
Show HN: Mindset – Self-Improvement Hypnosis - mindsetalex
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mindset-simple-hypnosis/id1334431656
======
ghostbrainalpha
I downloaded this and will give it a good try and a fair review.

Very nice job with the "Sneak Peak" and I think your pricing is good, but I am
still very annoyed by needing to give you my email after I downloaded the app.

~~~
mindsetalex
Thanks, we would appreciate any feedback you have.

Yeah we wanted to give people a chance to experience hypnosis first hand
before making them commit to signing up. Sorry you feel that way, we believe
having user accounts is integral for successfully using the app because it
allows progression, stats, personalization etc.These help develop it as a
habit which is fundamental for fully changing your deeply ingrained attitudes
and perceptions.

~~~
mkl
Accounts just mean a unique identifier on your server, and don't inherently
require personal information. I.e. you can probably set it up so an account
doesn't need an email address.

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Hbthegreat
While this is true. Name one mainstream app that actually does this or at
least doesn't replace it with the (way worse) phone number option?

~~~
holstvoogd
While there are many bad examples, that should not be a reason not to do it
right ;)

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zwayhowder
Just finished the first session, feedback so far:

No offline option, I live in a poor service area so that's a long term deal
breaker for me. I tend to queue up everything when I'm at uni. (Coursera,
Lynda, Pluralsite, LinuxAcademy, Podcasts, Headspace all offer offline
downloads).

The app crashed on my ipod touch, and of course it crashed at a pause in the
narration so it took me a minute to notice, then I had to restart.

No seek option that I could find, so I had to start from the start.

I would prefer a one month free trial than a curated foundation set.

I also vote for a webapp (again with offline).

~~~
mindsetalex
Thanks for checking it out!

An offline option is definitely something we will be implementing in the
future, hope to see you back when we do.

Sorry, it crashed! We're working on a bug fix atm so hopefully it won't keep
happening, has only happened to a couple of users so I'm not sure why... We
don't have a scrub/seek option due to the fact that being interrupted in the
middle of a session would effectively mean you are brought out of the state
and would need to re-enter but we could consider adding it in cases of early
interruptions etc.

We actually do have a one-month-free trial of the premium service, if you tap
the subscribe button it will tell you about it. However, I definitely see how
it can be confusing without tapping 'Subscribe', and we'll make it clearer in
the new version.

Really appreciate your frank feedback, we're still-relatively-new developers
and the app is quite fresh so ironing out these bugs/improvements is really
important to us.

~~~
zwayhowder
I appreciate the seek option isn't much use generally, but this was about 3
minutes in during the intro.

I have no problem shouting you guys a couple of cups of coffee for the service
(assuming I like it).

~~~
mindsetalex
Yeah definitely makes sense for that, we'll add it in for you next update :)

Cheers, I hope you like it as well!

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mindsetalex
@dang would it be possible to change the link to our app store link? Clearly
the websites copy is lacking. [https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mindset-simple-
hypnosis/id13...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mindset-simple-
hypnosis/id1334431656). Thanks

~~~
dang
Sure. Url changed from
[http://www.themindsetapp.com](http://www.themindsetapp.com).

(It's better to email us at hn@ycombinator.com with this kind of request. We
don't see most comments on the site and I only ran across this one randomly.)

~~~
mindsetalex
Thanks for doing that and for letting me know!

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prawn
Went to your site. Clicked the link down-page. In iTunes, received: _" The
item you've requested is not currently available in the Australian Store."_

(I'm in Adelaide.)

~~~
stanislavb
yeah, it worked for me... (the AU Store)

~~~
mindsetalex
Sweet as, let me know if you have any questions/feedback!

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anpat
Tried and I'd say I liked the idea. Just a small suggestion, (only if you dint
already consider and discarded the idea) Why not allow pack based
subscription? By that I mean, I might not really be looking/interested in
public speaking pack or I might be only interested in public speaking pack.

It'd be great if I could chose limited number of packs for a lower amount.
Just my two cents.

~~~
mindsetalex
Thanks for the suggestion! Yeah, we did consider that but we felt that it
would lead to the paradox of choice; where choice overload could harm the
overall usability and enjoyment of the app.

We overall prefer the subscription model that gives you unlimited access to
the entire library, like Netflix and Headspace, then the pick and choose
method of traditional cable companies.

I appreciate the idea tho, we will continually add more packs to hopefully
provide greater and greater value. You are also able to suggest new packs and
we'll add the most popular!

