BOISE, Idaho — Coronavirus turned our world upside down for close to three years, and its impact on the mental health of our children has been severe.
One local company is trying to help.
Dharma Doctor is a company that's created a product to help deal with anxiety, and it's Made in Idaho. The owner, Brad Mosell, says it started in response to the high number of kids facing anxiety these days, saying "The CDC came out with a report last year saying one in three teen girls actively considered suicide last year."
And that's a problem Mosell just had to do something about.
As a veteran and sufferer of anxiety himself, Mosell researched the problem and came up with something called Tabs. "It manually stimulates the left and right sides of your pre-frontal cortex," he explains, "to reengage that rational brain and disengage your fight or flight response."
An overreaction to the fight or flight response can result in chronic and debilitating anxiety. Mosell says Tabs uses EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) to short-circuit the fight or flight response. "Just holding them, they vibrate back and forth - left-right-left-right, and you feel a calming sensation pretty instantly, in under 30 seconds," says Mosell.
The Department of Veterans Affairs may not have tested Tabs, but it does say that EMDR is effective, especially in dealing with PTSD. And the National Institute of Health and World Health Organization concur.
Of course, every case is different. And not everything works for everyone. But Mosell says he hopes his product works for many. "Our biggest concern is the state of adolescent mental health. I really believe that is the biggest issue that faces the country today."
Mosell has won several awards for his product which is still in beta testing, but he hopes is available to the general public before the end of the year.
