We take great measures to look after our physical and emotional health – eating vegan, exercising, getting therapy and more. But, what we often forget is that taking care of our mental health is just as important. Good mental health strengthens and supports our ability to have healthy relationships, make good life choices, maintain physical health and well-being, handle the natural ups and downs of life and discover and grow towards our potential.
As the occurrence of dysfunctional behavior like depression and uneasiness increases amongst adults, clinicians have moved to mobile applications as a technique to help their patients. These applications can be equally useful for teenagers and adults experiencing dysfunctional behavior because of their constant use of technology.
Mental health apps help users by providing relevant information and techniques of coping with mental stress, anxiety and other disorders. Seeking professional care is the course of action you should take,in the case of a mental disorder, but these apps can be cohesive with a complete mental wellness plan.
The applications can be useful as an approach to connect with individuals who might be unwilling to go into therapy. Specialists trust that these applications will work best when integrated with personal therapy and medication.
Here are 5 best mental health apps that help look after your psychological wellbeing and make you feel great from the inside out.
1. Optimism
Optimism is a group of applications that tracks emotions and mental wellness of a user on a regular basis. The self-tracking app is designed to enhance the users’ understanding of the constituents that have a huge influence on a person’s mental health.
The main purpose of the app is to assist users in keeping mental illnesses such as dementia, anxiety and depression at bay. The app helps users identify mood patterns and then develops a wellness plan that manages bipolar disorder, depression, stress, anxiety and other serious mental health concerns.
Key features of the app include developing and monitoring strategies, customized according to the users’ preferences to help maintain good health. It helps in understanding the ‘triggers’ that are early warning signs.
The Optimism self-tracking app charts and reports a feedback loop. It allows you to update your records as your circumstances change to help increase your self-understanding.
2. Breathe2Relax
Breathe2Relax is a mental health app designed to help people with stress. It offers breathing exercises that help reduce stress, stabilize moods and emotions. The app teaches users to practice breathing techniques to curtail overwhelming feelings.
The Breathe2Relax demonstrates breathing techniques and provides timed cycles for inhaling and exhaling. These can be personalized to cater to unique breathing patterns of every individual.
The app also features a wide collection of soothing music to help with your breathing cycles. Users insert their levels of stress before and after finishing a breathing cycle and the responses are tracked on a graph for analysis and comparison over a period of time. The app is a must try for all users of ages 6 and above. Breathe2Relax is available on both iOS and Android.
3. Smiling Mind
Smiling Mind meditation is a non-profit website featuring an effective meditation program designed by educators and psychologists to help add mindfulness into people’s lives. The personalized meditation app delivers meditation exercises on the basis of age.
According to their website, Smiling Mind exists to help build individual mental health and wellbeing through positive, pre-emptive tools based on mindfulness meditation. The app is best suited for beginners and teenagers. The app was created with an aim to bring a balance into your life and put a smile on your face no matter where you are.
4. Super Better
Super Better mental wellness app has helped over half a million people accomplish personal growth and handle challenges that life has thrown at them. The app helps users develop personal flexibility and tools to creatively manage their problems.
The app has been designed after detailed consultations with medical researchers, psychologists, scientists and doctors. Super Better mental wellness gaming app is basically a video game that helps users create their own quests and gain support from others when attempting to defeat the enemies.
Several people use and rely on Super Better app all around the world and here are some reasons why:
- To take up a new habit, learn new talents, enhance their aptitude, fortify relationships, accomplish a physical or athletic challenge, finish significant ventures, or go after a dream.
- To beat despondency, conquer nervousness, adapt to unending sickness or constant agony, recuperate from physical damage, or recoup from post-traumatic anxiety.
- To beat a persistent challenge like finding another employment opportunity, surviving separation, or lamenting the passing of a friend or family member.
- To help other people: therapists prescribe Super Better to patients; college educators integrate Super Better into their coursework, life coaches refer the app to their clients while HR experts incorporate the app into the employee’s wellness incentive programs.
5. Headspace Meditation app
Headspace’s meditation app is an award winning application that helps you live a healthier and happier life with merely 10 minutes of daily guided meditation.
The app creates self-awareness with your thoughts and emotions; it even helps you calm down in times of stress. A straightforward teacher, the Headspace app helps you learn the very basics of visualization and breathing – two integral parts of meditation.
According to company reports, the app had over 8.5 million users until mid-2016, including Olympic athletes, Wall Street wolves and celebrity executives. Companies such as Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Goldman Sachs have bought subscriptions of the headspace app for their employees to help control increasing levels of stress at work.
Headspace Meditation app is free for download; however a subscription unravels complete access to all of the lessons.
Just like eating right and exercising to stay physically fit and healthy, incorporating mental exercises into your daily routine is important to sustain mental well-being and keep mental disorders like stress, anxiety and depression at bay. Most of these apps are available for both Androids & iOS in Google Play and Apple Store, respectively.
Which apps do you use to look after your mental health? Please let us know in the comments section below.
