Christie and Ryan Holt experienced depression and marital problems, leading them to realize the importance of addressing their mental health. They tried using drugs but found that it did not work as well as awareness and mind intelligence. According to Christie, society teaches us to avoid, repress, ignore, and paralyze our human experiences, but our emotions are what make us human. Mental health not only affects individuals but also their children. As parents of four children, the couple wanted to create a safe environment for teenagers to address their mental health amid the increasing unhealthy use of social media.
In 2017, the Holts launched the MECA project, a nonprofit aimed at helping teenagers grow mentally and emotionally through conscious awareness. Last year, they founded an AI company, Vibeonix, to provide more mental health resources for teens and young adults. Their AI technology measures a person’s emotional state through their voice and helps them understand what they are feeling based on their vocal patterns. The technology is based on several years of public research and 11,000 different case studies. At their upcoming in-person event, Safe2Feel, the Holts plan to raise awareness of these resources and elaborate on how to work through and understand difficult emotions.
Writer and entrepreneur Curtis Morley will discuss false emotions and how to deal with them, emphasizing the importance of understanding and accepting our emotions. The MECA project partners with teens across the country, including Isabella Rose Skye, a teen ambassador and mental health advocate. Rose Skye found the MECA resources to be helpful, educational, and easy to connect with and learn from. She believes that education and awareness can make a big difference in addressing mental health issues.
Vibeonix not only helped Ryder Holt navigate conflicts with friends and sports but also made him realize the importance of having the courage to survive difficult times. The AI technology measures the frequency of a person’s voice patterns to infer their emotional state, making it difficult to fool the system by raising or lowering their intonation. By understanding our mind and emotions, we can better communicate and navigate challenging situations.
Overall, the Holts hope to create a safe and healthy environment for teens to deal with their mental health. They believe that emotional intelligence is the most sustainable way to deal with depression and other mental health issues. The MECA project and Vibeonix technology aim to provide mental health resources that are educational, easy to use, and effective for teenagers and young adults.