At least 75 million Americans suffer from some level of anxiety or depression, but mental health in general often remains a silent struggle.

A local group of stakeholders is working to correct that by placing information in the palm of a patient’s hand.

Smartphone app eMindLog launched about two months ago, as a way to sync available technology and the latest knowledge of neuroscience and psychology in a way to better serve the patient, according to Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Philip Ninan.

Team members in Washington partnered with others from the East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine to develop the app, which is a product of the larger startup eMind Science.

“I felt that there was a combination of factors that were coming together in terms of the need and the opportunity,” Ninan said. “There are a number of guidelines suggesting that measurement-based care results in better outcome.”

App users can learn more information about stress, anxiety and depression, while also tracking their individual experiences.

According to Ninan, one of the most important factors of the app is its defining of psychological concepts, which separates emotions, thoughts and behavior from one another. This helps patients to understand why emotions are happening, why thoughts are triggered and how both of those lead to behaviors, he said.

Ninan said this factor of eMindLog was important because anxiety or sadness can mean different things to different people.

“A lot of work and money went into those descriptions and making sure there was no overlap,” he said. “Otherwise, they were just a jigsaw puzzle. They were bits and pieces thrown around.”

The complementary piece to these definitions involves answering questions and tracking one’s symptoms. Over a period of time, patterns develop and give insight into what’s happening in a patient’s brain, Ninan said.

“That educational component, and so a person using it over a period of time gets better and better,” he explained. “Tracking it on an ongoing basis gives you an objective number that is not contaminated with your current emotional state.”

The eMindLog app already has more than 1,000 registered users, and others outside of eastern North Carolina are beginning to take notice.

Growth partnership company Frost & Sullivan recently awarded eMindLog with the 2017 New Product Innovation Award.

“One of the most beneficial attributes of the product is its ability to empower an individual to better understand the way his or her mind works — the better a person understands, the faster he or she can learn to control it, and eventually manage a disorder with more ease,” the Frost & Sullivan report reads.

Ninan said the award was a surprise, and it acts as a confirmation of the work the eMind Science team is doing.

“It’s all local people who are driving this,” he said. “It’s basically Little Washington people doing things that are having an impact.”

For more information on the app, visit emindlog.com, or download the app for free on Apple or Android devices.