The Tools

NOTE: This app is not intended as a substitute for therapy, or for advice from a trained medical professional.

Nietzsche famously said “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger”. But most people have no real way of turning problems into opportunities.

Enter The Tools app, based on the psychotherapeutic paradigm developed by Barry Michels MSW and Dr. Phil Stutz. The app teaches you to deal with four common problems (avoidance, resentment, insecurity, and negative thinking) with quick techniques called Tools.

Changing your response to problems means real-time behavioural change. If you can't stop succumbing to temptation or shying away from problems, it’s not your fault. You just didn’t have the right Tools in your toolbox – until now.



FAQ:

Q: “What is a Tool?”

A: A Tool is a 3-5 second visualization, done at the moment you experience a problem. Using a Tool changes your inner state rapidly, helping you resolve symptoms (e.g. stress) and transmute problems (e.g. procrastination) into potential.


Q: “How were The Tools created?”

A: In short, free association (a la Freud), except it was the doctor, not the patient, doing the associating. When a patient had a problem that needed fixing, Dr. Stutz would ad-lib a solution; these spontaneous ideas were precursors to the Tools in the app. The patient would try the solution, and Dr. Stutz would refine the Tool over hundreds of trials and with scores of patients.


Q: “Isn’t using a Tool every time I have a problem too much work?”

A: Using Tools regularly takes energy in the short run, but increases your energy in the long run. Plus, each Tool only takes ~3 seconds to use. If you use a Tool 20 times a day, you’ve spent 1 minute. You’ll find it to be a bargain, because Tools help you solve your biggest problems and resolve your worst symptoms.


Q: “How will I know that a Tool worked?”

A: The point of a Tool is to change your inner state; feeling a change in state (e.g. going from avoidant to confident) is a strong sign that the Tool is working. But a change in state only matters because state impacts behaviour, so a change in behaviour (e.g. doing the thing you were avoiding) is the strongest sign that the Tool worked.


Q: “I followed the instructions but I can’t get myself to visualize ‘correctly’, and/or I don’t feel anything. What’s wrong?”

A: Using Tools is a skill you need to learn, and it helps to think of it that way – practice hard. Tools can also feel different for each person, and you’re encouraged to customize them to make them work for you.

But doesn’t really matter if you can’t visualize well – what matters is that you use a Tool and experience a change in state, followed by a change in behaviour. If that happens, don't worry that you can't see what you're 'meant' to see.


Q: “What’s the payoff for using Tools?”

A: You’ll be able to solve your worst problems. Symptoms such as anxiety can abate.

But disciplined Tool use does much more than returning you to baseline. Using The Tools will touch every part of your life, allowing you to unlock abilities you didn’t know you had. It will also have a spillover effect on the people around you.

Lastly, using a Tool can make even a moment of suffering meaningful and empowering. No matter what your struggle, using Tools will give you a sense of vitality and meaning. The Tools are an antidote to nihilism (but only if you work hard).