(ORDO NEWS) — American startup DynamiCare Health (hereinafter DynamiCare) has launched a new smart app that aims to pay users five dollars a day to give up drugs and/or alcohol.
Researchers have long known that even small rewards can have a positive impact on addictive behavior, especially if the reward encourages good habits.
The Boston Globe, a daily newspaper that covered the startup DynamiCare, recalled that an approach using apps, games and other technologies for addiction treatment is part of modern digital therapy.
“All drugs [including alcohol] that are abused destroy the pleasure center deep in the brain,” DynamiCare co-founder David Gastfriend told The Boston Globe.
“When we just put people in detox and then send them in for counseling, what we’re saying is, ‘Use your brain to try to overcome your chemical attraction [for drugs].’ The problem is that the behavior works in the opposite direction.”
In other words, when specialists try to convince a person to give up a bad habit, the result is often negative. The addict unconsciously acts in defiance.
In 2019, Gastfriend stated that the app would prevent users from spending money on certain goods/services or in certain situations (such as buying alcohol at a supermarket or paying at a bar), and would also track certain activities, including visits to rehab.
In addition, the app will pair with a Bluetooth breathalyzer to make sure the user is really sober.
The authors of the startup DynamiCare note that some people who struggle with drug and alcohol abuse can be helped by specially developed methods, while others can find help in religious or community support groups, and someone may even need medication.
However, if an innovative application is added to the “sober arsenal”, then the release from addiction will be faster and less painful.
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