Mood app designed for youth by youth launches today at Sandbox Conference

Intuitive tool creates a shared language for youth to talk about how they feel with those who support them

TORONTO, Jan. 17, 2013 /CNW/ - mindyourmood, a new app for Android and Apple mobile devices, launched today at The Sandbox Project Conference.  Developed by the award winning mental health and youth engagement initiative mindyourmind for the AstraZeneca Young Health Program, the mood tracking app provides young people with an intuitive platform to quickly record how they feel - from day to day or hour to hour.  App users can capture how they feel and discuss it with their caregiver - be it their therapist, doctor, parent or peer - creating a shared language that can lead to more positive interactions and results.

"A major barrier for young people seeking support is being able to relate how they really feel to an adult care provider," says Maria Luisa Contursi, Program Director for mindyourmind. "The mindyourmood app helps remove that barrier by giving a young person a record of how they have felt since the last session, displayed in a way that both the caregiver and young person can understand."

mindyourmood was designed by youth for youth using the language of youth.  There are seven mood categories, each with four mood words selected by youth including descriptors from pumped to chilled-out and empty to pissed-off.

Dr. Bruce Ferguson, Community Health Resources Group at The Hospital for Sick Children and Co-Chair of the AstraZeneca Canada Young Health Program, agrees with the value the app brings beyond the patient/therapist relationship. "Enabling a young person to manage their mental health the way mindyourmood does is empowering for that person. It gives them an important tool in building hope and resilience as they move forward."

"I think the app is going to be a really effective tool to help people be able to track their mood and create a new kind of therapeutic relationship," says Alicia Raimundo, Youth Volunteer.  "Working on this project has empowered me to learn more about mental health and be very confident in my voice and my story."

mindyourmood was developed for the AstraZeneca Young Health Program, a community investment initiative focused on adolescent mental health that is delivered in partnership with leading charitable organizations:  mindyourmind, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada and Physical Health Education Canada.  Working collaboratively with its program partners, AstraZeneca is developing online resources and on-the-ground programs to help young people strengthen their emotional resilience, gain the coping skills they need to avoid risk behaviours, discover their own strengths, and reach their full potential in life.

mindyourmood is immediately available for download to any Apple or Android mobile device from www.mindyourmind.ca.

About mindyourmind
mindyourmind is a non-profit mental health program that engages youth, emerging adults and the professionals who serve them to co-develop reliable and relevant resources. These resources are designed to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and increase access and use of community support, both professional and peer-based. Through the use of active engagement, best practice and technology, mindyourmind inspires youth to reach out, get help and give help.  For more information, please visit www.mindyourmind.ca

About the Young Health Program
The Young Health Program is a long term community investment initiative. AstraZeneca Canada believes the issue of adolescent emotional well-being provides an important opportunity to make a positive impact on the health of today's youth and tomorrow's generations. Focused on prevention and early intervention, the Young Health Program will help youth move from risk to resilience by connecting them to positive conditions and experiences that foster emotional and mental well-being.  For more information, please visit the program website at www.younghealth.ca

About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca is committed to the research, development and manufacturing of valuable prescription medicines. We have an extensive product portfolio spanning six therapeutic areas: gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, infection, neuroscience, oncology, and respiratory. AstraZeneca`s headquarters are located in Mississauga, Ontario. For more information, please visit the company`s website at www.astrazeneca.ca

SOURCE AstraZeneca Canada