RootMyMind

Inspiration

Mental health is so readily treated as an afterthought — something we look in on only after it's in crisis. I wanted to turn that around. RootMyMind emerged from my own need to create a tool that's not just about assessing mental health, but encouraging growth, self-reflection, and change. I started the hackathon with building an emergency response app, but halfway through, I knew I wanted something more emotionally impactful. After two pivots — from a mood-based plant visualizer to an environmental data tracker — I finally settled on something that felt significant: a mental wellness app that generates personalized checklists to help individuals feel better, one mindful habit at a time.

What it does

RootMyMind gathers user feedback through nine factors that relate to mental health and then produces a "Mental Health Index" — a one-size-fits-all score on a scale of 100 reflecting overall well-being of a user. Rather than present you with merely a score, RootMyMind provides something of greater use: a set of tailored-by-user evidence-based recommendations to lift your mood and mood state. Think of it like a wellness coach in your pocket, that's walking you through where you're at — and giving you steps on how to grow. You can even do check-ins for loved ones by entering their info, creating a loving tool to stay connected and emotionally aware of the people you love.

How I built it

RootMyMind was created entirely on my own. I used Python as the main language, with Palantir AIP for normalizing different types of user input into a single Mental Health Index. The project is hosted live on a domain at rootmymind.us. I structured the backend logic to accept inputs, calculate the wellness score, and map it to a curated storehouse of mental health tips and checklist items. Palantir's logic and workshop helped keep the structure organized, allowing me to focus on user experience, emotion design, and making sure that the app was easy to use, warm, and human-centered.

Challenges I ran into

Because I'm still pretty new to programming, some of the most difficult part was even trying to decide how to create something in the first place. I started off with a whole different concept for disaster relief, then changed it to be a mood-changing color plant, and ended up where RootMyMind is now — a checklist-style mental health application. Each pivot made me have to re-imagine data flow through the app, how the user would interact with it, and what it would be like. Because I don't have a great deal of programming experience, I utilized Palantir's platform as much as I could to get the tech side to function. But determining how to accomplish AIP, ontologies, and Workshops at the same time — and create a legitimate user experience — was a matter of timeline. Having to do everything myself made everything harder but worth it.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I'm glad that I was able to make a real functional project even though I'm not a seasoned coder. With Palantir, I learned how to bring my ideas to life in a way that's personal and useful, rather than just technical. I'm especially proud that RootMyMind isn't just giving users a number — it gives them real recommendations, something they can actually do to keep their mental health in check. Also, I guess it's kind of great that I managed to take such an emotional, complex topic like mental health and turn it into something you can see, understand, and utilize on a day-to-day basis. And, yeah — I'm also really proud of the name and domain. RootMyMind.us is strangely perfect.

What I learned

I learned a lot of things regarding working with Palantir AIP as a beginner - like building data pipelines, using ontologies to represent user input, and constructing interactive pages in Palantir Workshops. I learned the art of putting the user first with every decision, even when the technicality was challenging. Most importantly, I learned that it's perfectly okay to change your idea — even a few times — if you're making something that gets the job done and serves others. All of this taught me that mental health tools don't have to be big or complicated in order to be effective. They just have to be kind, simple, and give people something small they can do to feel slightly better.

What's next for RootMyMind

Next up, I’d love to expand RootMyMind by adding secure user logins, long-term mental health dashboards/timeline, and features for friend and family check-ins. Language accessibility and a Checklist tracker that is represented as a plant are also on the horizon. I hope this app will be your little emotional assistant — always there, always gentle, and always growing alongside you. Someday, I hope to invite in co-contributors as well to bring new concepts and perspective, because mental health is never to be something someone must accomplish by themselves.

Built With

• palantir