~~~
anpat
Fair enough. Even though I feel netflix model is for a different scale of lib,
I totally understand your point and particularly it makes sense at initial
stage.

And yeah, I did suggest couple of packs I thought I could use. Good luck. :)

~~~
mindsetalex
Cheers man, appreciate the positivity.

Awesome, thanks for taking the time to check it out :)

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jpster
>The self-taught developers orchestrated a successful debut which saw them
reach Top 10 on bleeding edge curation platform Product Hunt, a shoutout from
Eddie McGuire on Millionaire Hotseat and 1000 new users in a week to boot.

That's from the press release on the website. Yet there are only 8 ratings in
the app store and no reviews. Seems odd.

~~~
mindsetalex
Heres our PH page:
[https://www.producthunt.com/posts/mindset-3](https://www.producthunt.com/posts/mindset-3).
We're actually Australian devs so a lot of our reviews are in the Australian
store. We have ~20 reviews across the different stores.

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raymondgh
What does it do? I see benefits but I don't understand how the app will help
me achieve those.

~~~
chrisnaoumidis
You listen to science backed hypnosis sessions aimed at retraining certain
behaviours, such as procrastination, focus and motivation. All of these
behaviours are targeted towards self-development, and the sessions are around
20 mins on average. The app is best used on a daily basis to help you gain
control over your subconscious.

~~~
guessmyname
Don't you think this information should be included somewhere in the website?

I just read every single piece of text in that page and didn't get any useful
information. Even reading the information in the "Science" page _(linked at
the top menu)_ doesn't clarifies anything. Considering the current stage of
the landing page, it would be better to simply redirect the user to the iTunes
page _(since there is no Android app yet)_ and let the user try the app
immediately rather than confusing them with irrelevant information.

~~~
mindsetalex
I'll change that if possible to make it easier. Is there a way to change the
link? What sort of information would you think would help explain it better?
Cheers

~~~
guessmyname
> _Is there a way to change the link?_

Ask one of the moderators; @dang for example.

> _What sort of information would you think would help explain it better?_

Considering how much skepticism people have towards Hypnosis in general, I
would prefer to read a clear explanation of what the app actually does. Your
comments here [1] and here [2] are on point. I would prefer to read that
explanation more than trying to decipher what the website is trying to
promote.

[1]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16580325](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16580325)

[2]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16580340](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16580340)

~~~
mindsetalex
Cheers for the feedback. We'll definitely add explanations along those lines
to the website. The site clearly needs to be improved but the in app
explanation is a lot clearer in how it works etc.

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jasonsmash
Have listened to the first session and here's my feedback:

\- Really like the voices used; slight scottish accent is quite pleasant

\- Helped dissuade me of some of my more immediate concerns about hypnosis

\- Was a bit longer than i'd like, will be a tougher to fit in to my schedule
than 10 min Headspace sessions

-Overall great looking app and I'll keep trying the rest of the sessions

~~~
mindsetalex
Thanks for your feedback, glad you liked it!

That’s one of the reasons we put that introductory session in; to help get rid
of some of the misconceptions surrounding hypnosis.

We know it can be a bit difficult to fit in but think of it as the same amount
of time as short tv ep but instead of draining your productivity you’re
actually improving yourself.

Cheers! We believe that in order for hypnosis to be successful it needs to be
packaged beautifully and intuitively (have you seen any of he other apps out
there)

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michaelcampbell
Apologies if I missed it but is there any way to sign up to be notified when
the Android version becomes available?

~~~
chrisnaoumidis
Yep! On the website if you press the "Coming Soon" button with the Android
icon on the home page, it takes you to a page when you can subscribe to be
notified when the Android version is released.

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mindsetalex
If anyone is interested in an Android version of Mindset feel free to join the
waiting list and we'll give you early access when it becomes available :)

[http://www.themindsetapp.com/android](http://www.themindsetapp.com/android)

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eclecticsceptic
ETA on Android app release? I'd be very interested to try this out.

~~~
chrisnaoumidis
Sorry we don't currently have any ETA since we had to learn to code to develop
this app, and we decided to focus on iOS development first. We're looking into
Android development now but don't want to estimate a time yet since it would
be based on little knowledge.

~~~
number6
You should try this Mindset app - I suppose it helps with procrastinating but
I am on android and slacking off on Hnews;)

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ipunchghosts
How does this differ from headspace? ~ A daily headspace user.

