MENTAL_HEALTH

BalanceBoard is a student productivity and wellness tracking tool. It is not a mental health treatment platform, clinical service, digital therapeutic, or medical device.

Nothing on BalanceBoard — including the planning assistant or AI wellness insights — constitutes:

• Medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment
• Mental health therapy, counseling, or psychotherapy
• Psychiatric evaluation or medication guidance
• Crisis intervention services
• A substitute for professional mental health care

If you are experiencing significant mental health challenges — including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance use, suicidal thoughts, or trauma — please seek help from a qualified mental health professional. Your school counselor is a great first point of contact and can refer you to appropriate resources.

Our wellness features are designed to:

• Track self-reported metrics (mood, sleep, energy, stress) to help you notice patterns over time
• Encourage healthy daily habits (hydration, exercise, breaks, breathing) through gamified tracking
• Provide general wellness education based on research-backed principles (sleep hygiene, stress management)
• Respond to a limited set of phrases by displaying crisis resources; this is not detection of a person's condition or safety
• Adjust task suggestions using your self-reported check-ins — for example, suggesting a smaller first step on a day you reported high stress, or showing how your assignment load and stress levels moved together during the week. These are organizational and scheduling aids based entirely on what you told the app; they are not clinical assessments, interventions, or treatment recommendations, and the workload-stress patterns shown are descriptive, not diagnostic

Estimates, Not Measurements: All scores, levels, and indicators displayed in BalanceBoard (including the daily wellness level, sleep values, and stress trends) are self-reported estimates for motivation, awareness, and personal self-reflection. They are not clinical measurements, medical diagnostics, or health records.

These tools work best as complements to professional care and healthy lifestyle practices — not as replacements for them.

For this reason, even if the AI tells you something feels positive or normalized (e.g., "some stress is normal during exam season"), this should never discourage you from seeking professional help if you feel you need it.

BalanceBoard cannot connect you with a trained person or contact someone for you. Talk with a trusted adult, school counselor, or qualified professional when you need personal support. For immediate danger, call 911; for U.S. crisis support, call or text 988.

BalanceBoard follows established safe messaging guidelines on suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders developed by organizations including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC), and NEDA. These guidelines inform authored safety content and AI instructions.

BalanceBoard is designed for academic planning and optional self-reflection. It is not an open-ended companion, a relationship simulation, or a replacement for a trusted person or qualified professional.

Automated outputs can be incomplete, inaccurate, or inappropriate. Do not rely on BalanceBoard for decisions about diagnosis, treatment, medication, personal safety, or emergencies.

Please consider talking to a mental health professional if you experience any of the following for more than two weeks:

• Persistent sadness, emptiness, or hopelessness
• Loss of interest in activities you used to enjoy
• Significant changes in sleep (too much or too little)
• Significant changes in appetite or weight
• Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
• Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
• Recurring thoughts of death or suicide
• Panic attacks, severe anxiety, or constant worry
• Engaging in self-harm behaviors
• Substance use to cope with emotions

Your school counselor can help connect you to free or low-cost mental health services in your area. You don't need to be in crisis to reach out.

BalanceBoard does not currently provide counselors or schools access to student accounts or wellness data. See the Counselor and School Access Policy.