5 Mobile Apps Aimed at Improving Mental Health
With the rise of the use of technology and it’s accessibility, the most convenient way to begin to work on your own mental health could be to download a mental health app. With mental health awareness on the rise and becoming more of a buzz, more people are creating or searching for opportunities to improve their own mental health. Therefore, there are a plethora of mental health apps available to you. Whether it’s for yourself or someone you care about, here are a list of 5 apps that could enhance your well-being and look after your mental health.
Mood Path: Depression and Anxiety
This is an interactive mental health screening that improvement program that helps detect symptoms of depression. This can be a great starting point with someone who is experiencing a persistent down mood. Moodpath is a CE-certified medical product that you can share with your physician or therapist. There are many benefits to this app, including but not limited to: reducing uncertainty surrounding if you are suffering with a depressive episode; monitor your well being; maintain a mood journal to keep record of accurate information, and understanding the psychology behind ones mood. This can serve as a empowering tool to help gain a better understanding of your current experience, foster self-awareness and decrease stigma of mental illness. My favorite part is that this app will ask you three times a day concerning your mood and well-being encouraging you to reflect on emotions and experiences you might have otherwise been passive about previously. Overall, a great starting point in your mental health journey.
What’s Up?- A Mental Health App
This is a free app that utilizes both CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy) methods to help cope with a variety of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, anger, stress and many more. My personal favorite feature of this app is the 12 common negative thinking patterns and simple methods to overcome them. They break down things into simple and easy to understand terms that can be very helpful supplement for between counseling sessions. They also have features such as positive quotes, simple breathing strategies, positive and negative habit tracker and a comprehensive diary to increase self-awareness skills. This is a great tool to foster self-discovery and feels empowered to cope with any difficult situation you are currently facing.
Headspace: Meditation
This is an app that is free to download but does require subscriptions to have full access. Headspace offers two auto-renewing subscription options: 12.99 per month and 94.99 per year. Although not free, a good investment for a healthier mental state. This app helps educate on the importance of mindfulness and how to implement techniques into your everyday life. They have plenty of guided meditations and mindfulness techniques to bring calm, wellness, and balance to your life. With how fast paced and stressful life can get, this app can easily become a favorite and daily ‘go to.’ There are so many benefits to being present throughout your day and this tool can help keep you accountable on your mindfulness journey to a more relaxed and calmer self.
Moods: Tracking for better mental health
This app is a simple way to keep track of our daily emotions. This can critical to maintaining good mental health and getting the most out of talk therapy. Therefore, with this easy to use app you can easily record your mood throughout the day and add notes to help understand the thoughts and experiences you had in conjunction with these emotions. They have an option to add details to your mood with prompts to help streamline the process. There are so many benefits to ‘checking in’ with our emotions throughout our day and this is a simple and easy way to do just that.
Happify: for Stress & Worry
This is an app that is free to download but does require subscriptions for full access. They offer a variety of plans, for as low as 11.67/month (when purchasing yearly subscription) or Monthly for 14.99. Whether you are struggling with feeling stressed, anxious, depressed, this app, Happify, will bring you effective tools and programs to help take back control of your emotional well being. The techniques utilized throughout this app are developed by “leading scientist and experts” who have studied evidenced-based interventions in the field of positive psychology, mindfulness, and Cognitive-behavioral Therapy. My favorite part of the app is they offer many different ‘tracks’ to chose from to individualize your experience to the areas in your life you are personally struggling. You can chose from tracks such as, “conquering negative thoughts” or “coping better with stress.” There truly is something for everyone in this app to improve your mental health and feel better, feel happy!
Disclaimer- Experts believe that these apps will work best when used in conjunction with medication and/or in-person therapy. These are most beneficial when used as a tool for time in between session with your therapist or doctor. The most effective methods can be utilizing multiple modalities for optimal functioning. This blog does not provide or replace psychological treatment or evaluation. Contact a psychologist in your community if you are in need of individualized services.
Written by Cortnee Schraer M.S., LPC-Intern