Laguna Beach mom and daughter hope new app will help prevent mental health disorders

Shawn Haydel had a heart-to-heart conversation with her teenage daughter, Sienna Mason, about a problem she was having with her girlfriend.

The talk came during the heart of the coronavirus pandemic and was an eye-opening moment for both of the Laguna Beach residents.

“What I came to understand was that she handled this problem on her own,” Haydel said of her daughter. “She didn’t have anybody to talk to. She probably didn’t want to talk to anybody about it. After I realized that was an issue, there must have been so many other things in her life that she was experiencing that she wasn’t talking about. Then I really started digging into what kind of an impact would that have on one’s life.

“There’s all of these statistics around mental health and adolescents. The prevalence of mental health issues has escalated so much, and that was prior to COVID.”

Haydel, who has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and recently earned a master’s in business psychology, did not want to sit idly by. She got to work on developing a phone app that could not only help Sienna but plenty of other Generation Z girls in her shoes.

They launched the app, BMOXI, at the start of this month. It seemed appropriate, as May is Mental Health Awareness Month.

Sienna Mason, 16, and her mom Shawn Haydel, from left, look at their new app, BMOXI,that offers self-care for Gen-Z girls.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

BMOXI is totally free for now, though Haydel, the chief executive running the operation, said they hope to switch to a subscriber-based model if it gains traction. The feature-rich “super-app” has been designed with extensive teen input — Sienna, now a 16-year-old junior at Laguna Beach High, sits on a small teen advisory board.

It features short “MoxiCasts” and meditations called “Power Zens,” designed to keep the good thoughts started and flowing. There are also fun weekly self-love horoscopes and pep talk pods.

“We want to get you out on your day, remind you how powerful you are,” Haydel said. “Who doesn’t need a pep talk every day? We also have mood trackers to help the girls really check in with themselves and understand how they’re feeling and why they’re feeling that way, and a community section where the girls communicate anonymously with each other and help support each other.”

The goal is to help prevent mental health disorders. BMOXI was designed through consultation with experts including school counselors and adolescent psychologists, Haydel said, though much of that content is edited for voice and tone to make it more appealing for teenage girls.

Dr. Sharonne Herbert, Ph.D., a pediatric psychologist at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, was one of the experts involved in the project. She said the country is currently facing its biggest teen mental health crisis in its history, and providing a community early on is a valuable resource.

Lila Samia, Ph.D., a school psychologist in the Laguna Beach Unified School District, was another who has been involved with BMOXI’s formation.

Sienna Mason, 16, is a junior at Laguna Beach High.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

“Prevention and early intervention are key,” Samia said. “However, many teens don’t receive the support they need due to the stigma around mental health. Social media may be an effective way of reducing stigma and encouraging youth to seek out mental health support, which is why I am so hopeful about BMOXI.”

Haydel said other features expected to roll out soon are exclusive videos from TikTok ambassadors and influencers, as well as one-on-one counseling.

She described the endeavor of launching the app as “boot-strap”— she found developers in India and branders in Brazil — but she is hoping BMOXI will gain momentum and partner with like-minded brands.

“We really want it to be more of a movement than just an app,” she said. “A lot of work to do, but that’s the grand vision for it.”

Sienna said the initial feedback from her peers has been positive.

“Even some people that I’ve just mentioned it to, they think that it’s a really fun idea,” she said. “It’s important for girls our age, because it helps us learn confidence. I think that’s the most important thing in high school, to have confidence, so you can keep going with your day without having to think about what other people are thinking or trying to please everyone. You’re just trying to please yourself, and I think that’s really important and the app gives us this.”