5 Apps for Mental Health
Choosing an app for your phone is as unique and individual as you are.
Most of these apps focus on someone speaking to you and if you can’t stand someone speaking American or British English, it will drive you crazy instead of calm you down :-)
Give the free versions a try every day for a week before buying it.
(Set a reminder to cancel the subscription before they charge you.)
3 scenarios where I use mental health apps:
Every night before bed (meditate on a topic)
When I am exploding with anger at someone I love and I get stuck in an obsessive thought loop
When I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep
Other moments, when a mental health app can be very supportive:
When something bizarre or unexpected has happened and you don’t know how you feel about it.
On the bus, tram, train.
When you feel tired, but need to keep going on.
When the kids or partner are pushing your buttons.
At work, when you feel bored by mundane tasks.
When you are feeling burned out.
When things are unclear and you don’t know how to move forward.
When you are procrastinating…. Very good for this one!
My top 5 apps to support your mental wellness:
Calm
Happify
Happy Not Perfect
Headspace
Stop, Breathe, Think
Below for an overview on how these apps work.
Calm – My all time favorite!!
What is inside the Calm app?
Meditations to support issues with anxiety, depression and sleep
Listen to sounds from nature
Listen to bedtime audio books
Sleep stories for children
Daily calm meditation and tips that are always refreshed!
Special topics like parenting, work, performance and sleep
Backed by and created by experts
Why use the Calm app?
Calm anxiety, relieve depression
Sleep better, deeper, longer
Get into a nice sleep routine by listening to calming sleep stories
Reconnect with your body
Highlights of the Calm app
Different voices just in case you find certain voices or accents annoying.
Always adding new content ☺
AND famous actors like Matthew McConaughey read calming sleep stories at night!
2. Happify
What is inside the Happify app?
Activities and games to boost your mental health
Focused on the science of happiness
Uses Mindfulness, Positive Psychology and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Why use the Happify app?
Build your resilience
Overcome stress and negative thoughts
Break old patterns to create new ones
Focus on stress, anxiety and depressive moments
Highlights of the Happify app
More than just meditations… also games to challenge your brain
Backed by science
What is inside the Happy Not Perfect app?
Meditations
Guides for working through problems
Journaling and gratitude lists
Mindful distractions (easy brain games)
Why use the Happy Not Perfect app?
Backed by and created by experts
Mind body connection
Improve relationships
Sleep better
Highlights of the Happy Not Perfect app
Many different ways to engage your mind
Work through a process with visualizations, versus just a meditation
Keep a journal
4. Headspace
A true classic app that has been around for years and focuses on how meditation adds value to your life.
What is inside the Headspace app?
Themed sessions (sleep, couples, kids, anger, focus, running, cooking etc.)
Meditations, Mantras
For emergency situations
Guided imagery
Why use the Headspace app?
Backed by continual research that meditation works (65+ research studies)
Improve your relationships
Sleep, pain, relationships, chronic disease, etc.
Use daily for considerable proven benefits
Highlights of Headspace
Meditation made simple (like Jamie Oliver did for cooking)
A lot of experience goes into this app
5. My Life Meditation. Stop, Breathe, Think
What is inside the Stop, Breathe, Think app?
Check in to how you are really feeling right now
Practice breathing and connecting to what’s going on for your right now
Think… make your plan for action and good in your life
Kids versions to help manage difficult emotions… a lifesaver!!!
Why use the Stop, Breathe, Think app?
Create a positive daily routines for your children and yourself
Calm, focus and improved sleep
Manage stress
Highlights of the Stop, Breathe, Think app
Created by experts especially for children. Learn it yourself and do it with your kids. Not only a bonding experience to know that life can be manageable, but a way to handle distractions in our every day to define what’s most important in life.
How to integrate a Mindfulness app into your every day?
Choose one app (or choose a few to compare.)
Set an alarm at the same time every day to open the app and explore.
You WILL see a difference, especially if you do it a few times a week.
Do it for yourself and slowly share with family members.
Sometimes mental health support is critical. Most of the time, mental health is about maintaining balance, grounding yourself and re-focusing your body and mind.
Meditation is now scientifically proven to help manage today’s life of constant distraction. Google it.
Which app will you try?
How do you integrate apps into your wellness routine?
