Finding Her Balance: How this Software Engineer's Mental Health Journey Inspired a Life-Saving App

chanakyakripa

[color=rgba(31, 37, 38, 0.75)]Ananya Cleetus has a day named after her in the city of Pittsburgh. She is the creator of an app called ANEMONE, a TEDx speaker, and a computer science student at the UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CAMPAIGN. She exudes a unique type of confidence while speaking intelligently and thoughtfully about the journey that led her here today.

[color=rgba(31, 37, 38, 0.75)]While Ananya has accomplished so much early in her career, her success hasn’t come without its share of personal adversity. Earlier in her collegiate career, while studying Computer Science  at her university, Ananya felt overwhelmed by the high-stress environment and eventually put her mental health on the backburner to focus on her studies.

“It caught up to me before I knew it, and I ended up in the hospital many times. I realized that [my health] could no longer be on the bottom of the priority list. After that, I felt like I had the chance and the freedom to devote myself fully to my health.”

[color=rgba(31, 37, 38, 0.75)]Ananya took a leave of absence from school to focus on her mental health. It was one of the most difficult decisions she’s had to make, but also one of the best, Ananya says. She not only drew strength from her personal experience, but also inspiration, resulting in the creation of ANEMONE, a mobile app designed for those struggling with mental health challenges. Anemone is a virtual toolkit, combining many of the skills and tools taught in most psychiatric inpatient and outpatient settings. It gives users the ability to create crisis plans, learn coping skills, and access help when they need it.

[color=rgba(31, 37, 38, 0.75)]One of Ananya’s priorities in building Anemone was to destigmatize the idea of seeking and asking for help with mental health challenges. She feels that this stigma prevented her from seeking help earlier on in her struggle.

[color=rgba(31, 37, 38, 0.75)]READ MORE HERE: https://wogrammer.org/stories/acleetus?fbclid=IwAR2DAA-gOWS3s3oxklW3vXKL30gx76mqM_fLZQPyDIxFuIQ-hU6o6vej9sY

parivijesh100

Many inventions or innovations are done based on need of the same us felt by some intelligent person, who bent upon finding solution for every one involved with such issues. Many start ups were started because of needs felt by them.

asr335704

A nice and necessary initiative by Ananya CLeetus.
Mental health is the least discussed topic but it is as important as physical health for any human.

abhidebb

Great achievement by Ananya Cleetus...
Kudos to her..