What Makes BeMe Unique? Its Focus on Teen Mental Health.
By Hannah Hurwitz, BeMe Summer 2022 Intern
The transition from youth to adulthood is a difficult time. Teenagers are mainly viewed as “screenagers.” Selfie-obsessed. Technology addicted. Teens face these and so many other stereotypes. We deal with anxiety, FOMO, peer pressure, and so many other daily — sometimes hourly — issues that can be challenging to navigate.
So, if teens are familiar with technology and apps, why not speak to them through that medium? Enter BeMe Health, a mobile app made by mental health professionals specifically for teens.
BeMe is an interactive platform that provides mood-boosting activities, mental health resources and even allows teens to connect with mental health coaches. This summer, I had the opportunity to work as a Social Media Intern at BeMe Health. I initially thought my job would strictly be to create content for all of BeMe’s social media platforms.
And, sure, I would learn some things about teen mental health in the process. But what I took away from my internship was far greater than any content I created. Like BeMe Health, the community and issues it serves are unique, diverse, and multi-faceted.
Connecting With Teens
Mental health is not a rising issue. It is not something that’s become “trendy” recently. It’s always been an issue in our society, we’re just now becoming more aware of the prioritization that this area deserves.
We ask for help when we break a bone or feel physically sick. And yet we don’t feel comfortable asking for help regarding our mental well-being. I wondered why mental health felt so far removed from physical health.
What makes BeMe Health unique is its focus on teens at the forefront of this movement. BeMe was created with teens in mind, using a teen advisory board and familiar technology to make accessing mental health resources just a little bit easier.
To create the content I posted on social media, I did a lot of research about the history and current world of mental health. I continuously came across the discussion of the mental health “stigma” — a fear or shame about speaking up or asking for help. A stigma has caused a major gap in prioritizing mental and physical health.
My time at BeMe Health helped me realize that the mental health community, and even in some ways society at large, are slowly working to close that gap.
What makes BeMe Health unique is its focus on teens at the forefront of this movement. BeMe was created with teens in mind, using a teen advisory board and familiar technology to make accessing mental health resources just a little bit easier for this group, all to engage, support, and empower teens to nurture their emotional well-being. With that comes greater visibility and open conversation. It’s long overdue.
Building Community
I also had the chance to work with some amazing people, learning about the ins and outs of BeMe and everyone’s responsibilities. From them, I realized that the realm of mental health is far more than scientific. It is a community. Not just people who work in the mental health field but also advocates and anyone combatting complicated feelings make up this group. It’s not just about science, it’s about support.
So, let’s be real. This community includes all of us.
We have all dealt with difficult emotions at some point in our lives. Yet stigma has led many of us to deny or ignore this community as a part of our identity in the past. I think that by realizing just how large this community is, people would be more comfortable speaking up, sharing their voices, and becoming a part of it.
BeMe Health is an amazing resource for this. It’s a platform for teens to use their voices without judgment or shame and realize how large this support community is. And so, as progress keeps pushing us forward, I hope that more teens, along with all individuals, have the chance to become a part of this community the way I have.
BeMe Walks The Talk
While it felt great to contribute positively to this community and get great work experience, I think the greatest lesson of my internship was how big a difference small actions could make when prioritizing your mental health. By simply working at BeMe, creating content directed to improving mental health, I saw each tip resonate in my own life. Going into my summer, I had little plans but to complete my internship and spend time working.
Working at BeMe this summer has entirely changed the way that I view the discussion of mental health. It’s one that should be part of our daily lives without stigma.
But BeMe helped me prioritize taking time for myself, identifying and connecting with my emotions, getting comfortable with being down, and knowing that my feelings are temporary. I personally can encourage teens to check out BeMe because of all I got from working there. I truly feel that I grew, learned, and bettered myself as a person by connecting with my own mental health.
Working at BeMe this summer has entirely changed the way that I view the discussion of mental health. It’s one that should be part of our daily lives without stigma. Stereotypes can pile up, and it’s easy to accept all you hear and see.
It takes time, and skills, to learn how to process the various messages that bombard us constantly and to identify and manage their impact. I would encourage everyone to keep an open mind and take a fresh look into the diverse world of mental health care, and BeMe can be that first step.
Hannah Hurwitz was a BeMe 2022 summer intern working on the product team. She is a sophomore at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where she is majoring in psychology.
BeMe is available for download on Google Play and the App Store.
