✨ Wellness Wisdom vol.10
Discover more from wellness wisdom
✨ Wellness Wisdom vol.10
NEW update, mental health start-ups, & my fav WFH tools
Hey amazing human,
This week I’d like to announce some changes for the newsletter. In prior months I oscillated between Wellness Stacks and Wellness link round-ups every other week and have been humbled by friends who have shown their support 🥺
Going forward I will be sending out the newsletter in the following format and cadence:
Weekly on Thursdays
💸Coverage on the mental health tech space featuring
1 trend/insight
Key mental health start-up funding/news
✨resources to support your internal space
Assortment of wellness links
1x a month
🧠 deep-dives into the wellness stacks behind leaders in tech
Our usual wellness stack interviews across mind and body
Why the change? I have yet to find a newsletter that covers the mental health start-up industry specifically, so I wanted to take it upon myself to create one. I’m not an investor nor am I a mental health professional - just a curious worker in tech who believes more start-ups should be working on wellness. That being said, I didn’t want to lose the content that focused on nourishing one’s internal space, so will be saving the most important part for last.
Let’s jump into it!
☝️one take
Mental health is top of mind for many Americans - Although our physical health is being threatened by the virus, there is tremendous strain on our mental health. If you’re feeling mentally vulnerable, you’re not alone. 50% of Americans report the coronavirus crisis is harming their mental health via Kaiser.
Corona-virus has helped cut through red tape in terms of accessibility
Last week regulations on telehealth were lifted to expand its usage. (Medicare will now enable telehealth access and reimbursements.)
An upcoming law to enable physicians and therapists to practice across state lines is in the process of going into effect.
Why does this matter?
upsurge in mental health demand + increasing accessibility = positive impact to mental health start-ups that have traditionally been blocked from providing services across state lines.
Access is unequally distributed across America. The ratio of psychiatrists per 100K people in the US is highest in urban areas as opposed to poorer ones.
If 1 in 5 people have a mental health disorder, it’s certain that there are millions of undiagnosed mental health disorders that are disproportionately impacting poor or rural communities.
With a potential law to enable therapists/psychiatrists to practice across state lines and the rise of telehealth, this map could look a lot more balanced.
This is really exciting and what companies like Mindstrong are trying to tackle. This video really pulled on my heartstrings.. 😢
💸 funding
To date, Stephen Hays of What If Ventures has identified 899 startups in the mental health space and 862 investors who have funded mental health startups. (Investor list, mental health start-up market mapping)
In Q1 2020 there were 30 mental health startup funding rounds totaling $462mm invested. The amount invested this past quarter alone is close to the total amount invested in all of 2019. This is largely due to a big change in the size of the deals, as opposed to volume.
Some key ones:
🧠 Headspace (Series-C) - mindfulness and meditation company raised $93MM. The growth stage venture firm Blisce led the equity part of the round and another $40MM in debt financing came from Pacific Western Bank.
What’s it for? Entering the B2B space, expanding to healthcare practitioners, and going international. Furthermore, pushing forward clinical studies that could provide scientific validation for meditation health benefits. More from TechCrunch here.
🏙 Lyra (Series-C) - health care benefits start-up raised $75MM led by IVP and joined by Meritech Capital Partners, Casdin Capital, Crown Venture Fund, etc.
What’s it for? expand its platform technology and network of evidence-based mental health providers. More here.
🥼Modern Health (Series-B) - B2B digital mental health platform raised $31MM led by Founders Fund and John Doerr, with participation from Kleiner Perkins and Afore Capital.
What’s it for? accelerate product development, hire more mental health providers, and expand internationally. More here.
🌱Spring Health (Series-A) - employer mental health benefits raised $22MM led by Northzone, Equinox Ventures and Able Partners.
What’s it for? not disclosed More here.
📖 reads
Tumblr’s mental health blog- a feel-good procurement of mind positivity. I re-downloaded it recently and followed a bunch of poetry + interior design + photography blogs. It’s my secret reprieve away from the cerebral and calculated user experiences I frequent.
On why to pursue meaning vs. happiness. Loved this article by Sam Henderson on why happiness is fickle and we should pursue meaning instead.
Last week Alexa, Co-founder of Coa, spoke about her aha moments in therapy. Twitter came through. Here’s a lovely thread of these aha moments from hundreds of other people:
🧘🏻♂️ activities
The Call to Unite- a 24hr livestream celebrating our shared humanity ft an eclectic line-up of participants like Oprah, Yo-Yo Ma, Bill Clinton, P. Diddy, Eckhart Tolle, Andrew Yang, and interludes of live DJ-ing. I had this on in the background this past weekend and it brought a smile to my face multiple times throughout the day.
An Interactive EcoTherapeutic Meditation by the NY Times - the first time a news article has guided me through a meditation. Check-out the format - it’s delightfully realistic and calming.
🛠 tools
Mental Health America Free Screening Tools - Screen yourself for free for a variety of mental health disorders.
Templates for remote icebreakers- Icebreaker is video conferencing software specifically focused on facilitating community building events. I’ve used them for a few communities I'm a part of and it’s really well done.
Write your future self a letter 📝 - cool site where you can send snail mail to future you. Side note: What I also find therapeutic is writing a letter to my past self. I’m very forgiving and compassionate towards younger me. Then I try to imagine how my future self would talk to my present self. Probably a lot nicer than I currently am.
Spotify Daily Wellness Playlists - have you checked your Spotify dash lately? Spotify is making daily wellness playlists now that include a mix of calm and soothing songs, meditations, and podcasts so you can namastay sane.
Free printable journal templates for your organization/self-reflection needs. They make some of my favorite journals!
My personal WFH/self-care tools as of late:
Honestly, most days I go with Nescafe instant coffee in a huge cup. But when i’m feeling fancy: Bulletproof coffee brewed with Grosche Milano Espresso Maker + toped with froth made with Hadin Milk Frother and poured into Sweese Espresso Cups.
HP 27 inch Pavilion Monitor - especially appreciate its aestheticism.
Llama socks from The Stock Store - to keep my perpetually cold feet warm.
Japanese Asano Paper Moon Table Lamp - this lamp makes me feel so happy and peaceful. It instantly transports me into a Japanese haiku.
That’s it for this week!
Be well,
Patricia
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Patricia is a curious human, product manager, virtual librarian, and carer of souls. I love meeting strangers and connecting deeply with old friends - feel free to drop a line via Twitter or reply to this post.