Telling a bot how you feel may seem like a strange idea. But taking into account that the social network asks you every day what you think, maybe, after all, we should not be surprised about the idea of telling our problems.

   The researcher and clinical psychologist Alison Darcy, from Stanford University, in the United States, designed and created a human team to give life to Woebot, a conversational bot that works through Facebook Messenger and it's iOS app (Android version will be available soon). It is a tool that any can use and is available whenever you need it: 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

   The objective: "Control your mood and learn more about yourself". And, ultimately, it is able to tell you if you are depressed.

   "I am willing to listen, without a couch, without medicines, without children's games, only strategies to improve your mood, and the occasional stupid joke" says on its website..

   Abby Homer works in an agency that manages communication efforts on all of Woebot's advances. The specialist said that Woebot is designed to serve as "self-guided" way to "learn about its users over time, teaching them therapeutic concepts".

 "It is a conversational experience and replicates the communication that a patient would have with a traditional therapist in his office"
-Abby Homer, psychologist, Woebot Labs.

   According to Abby Homer, it was mainly intended for young people, but it is already being used by young people and adults in more than 130 countries.

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How do you talk to yourself?

   Darcy wrote in the Journal of Medical Internet Research - Mental Health, where the first results of his experiments with the bot were published, that the idea is to help young people with symptoms of depression and anxiety.

   The psychologist assures that the conversational agents (like Woebot) "offer a comfortable and attractive way to give support at any time".

   The system uses different psychological methodologies to point out the areas in which a person may be encouraging "self-rejection" or "negative self-talk", which distort the way we see the world, generating unnecessary negative emotions.

   Jesús Pelluch is a research psychologist and president of the Positive Psychology Association (POSITIVAT), in Castellón, Spain. The specialist said that it is important not to confuse positive psychology with "positive thinking", a current of self-help that has given rise to numerous books, and that is also generating the creation of new technological applications.

"By having a positive thinking you will not have a positive day," warns Pelluch. "Positive psychology is about encouraging positive factors to prevent disorders like depression, but technological resources can not replace traditional psychotherapy."

"Technologies help to complement, but can not replace, personal connections always work better,"
-says the psychologist.

   Pelluch assures that it would be convenient to make clear that it is not advisable to use them for serious disorders, such as major depressive state or bipolarity.

"As Professor John Cacioppo (pioneer of social neuroscience) points out, we are inherently social beings, a psychological approach is better posed with interaction between people."
-says Pelluch.

   Abby Homer agrees

 "It can not replace the human connection, Woebot detects if an individual is in crisis, but encourages seeking external help and offers information, always emphasizing the importance of human relationships."