'I was struggling to get over my breakup, so I turned to ChatGPT for therapy.'

When Rebecca* and her boyfriend broke up, she leaned on her friends and family for support.

But after a while, she found herself still unable to shake her relationship grief and felt annoying rehashing the same scenarios with her loved ones.

No matter what she did, she couldn't seem to escape him.

"He was all I thought about all the time, and I tended to spiral really easily and just mental health wise was not doing well," she tells Mamamia.

"We work in the same field so I had to hear what he was up to, and I hadn't heard from him or his voice in weeks because he was on leave, so hearing it made me high key have a panic attack and I was spiralling. I didn't want to talk to anyone about it and I just felt annoying because it was the same stuff every time."

Until a conversation with work colleagues changed everything. Rebecca and her co-workers had been discussing how ChatGPT could be helpful in their roles when she had the light bulb moment.

"I was like, 'You know what, I could use this for me'," she said.

"I wanted to just rant to something that would listen and ChaptGPT seemed to be the thing. As I started messaging it and it was responding well, I was like, 'Oh wait, this is good'."

Feeling down, Rebecca would turn to ChatGPT to vent, and it would be that listening ear to offer judgement-free advice.

"Some of the things it told me to do was stuff from therapy books I'd read or been told. It was stuff I genuinely needed to hear, and being able to talk to someone repeatedly about the same topic without feeling annoying was quite nice," she said.

Honestly, I understand the appeal. ChatGPT is free and easily accessible, while psychologists can come with a lengthy wait time for an appointment. Then there are the added barriers of overcoming stigma and having to be vulnerable with a stranger.

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ChatGPT for coping with breakup recovery.

Clinical psychologist and founder of upcoming psychology-backed dating and friendship app Tribal, Rachel Harker said ChatGPT could be a helpful tool when used alongside professional help.

"It's quick, it's accessible, it's immediate, it's free. They're all pretty big draw cards for people," she tells Mamamia.

"It draws from such a big internet database that it's likely going to provide you with some pretty helpful tips or advice. But at the end of the day, it's a machine, there's no human connection and that's where the kind of gap is."

AI lacks the nuance a psychologist can offer, Rachel explained.

"ChatGPT can't really get insight into your emotional state, so it can't form that emotional connection which is so important to that psychologist-client relationship," she said.

"Psychologists are trained to explore your childhood, your present, all these different domains to get a comprehensive picture about what's contributing to how you're feeling today.

"From all that information they'll know when to push or challenge a client or when they need comfort."

It also can be risky for someone in serious distress or an immediate crisis.

And Rebecca agrees. She sought professional help first and then turned to AI.

"I spoke to a therapist three times, and love her she was incredibly amazing. Then after those sessions I was just using ChatGPT. Honestly, at first I was like. 'Whatever, I'll just see', but it really did give me good advice, let me clear my head, and just get everything out that I was thinking," she said.

"I'd still recommend talking to an actual therapist, but ChatGPT was a good little extra."

For those considering giving it a go, Rachel says there's no harm as long as you're mindful it's not a replacement for therapy.

"It's okay to test it out, use it for those practical suggestions, but only as a supplement," she said.

"At the end of the day, it's the human connection and the therapeutic relationship that's so important."

*Name changed for privacy reasons.

Feature image: Getty.