~~~
mindsetalex
We take inspiration with what Headspace did for meditation: make it accessible
and mainstream. That being said although Hypnosis and meditation do share some
similarities, they are actually distinct neural states and do massively
different things.

We think of meditation as cardio for the mind, improving your overall mental
health and well-being through mindfulness. Hypnosis is more like strength
training, where you focus on retraining the thought patterns relating a single
behavioural area.

Hypnosis doesn't involve being mindful of your thoughts like meditation,
instead, you become hyper-focused on what the hypnotist is suggesting and
taking it on board. Meditation helps you be aware of your thoughts and
feelings and try to change them actively, while hypnosis is retraining the
subconscious attitudes and perceptions that are instigating those thoughts and
feelings in the first place.

We believe that Headspace and Mindset solve different problems and are
actually quite complementary.

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1024core
Out of the 1000+ users, has anyone written an honest review? I'd be interested
in hearing what people have to say. Does this work? Any side effects?

~~~
mindsetalex
We've had ~20 ratings but maybe 6 written reviews who have all had a great
experience with it. From email correspondence with our users they are
experiencing improvements in the topics they've focused on.

Regarding side effects, there isn't any unless you have a psychological
disorder but thats in rare cases. Our tracks simply provide positive
suggestions to your subconscious regarding a specific topic.

On a personal note, I've been using it every day and can honestly say its
really helped me especially with my public speaking and procrastination and
has helped me sleep better (a massive help for my daily productivity). I would
recommend giving it a go if you have an iPhone and would be really happy if
you could provide an honest review of your experience.

~~~
bill_mon
>I've been using it every day and can honestly say its really helped me

How do you know this? It seems to me to be quite difficult to test properly.

~~~
mindsetalex
I've been tracking my time regarding accomplishing tasks/procrastinating and
have noticed a definite shift.

Additionally, I have done two presentations and my performance was commented
on by my colleagues as a lot more confident and self-assured (I definitely
felt that way).

Sleep is easy to quantify: I used to struggle to fall asleep until 1-2am and
now I am falling sleep before 12 every single night.

~~~
bill_mon
This shows that there has been a change, not what caused it. How do you
account for placebo effect and self deception?

~~~
mindsetalex
It's extremely difficult to account for those effects in a one-man-study, but
the science has shown that it definitely causes distinct neural changes in the
brain: [https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2016/07/study-
identif...](https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2016/07/study-identifies-
brain-areas-altered-during-hypnotic-trances.html)

And other studies have shown that placebo cannot account for the majority of
effects of hypnosis:
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4812013/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4812013/)

~~~
bill_mon
>It's extremely difficult to account for those effects in a one-man-study Then
how can you draw any conclusions?

>[https://med.stanford.edu/news/](https://med.stanford.edu/news/) ... This
shows that the brain is altered during hypnosis. This is also true of sleep
and many other activities and not too surprising.

>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/) ...
Not very cited. The question isn't so much "how much of hypnosis is placebo?"
but more "how did you account for placebo in your testing?".

What we want is documentation that your specific device / method has lasting
effects in double blind trials. If you can't provide that, how can you sell
the product?

~~~
mindsetalex
Was just talking about my own personal experience as founder and daily user,
in the vein of an experience review as one user requested in another comment.

[https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/hypnosis-for-ptsd-
ev...](https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/hypnosis-for-ptsd-evidence-
based-placebocontrolled-studies-2167-1222.1000S4-006.php?aid=21055) A placebo-
controlled study found that it was effective as a treatment for PTSD and had
significant and durable effects weeks after. As well as trials in treating IBS
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11151439](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11151439)
showing similar levels of long-term effectiveness. These trials are only a
subset and only show the effects removing the effects of placebo in double-
blind trials and the ability for long-term effects; not evidence that our app
works.

There is also evidence that hypnosis is highly effective in conjunction with
CBT in treating psychological disorders, but similarly, the research is still
early and not immediately transferable to Mindset [https://www-tandfonline-
com.ezproxy.lib.monash.edu.au/doi/ab...](https://www-tandfonline-
com.ezproxy.lib.monash.edu.au/doi/abs/10.1080/00207140008410046?src=recsys).
Additionally, a (small) study found hypnosis had a significant ability to
enhance self-efficacy, affect, and sports performance in soccer players
[https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/pdf/10.1123/jcsp.2.2....](https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/pdf/10.1123/jcsp.2.2.127).

Currently, we're relying on the evidence supporting hypnosis itself rather
than research conducted into the efficacy of Mindset. Considering the stage
we're at we think that's reasonable, especially considering we provide a
significant opportunity for users to experience the effects themselves in the
app.

In the future, however, we definitely will conduct double-blind trials into
the effectiveness of Mindset but it is just not possible at this time.

Thanks for taking such a considered look at the app, appreciate the interest!

