Mental Health Apps: Move Mood

When our mood is low, we are less likely to want to engage in activities that we enjoy or even need to complete. For example, for many clients, their depression is tied to sleep disturbances, appetite change, or diminished interest in activities (brushing teeth, getting dressed for the day, hobbies). One evidence-based intervention to manage this is behavioral activation.

Behavioral activation is a well-researched therapeutic technique to manage mental health issues like depression. When you do fewer activities because of your low mood, then your mood continues to stay low. This then leads to less engagement in the activities, which leads to lowered mood. It ends up becoming a vicious cycle of a lack of engagement and low mood. To break this cycle and improve mood, engaging in activities you enjoy, and even activities of daily living, can become a crucial part of the healing process.

One great app you can use to help identify and track activity engagement is Move Mood (https://www.movemood.co.uk/).

While Move Mood is an app geared towards teenagers, adults can benefit from using it as well! Move Mood is a free app that allows you to identify activities that align with your values.

There are various categories to choose from: physical well-being, relationships, sense of community, health/mental health, education, and hobbies. You are able to customize your tasks and add steps that are necessary to complete your tasks. One great thing about this feature is that if you are struggling with task completion, you may be able to identify where the breakdown is happening based on which steps are and are not being completed. The app also tracks how you feel about completing the task, and you can see your progress both in your mood and your task completion rate as you engage in this app.

Disclaimer: This app is not a replacement for therapeutic intervention or medication. Particularly for those with more severe or chronic depression, it is recommended that you seek the services of trained professionals in the field of mental health to assist you.

Photo by Giulia Bertelli on Unsplash

Written by Justina Yohannan, PhD