Padraig Spillane, 17, from Ballygunner, Co Waterford is a computer programmer hoping to help his peers who might be suffering with mental health issues and stress with an innovative new app he is designing from scratch. In his own words…
SAR is an app which will help people, especially in the teen age group combat social anxiety and stress. I’m doing this using 3 main modes or features, SAR Live, Relax and Perspective. SAR Live is the centrepiece of the app. It’s a social media model where the user can post to a moderated global timeline on an anonymous basis.
Stemming from this feature are two smaller features, Relax and Perspective. In Relax the user is able to flick through different relaxation methods which have indoor and outdoor specifications. Perspective functions similarly but displays images and quotes aimed at motivating the user to go about fighting these issues while also motivating them on a day to day basis for life in general. If a user can relate to or really likes something that they see in either of these modes they can save it to their favourites for easier access at a later point.
I’ve always wanted to develop something that could have a positive effect on people and after finishing my previous application, balloonHop which was a small game I decided I’d take on developing an app to combat a serious issue. Mental health was getting headlines everywhere you looked at the time so I decided I’d go into a certain area in mental health and social anxiety is high on almost every list globally of mental health issues that have the biggest effect on society.
When you look at it from a statistical perspective it’s estimated that 16.8% of Irish people have social anxiety disorder at any given time, this statistic coming from socialanxietyireland.com.
The modes Relax and Perspective are based around the facts that relaxation and motivation are modern techniques being used by professionals and they are topics which I thought I could place in something like an app for easier access.
SAR Live is based around the social idea, especially in Ireland that if you share your problems with someone else it’s the problem halved. In this app the user will be sharing with the whole user base how they are feeling but on an anonymous basis.
As I said I wanted to solve an issue that had a big effect on our society and although I haven’t had any personal experience with social anxiety in a serious manner I believe that most people have experienced some type of social anxiety on some level, but don’t like to think that they have due to the way that society stigmatises mental health issues.
The reasoning for adding stress relief into the app is while I was doing my research into social anxiety I realised that stress coincided with it in many areas. I’ve also never met a person who’s never been stressed at some point in their life over money, their occupation or relationships to name a few reasons.
SAR is still in demo mode but has been receiving fantastic reviews from test groups and has also gotten an amount of media attention being featured in national newspapers and also on national radio. SAR took part in the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition this past January where it was received exceptionally well by the general public and in particular the teen age group which is the target audience.
As a result of feedback received at the exhibition I’ve been changing the layout of the application to make it as accessible and attractive to a teen as possible while bringing in many features which I was advised to.
There isn’t an exact date which the app is aiming to be released by since I’m the sole developer and I’m in my final year in secondary school studying for my Leaving Cert and so I don’t have as much time to work on it as I would like. Although, I can say that with the attention the app is already getting I believe it will have a big future in supporting teens to take care of their minds.
SAR can be found on Twitter by searching @SAR_Ire or find Padraig @Padraig_Sp
Support Our Campaign
We rely on the generosity of the public to fund our work and so far together we have achieved great things! Please do continue to support us so we can provide future generations in Ireland with the resources to recognise and talk about their emotions, and equip them to navigate the ever-changing world around them as they grow
