap in case you are getting a panic attack, anxiety attack or you are getting abused, traumatise or you find yourself in some crisis. Wysa will help you in contact with International Crisis helplines, and Child Helplines and even help you create a Safety plan to cope with the situation.
Wysa App Review: The Pricing
The basic chat feature of Wysa is absolutely free to use and anyone can use it without paying a single dime. But if you want to unlock the app to its fuller capacity, you need to update to premium which is around $60 per year (4999 INR). For a limited offer, it is also offering me 50% off that makes it $30/year (2500 INR). The prices can be different on iPhones which I think is not a good pricing strategy.
With premium, you will unlock 100+ therapeutic exercises. Basically, you will be able to use Wysa to its fuller capacity which otherwise is limited to a few exercises.
Please note, one-on-one therapy sessions are not included in the Premium Wysa. For that, you need to book a therapist and need to pay them per session.
- 1 session per week costs you $18 (1500 INR) per session.
- 4 Sessions per Month costs you ~$15 (1249 INR) per session.
- 12 Sessions per quarter costs you ~$10 (749 INR) per session.
I am getting these prices in India and they can be different from country to country. Install the Wysa app and check the pricing in your country.
Wysa App Review: Pros & Cons
Pros
- Wide range of exercises to calm your mind.
- Super safe, anonymous chats. Also offers to clear your data.
- Intuitive, clean, minimalist interface.
- Suitable for kids, adolescents, and adults.
- Exercise also covers pregnancy, loneliness, breakups, trauma, LGBTQ, and Financial anxiety.
Cons
- Not Suitable for severe stress, depression, anxiety,, or other serious mental health issues.
- AI sometimes gives generic responses which is frustrating.
- Pricing is different for iOS and Android users.
Wysa App Review: Final Words
After using Wysa for 1 week, I can easily say it is probably the best chatbot app for mental health. It got a lot of exercises, stories, and different techniques to beat stress, anxiety and other mental health issues. However, if you are suffering from clinical depression, stress, or any similar issues, I would strongly recommend consulting a professional instead of using an AI chatbot.
Wysa is suitable for those who are ready for self-care, and self-love and want some direction. You can speak out to the AI Penguin chatbot and it will guide you to take the next step.