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Interface
Inspiration
Growing up, I always struggled with mental health, even today I still struggle with mental health. I noticed how difficult it can be to articulate emotions, track moods, and seek help without feeling overwhelmed. At times I felt all alone, with no one to talk to. This sparked the idea of creating something that could not only provide support but also offer insightful feedback in a non-judgmental, easy-to-use way. My goal was to craft a companion that could help others navigate their mental health journey, just like I wished I had.
What it does
MindPal+ is an AI-powered mental health chatbot designed to be a supportive friend, available 24/7. It includes a daily mood tracker, a graph, suggestions based on your outputs, and is there when you need him!
How I built it
As a solo hacker, the building process was tedious, but I managed through it. Being a beginner/intermediate-level hacker, I had to first research simple backend software that would allow me to run my app. Once figuring that out, I decided to use the OpenAI API to integrate natural language processing and in the back end, I told it to be a supportive chatbot. Then, I started to design the web portion of it, using Tailwind and basic CSS, coupled with HTML and javascript for the layout and functions.
Challenges we ran into
As a solo hacker and a beginner in coding, the process came with a plethora of challenges that made the whole thing tedious. Every step of the way, I had to figure out everything, wasting time. The biggest challenge for me, however, is the regret. Despite being proud of what I created, I know I could've done better if I had more people and saved time, and this "challenge" was a great roadblock for me along the way. Addditonally, debugging code that literally refused to cooperate was an extremely frustrating experience, but this did help in the end. Despite my best efforts, there are still some things I couldn't work out, like getting my logo to display correctly on the site. These challenges tested my patience and determination, but they also pushed me to learn and grow as a developer.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Something I consider a great accomplishment to be proud of is tackling this challenge on my own, without any team members. Additionally, just getting it to the stage of where its operable is a huge accomplishment, as I would've never even imagined submitting this project when I started it.
What we learned
The greatest thing I learned throughout this whole experience was the difficulties of web development with different languages and I learned how to create the backend, which is something that I believe will be very helpful coming forth.
What's next for MindPal+
Moving forward, I want to drastically improve the UI, include more features, and get my actual logo on the website. My ultimate goal is to make MindPal+ a go-to resource for anyone who needs a little extra support in their mental health journey.
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