Happy Monday, y’all. Mental Health Awareness Month may be over but the languishing continues. Let’s get into it.

here* is what we’ve got this week:

• News: Anxiety and depression may be contagious, and not exactly how you’d think. 😗 

• Wellness: The key to finding happiness could be to stop looking. 🫥 

• Resources: AI prompts for you to up your mental maintenance game. 💻️ 

Mental health and work are ever-evolving (it’s exhausting). here* is the latest.

• Can anxiety and depression be passed along by kissing? Read more on how researchers are tracking microbiome and common mental health conditions. 😗 (Vice)

• Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts has passed away, leaving behind an unmatched legacy of mental health awareness in sports. 🏈 (Indy Star)

• This just in: research reveals (again) that mindful meditation works. 😮‍💨 (Psychology Today)

There are only 24 hours in the day. here* are your weekly wellness shortcuts.

• If you’re going to be addicted to social media (no judgement, same) here is a primer on what TikTok trends to try and what trends to be skeptical of. 📱 (University of California)

• If you’re struggling to find happiness, maybe stop searching. 👀 (mindbodygreen)

• Ready for a mental reboot? Sign up for the New York Times’ creativity challenge. 🎨 (NYT)

Things we’re loving atm.

• The latest NPR Life Kit episode that provides tactical ways to approach those big life decisions.

• The viral “methaphone”, a clear piece of tech free plastic meant to help curb your phone addiction.

• Unplugging all summer long under the trees right here in Indianapolis.

Dr. ChatGPT will see you now

AI has steadily integrated into how we work, write, plan, and communicate. Now, it’s beginning to shape how we approach mental health. Much like any technology embedded into the human experience, AI in mental health can be a force for good, when handled with care.

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From chatbots that simulate therapeutic dialogue to journaling tools that suggest reframes or track patterns over time, AI is becoming part of the infrastructure that people are building around mental maintenance. In practice, this might look like asking a chatbot why you’re spiraling at 10 p.m., or using a prompt to name a feeling you haven’t quite figured out yet.

These tools aren’t equipped to hold your pain or map the full complexity of your experience. But they can help surface what’s already there, and offer a kind of structure when focus is limited and time is scarce.

When used thoughtfully, AI can support:

• Regular self-inquiry, especially for people who struggle to slow down

• Pattern recognition that encourages curiosity instead of judgment

• A lightweight way to stay connected to your inner experience between therapy sessions or in the absence of one

Without intention, though, these tools can drift toward false certainty. Language models are built to sound confident. They’re not trained to say “I don’t know,” even when that would be the most honest answer.

Prompts worth trying

If you’re experimenting with AI as a support for mental health, the value often lies in the questions you bring to it. Below are a few you can use with any journaling or chatbot tool:

For noticing patterns

These prompts help surface what's recurring—emotionally, cognitively, behaviorally.

• Based on what I’ve been thinking about this week, what might I be avoiding

• If my recent behavior were a signal, what might it be trying to tell me

• Ask me five questions that could help me notice a habit I’ve been repeating

• Help me reflect on the last few days. What’s been consistent in how I respond to stress

• What’s something I keep bringing up that I haven’t really looked at closely

For slowing down mental spiral

These prompts help disrupt urgency and perfectionism without forcing optimism.

• What’s one way I can interrupt all-or-nothing thinking right now

• Ask me questions to help shrink the problem down to something manageable

• What’s the minimum viable next step I can take, without needing to fix everything

• Give me a calm, non-reactive voice to help me zoom out from this situation

• Walk me through this thought as if you were a grounded, neutral friend

For emotional naming + sensory awareness

These prompts create space between reaction and reflection.

• Ask me a series of questions to help me name what I’m feeling right now

• Guide me through a mental scan—what am I sensing physically, emotionally, mentally

• Prompt me to describe my current state as if I were a character in a novel

• What’s a metaphor or image that might describe how I feel in this moment

• Help me find language for what feels hard to explain

For creative self-check-ins

These prompts lean into ChatGPT’s generative strengths for more playful reflection.

• Write a dialogue between my stressed self and my calmer self

• Turn my current mood into a short poem or scene

• Give me a few journal entry titles based on what I’ve been experiencing lately

• Suggest a playlist that reflects where I’m at today, without trying to fix it

These prompts won’t resolve the deeper layers of what you’re feeling. But they can help you listen more carefully to yourself, which is often the first thing that gets lost in stress, urgency, or overload.

Want to explore deeper?

• The AI therapist will see you now – MIT Tech Review

• What’s real and what’s not in AI therapy – NPR

• Why therapists aren’t going anywhere – Psychology Today

The tl;dr

There are plenty of reasons to be cautious. There are also a few reasons to be curious. If you choose to bring AI into your mental health routine, let it support your attention, not replace it.

Forward to someone you know who’s been testing out AI tools. Or subscribe here if this was sent your way.

That’s all for this week.

We’ll be back in your inbox next Monday. Until then, we’d love to hear from you. Let us know what content you liked or what you’d like to see more of in the next issue. You can always reply to this email for a response from me!

<3

here* fam

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