Why it matters

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 27% of the adult population living in EU countries, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, meaning more than 80 million people aged 18–65, have experienced at least one of a series of mental disorders in 2017. Globally, major depression and anxiety disorders are among the top 10 leading causes for disability, and more than half a billion people are affected by anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, or addiction each year. These conditions often occur as a consequence of stressors, such as traumatic events, challenging life circumstances, strenuous transition phases, or physical illness. In Europe alone, stress-related disorders are believed to cause direct and indirect economic costs of about 200 billion € every year. Behind these numbers, there is much individual suffering, a heavy burden on families, friends, colleagues, the health care system, and drastic economic consequences.

Despite ample research efforts into the cause of these disorders, the burden on affected individuals and society as a whole has further grown. We believe that, instead of focusing on the disease state, we need to understand what keeps us healthy. It is time for a paradigm shift, a new way of thinking about health and disease, stress susceptibility versus stress resilience, and about the effect of certain stressor types, adaptation, and how we can cope successfully. For a long time, scientists have mainly focused on understanding what causes diseases. DynaMORE takes a different approach:  We intend to reveal mechanisms of mental and physiological health. With computer science providing exciting new possibilities of data collection, monitoring, and mathematical modelling, we aim to identify key resilience factors and provide practical and personalised intervention during stressful life phases.