The idea for an app offering quick psychological first aid came at the end of 2018. Just a few months later, the first working version was available to download, and today, nearly a million people around the world use it. The app was later joined by an anonymous counselling service of the same name, where people can seek help when they need it.
Veronika Kamenská came up with the initial idea during a biochemistry lecture, drawing on her own experience with anxiety and depression. She then asked a friend to help her develop the app. Today, more than 160 people contribute to the project and its online counselling service.
Distraction tools and safety plans
At the beginning, the app focused on quick support for depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidal thoughts. “It was partly inspired by my personal experience, but I mainly focused on the issues that seemed most pressing in the population and could be relatively well managed through a mobile app,” says Veronika about the first version of her project with the fitting name Nepanikař, or Don’t Panic in the English version.
About six months after launch, she added a module focused on eating disorders. Two years ago, the app underwent a redesign and the team introduced a dark mode, which many users prefer.
“I worked on the first features myself and also included experiences of other people with mental health conditions. Once I had put everything together, I presented the whole package to several psychologists and psychotherapists, who reviewed it. Only then did we launch the app,” says Veronika.
The app offers practical tips for dealing with specific mental health issues. It aims to be interactive – for example, users with depression can make notes about what made them happy that day, what they achieved, or plan activities directly in the app. People experiencing suicidal thoughts can write down reasons not to act on them or create a safety plan while in a stable state, which they can use later in a crisis.
“For anxiety, we include breathing exercises, simple distraction games and recorded relaxation techniques. For self-harm, which is the most frequently used feature, the app includes a counter that shows how long a person has managed not to hurt themselves,” adds Veronika.
18 languages
The app was originally developed in Czech, as Veronika wanted to provide support for people in the Czech Republic whose need to communicate in their native language was not met by other apps. “That also helped the app spread quite quickly. And a year after launch, Covid arrived, which significantly increased its use,” she says.
Growing demand led to the app being translated into a range of languages, starting with English, Slovak, Polish, Ukrainian and Russian, followed by other European languages. “We also have a Japanese, Korean and Hindi version.”
Translations were often provided by friends fluent in the language or native speakers. For some languages, the team used AI-based translation. The Czech version, however, remains the most widely used.
A lifelong path of study
Veronika developed the app based on her own experience. She has since managed her mental health challenges, and despite a visual impairment and learning difficulties, she is now pursuing her fourth university degree.
She began at Brno University of Technology, where she studied biomedical engineering and bioinformatics. As Don’t Panic grew – initially in a very informal way, as she describes it – she also studied strategic business development and completed an MBA.
She is currently pursuing a PhD in Simulation in Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University, a field she also works in professionally. She is employed as a technician of interactive teaching at the Simulation Centre.
“I originally wanted to study medicine or become a paramedic, but I was more drawn to mathematics and physics than to biology and chemistry. Biomedical sciences were the perfect combination of what I enjoyed and what I wanted to do. After my first master’s degree, I thought I would leave university, but I realised I wanted to work on Don’t Panic professionally, so I started another programme,” she said.
Her current role followed a similar path. She had planned to work at the University Hospital in Bohunice in a department treating cardiac arrhythmias using catheter ablation. When that opportunity fell through, she looked elsewhere. At the time, a new doctoral programme in simulation in medicine was opening, which caught her interest. As she was already familiar with the Simulation Centre, she joined during her studies.
What comes next
Despite her studies and work, Veronika continues to develop her app. She currently runs the organisation with three core team members and around twenty additional collaborators. “Most of our support is provided by volunteers – around 130 of them. They are psychology students and crisis intervention specialists who operate the chat and email counselling services linked to the app. They provide crisis intervention where the app itself is no longer enough.”
She plans to continue developing the app and is currently working on self-diagnostic tests. If all goes well, aims to launch a comprehensive seven-week e-health programme this summer.
Under Veronika’s leadership, the team also visits schools, companies and universities across the country. Through workshops and lectures, they teach children and adults where to seek help when they are struggling and how to talk about mental health without shame or fear.