MIT Solve

Step 2

Our Solution

Inner Peace Project

Our solution's stage of development:

Pre-Seed

Our solution:

The Inner Peace Project offers an interactive learning app paired with a wearable device to empower people to regulate their stress responses. The result is increased brain health, increased life resilience, the ability to relate from nonreactive states of consciousness, and ultimately the prevention of mental injury.

Our pitch:

https://youtu.be/5KhLwmdyn9g

The problem:

Mental health issues can be caused by mental injuries, which are often inflicted by unhealthy interpersonal interactions such as trauma, lack of healthy modeling, and environmental and societal pressures. Mental health injuries can result in unbalanced brain chemistry, poor self-regulation skills, and disconnection from self and others, which can be precursors to stress, addiction, depression, and other mental health problems. The Inner Peace Project aims to educate on and cultivate inner peace in order to break the cycles of mental injuries that lead to mental health problems.

Why our solution will solve the problem:

As a medical doctor and psychiatrist I have worked on the front lines of the mental health and addiction crisis for over 20 years. I have found that the majority of mental health issues are from an injury sustained in early life. If the root cause is addressed, an injury can be healed with mind-body regulatory techniques. The Inner Peace Project provides a solution to prevent and heal mental injuries by teaching the self regulatory skills to get out of reaction and into being responsive within relationships. This solution can create mental stability and peaceful environments.

Who recommended you to Solve - or - how did you find Solve?

Khaliya Aga Khan

Step 3

Our target outcomes:

By providing the latest cutting edge mind-body techniques in one place, the Inner Peace Project gives the general public the tools take their mental health into their own hands. People engage with the interactive app to come into individual healing, becoming more resilient against current and future mental injury while also learning how to stop hurting others. This ultimately creates a better world as we each learn to become the change we want to see. We are also shifting the mental health paradigm to educate people on the root of mental health issues, and destigmatize them.

How we will measure our progress:

Track daily and long-term progression of individuals’ physical stress markers (i.e., heart rate, oxygen levels) throughout the day (based on self-rating for people who cannot purchase the wearable component) - People individually learn how to shift out of the stress response into the relaxation response

Track daily and long-term progression of the overall community’s physical stress markers (based on self-rating for people who cannot purchase the wearable component) - The global community collectively shifts out of the stress response into the relaxation response

Track correlations between participant engagement with the app and accuracy of mental health diagnoses in those who seek professional psychiatric help. - More accurate diagnoses and physician-patient collaboration as physicians and the public become more educated and vocal about mental health injuries versus true genetic mental illness.

The populations we will benefit initially:

Child
Adolescent
Adult
Old age
Female

The regions we will benefit initially:

Europe and Central Asia
US and Canada

Step 4

The technologies we employ:

Consumer-facing software (mobile applications, cloud services)

Why our solution is unique:

Current wearables tell people what their bodies are doing, but not what to do with that information. Mind-body apps teach people the skills to get out of reactivity, but don’t provide a way to track their progress or give real-time feedback. The Inner Peace Project provides innovative solutions by merging existing wearable biofeedback technology with the most cutting edge mind-body integration education to bring the public the relevant tools and information they need all in one place. This allows individuals the ability to learn and practice the functional life skills to make a difference in their life and the world.

Why our solution is human-centered:

The Inner Peace Project helps underserved communities that may not have access to quality psychiatric care by making the support available through technology. It gives the mentally injured a pathway to wholeness, and by shifting society out of reactivity into higher consciousness the app not only builds inner peace, but ultimately contributes to world peace. The mentally injured who the app is designed to help become the human capital by which this change occurs. The interactive aspect of the app makes it a game in which all participants of the project are collectively working to become and create the change.

How people will access our solution:

The Inner Peace Project will be an app available on smartphones, tablets, and computers. In its initial launch, it will be a free app for people who want the life skills education program, with the option to purchase the wearable component at a price comparable to the market price of similar wearable devices (around $50). For those who cannot afford it, there’s an option to get sponsored, possibly by teaming up with existing wearable companies. In a later phase, we aim to partner with insurance companies so that the app and accompanying wearable will be covered by health care plans.

Technology-Readiness Level:

0 (Concept)

Step 5

Step 6