~~~
bill_mon
I appreciate your answers, thanks.

~~~
mindsetalex
No worries Bill, I understand that hypnosis has a lot of negative perceptions
and stigma surrounding it and that it will require strong scientific evidence
to fully become mainstream and accepted.

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desireco42
This is a problem with 'apps'. They don't have enough fund/resources to
release proper full version, so they offer halfsies, just iphone app and
promise android in distant future.

This is wrong way to go about your business, in my expert opinion. I just
don't care, this might be the most brilliant thing ever, you just made
yourself obsolete by this in my view.

If they went with PWA, which clearly their 'app' can easily be, they could
develop business instead of fishing people.

~~~
mindsetalex
Sorry what do you mean release a full version? This is a full version on one
platform. Its important to validate that you're solving a real need and since
we only know how to code iOS apps it made sense to focus on it first.

Native apps are a lot better in my opinion; i can really notice the difference
between PWA vs native.

Why may I ask is it obsolete?

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nni
very cool - trying it out, listening to the first session - hoping I'm not in
a Black Mirror episode...

~~~
chrisnaoumidis
Cheers. Haha don't worry you're not... yet. Kidding but would love you're
feedback on how to session goes!

------
thomyorkie
Downloading the app doesn’t seem to work on my iPhone 7. Just keeps saying
it’s connecting to Apple Music.

~~~
chrisnaoumidis
That's really odd, haven't heard of that happening before. What software
version is your iPhone? Does it let you download it to your phone at all? Or
is the button not letting you download? Sorry about this!

~~~
thomyorkie
iOS 11.2.6. Its up to date. I can download it if I search for the app from the
app store.

~~~
mindsetalex
Have you got it to work? The issue was a broken link on the website.

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sigi45
Monthly subscription for a simple app, which basically plays audio files?!

srsly?

~~~
purerandomness
Yeah, same for Netflix; I can play a video with mpv, why pay for an app
playing videos? /s

~~~
sigi45
No. Netflix provides for a small amount of $.$ a huge catalog of movies and tv
shows.

This app provides for the same amount an App with audio files which content or
amount doesn't reflect at all the value it might and probably not provide.

And it is a subscription model. WTF. Wtf do you need an subscription model for
that? I tell you, because people forget to unsubscribe and thats how they plan
on making more money...

~~~
mindsetalex
Subscription model reflects the ongoing and increasing value that the app
provides. If Netflix only had x amounts of movies and you could only watch it
once then a subscription model wouldn't make sense.

Mindset is designed to be used on a daily basis and we have been and will
continue to add value throughout the lifetime of the product.

If anyone accidentally renews the subscription we'd be more than happy to
refund it because it's not worth destroying a consumer relationship forever
for $6.99 :)

~~~
sigi45
I think and believe that there was someone and thought if they should sell it
as subscription or as a package.

The reason why subscription won, was money. Its like every other gym
membership out there.

One day, you will be able to sit in front of the numbers and you will not do
the right thing. You will see exactly how many people paid for a year
subscription and stopped using the app after 1-3 month.

And yo uwill have the number later on on who is having an on going
subscription and who is not using it. And you won't stop the subscription for
the customer.

~~~
mindsetalex
We don’t have a yearly subscription so I’m not sure what you’re talking about.

If they accidentally renew we will. It makes business sense to keep customers
happy and we want our users to really be getting the benefits of the app.

I feel that you may have a negative view of the entire subscription model not
our application of it :)

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rgrieselhuber
It just occurred to me that Show HN would be a great way to distribute snow
crash.

~~~
zanedb
What's that?

~~~
cyknus
The digital version of a fictional drug from Neal Stephenson's novel of the
same name.

~~~
mindsetalex
Mindset is more like a digital smart drug not a mental virus hahaha

