-
Website
-
example text #1
-
example text #2
-
example text #3
Inspiration
According to the National Institute of Mental Health Disorders, approximately 26% of adults suffered from a diagnosable mental health disorder in 2021. Mental health disorders are some of the top causes of disability in many major economies like that of the United States, and it is often difficult to seek consistent treatment, whether it be for financial or personal reasons. Practicing self-care can help alleviate the symptoms and prevent the development of many mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression. This web application hopes to encourage individuals to take a moment and step back from whatever they’re working on to engage in some form of self care, whether that be taking a quick nap, drinking some water, or laughing at a meme we sent.
What it does
The web application sends out either a meme, inspirational quote, or encouraging self-care reminder to individuals every day at a self-selected time. Users can subscribe via a website, which will be linked at the end of every SMS message they receive so that they can share it with their friends.
How we built it
All of our code was uploaded to Github for easy access by group members. Data was first processed with the help of Pandas to take up less storage space and represent more relevant information for our project.We used React, html, js, jsx, and css for front-end development, and we used Python for backend development. The API was implemented using the Flask framework, and database connections were made via SQLite. We used the Twilio API to send out the messages.
Challenges we ran into
It was difficult for us to decide on what technologies to use and how to split up the work. We ultimately decided that we would use Python to manipulate the Twilio API as all of us are fluent in that language. We then split up the remainder of the work and chose the technology and coding language that we were most comfortable with for our corresponding parts.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
This was our first hackathon, so we are proud of ourselves for coming up with and completing a project in the given time. This was a very stressful weekend for us academically as well due to exams, but we rallied and worked around each others’ schedules to design the web application, set up a functional database, and filter for online resources to send via the Twilio API.
What we learned
This project helped us refine our coding skills with the respective technologies that we worked with and helped us sharpen our ability to work under pressure. In the process of deciding on a project, we also explored the different resources provided by the MLH, such as the Checkbook and Cockroach DB APIs and Velo by Wix. Although we did not end up using them, we learned about their functionality and hope to apply them to future work.
What's next for Mindful Moments
The web application currently sends out three different kinds of texts, and we could expand this selection to include Spotify song recommendations, funny TikToks, and other forms of content to brighten up someone’s day. If given more time, we could also refine the website to look more visually appealing and allow individuals to be more specific with what time they receive their daily text. We can also migrate to more scalable backend e.g. full-fledged database, hosting on cloud providers like AWS or Google Cloud and create a method for users to unsubscribe and update their information. Lastly, we can open it up to community submissions for quotes, memes, and messages to make users feel more connected to other real people; Moderators will receive submissions and approve them before they’re added to the pool of messages.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.