Cope Notes: The Pocket Tool for Post-Covid Re-Entry Anxiety
Founded by 29-year-old suicide/abuse survivor Johnny Crowder, Cope Notes’ strategy is surprisingly simple: Combine peer-generated support and positive psychology to train the brain to think healthier thoughts.
Cope Notes text messages, vetted by clinicians, can range from tips on how to improve moods to thought exercises and journaling prompts.
Tampa, Florida, Aug. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ‘Should I talk to them?’ ‘What am I doing here?’ ‘Maybe I should've stayed home.’ As people ease their way back into public settings after more than a year of isolation, social anxiety has become an all-too-common reality. Cope Notes, an anonymous platform that provides daily mental wellness support via text message, is helping people cope with feelings of anxiety and depression brought on by the pandemic, as well as every other aspect of their mental health.
Founded by 29-year-old suicide/abuse survivor Johnny Crowder, Cope Notes’ strategy is surprisingly simple: Combine peer-generated support and positive psychology to train the brain to think healthier thoughts. The text messages, vetted by clinicians, can range from tips on how to improve moods to thought exercises and journaling prompts. When subscribers hear from peers who have been through similar struggles, feelings of loneliness, isolation, and self-judgment slowly begin to fade.
Through careful research and messaging, Cope Notes uses cognitive restructuring and neuroplasticity techniques to help subscribers form new neural pathways associated with positive thought. “It’s not specifically for people living with a diagnosis like me. I built this for anyone with a cell phone and a brain,” Crowder clarified. “Mental health shouldn’t have to be complicated. Everyone needs to take care of their brain, regardless of how they feel. Doing so saved my life."
Crowder’s personal experiences with mental illness, combined with his psychology studies at the University of Central Florida, serve as the bedrock of Cope Notes. Initially, touring with his heavy metal bands (Prison and Dark Sermon) allowed him to share his story through music. Eager fans would line up to speak with Crowder at concerts, sharing how his words had impacted, and even saved, their lives. Spurred into action by the loss of a fellow artist to suicide in 2011, he became a speaker and mental health advocate for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization.
By age 25, Crowder was well-versed in the shortcomings of America’s approach to mental health. “I needed something to walk with me in my day-to-day life, not just when I was in crisis, or every other week like therapy,” he said. Frustrated with the tools he used throughout his recovery, he set out to build Cope Notes and teach others how to improve their mental and emotional health.
Despite a lack of venture capital funding, Cope Notes has seen tremendous growth since its 2018 debut. “We already have users in almost 100 countries, and we’re projected to send one million texts before the end of the year,” Crowder said. “It’s about getting resources into the hands of as many people as possible and rebranding mental health as a whole. That’s how culture starts to change: Normalizing the conversation and destroying barriers to care.”
Crowder, while busy running Cope Notes and giving intriguing TEDx talks like this one, still finds time to stay active with his band, Prison, whose Billboard-charting album “Still Alive” touts proud anti-suicide themes. “Finally, being able to live a healthy life is a hard-earned victory for me,” he said. “And all I want to do is share it with others.”
To learn more about Cope Notes, visit copenotes.com.
Attachments
CONTACT: Meredith Dropkin Cope Notes 941-351-0024 mdropkin@grapeinc.com
