I'm Archie Defillo MD. I'm the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at Medibio LTD.

I've suffered from stress/depression/anxiety for my entire life. The only thing(s) that seem to work are benzodiazapenes and SSRI's.

Do you believe there is an alternative to pharmacological treatment for these conditions? Anything in clinical trials or even experimental phases you think look promising?

This country is terrible at mental health and my GP is basically acting as my psychiatrist since they're all booked up or won't take my insurance. This is in a major metro area as well. So, thank you for what you're doing.

Also - do you believe we *all* have stress, anxiety, and some form of depression? I hate to get philosophical or metaphysical here, but it seems to me over the years to be a commonality in that we all suffer from mental health issues in one way, shape or form.

First, thank you for sharing your experience with me. This is a very complex topic to be discussed on this platform. There is a strong relationship between mental illnesses and sleep disturbances. Both issues need to be addressed equally to achieve the best outcome.

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LUCA isn't FDA-approved because it was designed to be a wellness application. FDA doesn't regulate this type of device. Nonetheless, all LUCA biometrics and modules are based on scientific evidence. Our medical and Psychology team at Milan contributed to LUCA's development. For additional information please check the following link
https://medibio.com.au/science/

What is the single best thing a person can do to be mentally healthy?

This question can be simple and very complex at the same time. Checking your stress level is the first step. Keep on top of good behavioral habits such as a good night's sleep and your physical and cardiac activity.

Dr. Defillo:

What devices do you wish were miniaturized to the point of a "wearable" to enhance the measurements taken for your app?

Follow-on: Do you plan on doing anything with population data, e.g. signal detection for pockets of high stress areas that may reveal an underlying and emerging health emergency?

I believe current wearable devices provide us with good signals and fairly reliable biomarkers. My direct question to you is, what kind of biometric(s) would you like to see on wearables?

About your second question, it is something we are planning to explore in the near future.

Can someone develop cancer out of too much stress or anxiety?

I'm not a medical professional, but there have been a number of studies showing that stress and lower ranking in social hierarchy can lead to more heart disease/atherosclerosis =/

See Robert Sapolsky's lectures

What do you mean by lower-ranking, social-economic status? In that case, I believe your comment is correct,

In my understanding of the topic, there isn't a direct link but a predisposition risk factor. Stress may downregulate many internal homeostatic systems.

Is your birth name Archie, or is it derivative of something?

It is my Nickname, Real name Aquiles

Why is persistent stress linked to high blood pressure?

One of the many reasons, it can increase your systemic vascular resistance.

Hi Archie,

How does the app you've helped develop contribute to overall better mental wellness?

Negative stress is the stepping stone to mental unwellness and there is a direct link between the two of them. Negative stress can affect a person's emotions and physical wellbeing