The COVID-19 pandemic was a trying period for people around the world. Aside from forcing everyone to stay indoors, the fear of the unknown affected peoples’ mental health immensely.
With no access to physical therapy, mental health apps fast became a bridge between therapists and people who needed their services. Even now, mental health apps still thrive!
What do these apps really do? Do they help? Can they replace physical therapy? Read on to find out!
What are Mental Health Apps?
Mental health apps are tools used to manage and improve mental issues which are accessible only on mobile devices. They have an edge over physical therapy as they are always available and accessible.
With the experience of the pandemic that restricted movement, they are becoming more common. Plus, mental health apps can act as a supplement for therapy.
There are thousands of apps that claim to boost mental well-being. While some of these apps might be okay, some don’t leave their users satisfied. After thorough research, we have come up with 8 excellent mental health apps that can be useful for you.
1. Breathe 2 Relax
This app emphasizes the importance of breathing to survive panic attacks. Acting as a portable stress management tool, it helps the user to develop a skill called diaphragmatic breathing, which aims at reducing the body’s stress response, decreasing blood pressure, and lowering heart rate.
With many helpful videos, reading materials, and progress trackers, this app is a great option for people who are experiencing anger, anxiety, or PTSD.
2. Headspace
Headspace is an app built solely for meditation and focus. The app is simple to use for beginners and yet advanced enough for experienced meditators. It offers meditation as a solution to stress, self-awareness, increase in attention span, and anxiety control.
It is considered one of the best Meditation apps around having users amongst even celebrities. However, only the premium version gives access to meditation courses.
3. Talkspace
Possibly one of the best mental health apps currently, Talkspace provides users with actual traditional therapy. Talkspace connects you with licensed mental health professionals.
You have 24/7 access to your therapist, messaging them whenever you wish. There’s an avenue for video chats and assured bank-grade encryption to keep your sessions confidential. The best part? Users can change their therapists if unsatisfied with the results.
4. Calm
This app is best suited for tackling anxiety and insomnia. Its relaxing sounds, breathing exercises, and audio classes ensure a reduction in stress levels. Calm allows you to select your goals, so its recommendations are specifically tailored to meet your needs
There’s the option of meditation, calming techniques, and a statistical tracker to track your progress. It caters to all levels – beginners and advanced, children and adults – and its interface is designed to enable easy navigation.
Plus, it has a sleep library, which is sure to induce sleep, as calm as you’d like it.
5. Sanvello (formerly Pacifica)
Sanvello caters to its users’ mental needs, tracks their daily moods, and helps them cope with nervousness, anxiety, and depression.
The beauty of Sanvello is that its techniques are medically validated. Also, it has a community feature that allows you to connect with people with similar issues (anonymously, of course), share experiences, and receive advice.
If after all these, you still aren’t satisfied, you can have access to a licensed therapist.
6. Happify
Happify helps to boost its users’ moods and relieve their anxiety. It boasts of a thorough questioning session which allows the app to recognize and reorient a user’s thoughts. Its relaxation and mind-rest techniques focus mainly on positivity.
Additionally, it gives users access to a community forum and the added feature of personalization. It’s highly recommended because it was developed by professional therapists!
7. Moodfit
The adaptability to personal goals as well as its customizable nature makes Moodfit an excellent choice to improve mental health. From stress to anxiety to depression, Moodfit is capable of providing a cognitive combat strategy.
Its questionnaire helps determine the severity of your situation and provides materials to help you understand it. Over time, it gives its insight into what affects your moods, sleep, exercise, etc, whilst providing a thought record that aims to change your thinking.
8. eMoods
eMoods is a dynamic mood tracking app that helps people with Bipolar Disorder. It’s useful, considering the numerous mood swings and irregularities that are experienced by people with Bipolar Disorder partners.
Its features allow it to stand in for the human memory in a traditional therapy situation. For instance, an edit function that allows users to return to a certain day and provide more information that they might have left out.
While this is an optional function, eMoods can share your mood report with your doctor and suggest a treatment plan.
Conclusion
Mental health apps are a safe, affordable, and useful alternative for physical therapy. If you need help finding a therapist, don’t hesitate to contact us. Your mental health is our priority!
