Focus Bear: A comorbidity respectful e-Health APP for the management of ADHD

To be an e-Health app, we believed Focus Bear had to go beyond boosting productivity.

What do we mean? Safety first.

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The premise upon which we built Focus Bear was to boost productivity while respecting the brains of people whose difficulties may go beyond focusing. Safety means knowing which features and messages are suitable for almost everyone, that is, the app should not constitute a trigger or worsening agent for people who present mental health issues or a diagnosed disorder (psychiatric or neurological).

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For this purpose, customization is maximized in FocusBear: if every brain is different, we cannot expect someone to be comfortable with the same settings their neighbor might use. Inclusivity is most times achieved by exclusivity.

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We want Focus Bear to feel like a neuroinclusive library: almost anyone that walks in –or turns it on–, becomes aware of their to-do list and their wish to check every item on it.

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When you use FocusBear, know that we are ready to meet you where you are.

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Here are some problems that we have taken into account to build Focus Bear:

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• You get to your desk and then you get blocked, your brain doesn’t produce anything.

• Self-regulation and self-care are big issues for you –for some, this occurs when they hyperfocus, as they will ignore their own physiological needs for hours–

• You fidget to be able to focus. Not a problem! Only that sometimes you cross a line and hurt yourself without being aware… –extreme nail biting and finger peeling, hair-pulling, skin-picking or excoriation, scratching, etc…

• Feeling motivated or energized is a hard one for you, you usually either feel discouraged or in a low mood

• You don’t understand how to focus

• You resist changing tasks –transitioning– when you have a busy schedule or become upset or irritable when you are forced to do it –sometimes even neglecting other activities to keep going–

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Focus Bear provides you with strategies to help you on the way to tackle these obstacles.

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The objective is that you are able to be productive while staying healthy and developing “your own way” to keep up with your work life or academics.

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We not only work applying cognitive-behavioral therapy strategies –although there are some–, but also throw into the package metacognitive techniques paired with a cherry on top: neuroscience-informed techniques.

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We want your brain to get «in tune» with your desire to get stuff done: we mind your business and health simultaneously.