Lifelogging Technologies to Detect Negative Emotions Associated with Cardiovascular Disease

The repeated experience of negative emotions, such as depression, anger, or anxiety, can have lasting implications for long-term health. For example, experiencing frequent and recurring episodes of anger can increase the susceptibility to cardiovascular disease, with the associated burden on health services. Evidence is emerging that the development of protective coping strategies may mitigate the impact of negative emotion on long-term health. However, the development of such preventive strategies requires insight and improved awareness of both the emotional experience and the physiological consequences associated with those emotional experiences. Wearable technology for lifelogging provides an ideal platform for the identification and quantification of negative emotion. Making these data available can be used to encourage reflective thought and facilitate the development of protective coping strategies. This type of technology permits the user to capture multimodal data sources pertaining to everyday behavior. This chapter explores how lifelogging technologies can be used to monitor the physiological process of inflammation that is associated with negative emotion and deleterious consequences for long-term health. These technologies furnish the user with a platform for self-reflection, enhanced awareness, and the formulation of coping strategies. Development of this technology faces a number of significant challenges, including (1) obtaining measures that are clinically relevant, (2) capturing the context of an event to enable sufficient self-reflection, and (3) designing user interfaces that deliver insight without creating health anxiety or hypochondria. This chapter presents these challenges in detail and offers guidance on the design of a lifelogging technology that promotes effective self-reflection and protective coping