2020 has taken a toll on everyone’s mental health. Whether you stayed at home or had to work on the frontlines, the pandemic affected everyone in some shape or form. The pandemic of 2020 highlighted the importance of mental health and the repercussions of not checking in on ourselves.
Fortunately, mental health professionals and app developers have come together to release several phone apps for addressing and improving mental health. Some of these apps focus on meditation and clearing your mind. Others focus on managing symptoms of mental illness and providing suggestions for healthier habits.
5 Best apps for Mental Health
More people may come forward to learn more about mental illness but may not know where to start. Fortunately, there are several resources available to learn about mental illness.
Mind Diagnostics provides self-assessments to determine whether symptoms could be signs of mental illness. If you’re experiencing mental health issues and want to learn more, visit Mind Diagnostics today.
Here are 5 of the best apps to improve mental health.
Calm
Calm has been rated the number 1 app for meditation, but the app contains many more features. The app has guided meditations for users of all experience levels. Calm has specific topics for users to focus on and helps you build your comfort with meditation if you’re a beginner. For more experienced users, Calm also provides less guided meditations, giving people the freedom to meditate without interruption.
Aside from guided meditations, Calm also has bedtime stories, masterclasses, and lessons in body mindfulness. With famous voices like Nick Offerman, Matthew McConaughey, and Lucy Liu, Calm narrates soothing stories and ASMR tracks.
Calm is a paid subscription, currently at $70 / year, or $400 for a lifetime subscription. While there are many free apps for guided meditations, Calm offers plenty of additional resources to promote your overall mental health.
Headspace
Headspace is an app for meditation with similar features to Calm, with a few additional features not found on Calm. Headspace has a wide array of courses with topics ranging from Acceptance to Transforming Anger. Many of these courses deal with specific issues that tackle several mental health topics, like self-esteem, productivity, and mindful eating. Headspace also has single sessions, some covering heady topics like acknowledging privilege and grief & injustice.
Headspace also includes ‘sleep casts’, 45-min stories narrated by soothing voices. While Headspace doesn’t have the star quality like Calm does, Headspace’s co-founder Andy Puddicombe incorporates many techniques for mindfulness he learned as a former Buddhist monk. As a bonus, Headspace also has dozens of playlists curated by famous artists, such as Erykah Badu, John Legend, and Hans Zimmer.
Headspace has a yearly subscription cost of $70 but has plenty of free classes to get you started.
Depression CBT Self-Help Guide (Android users only)
This app is geared towards people with depression or its symptoms. The Guide includes features, including articles, an online journal for documenting your thoughts, and several resources with activities for best practices.
The Guide also provides users with a diagnostic test to gauge the severity of their symptoms. This test is not meant to diagnose patients but allows users to track their symptoms over time.
The Guide is free to download, and no subscription is needed to access the content. However, the app is only available for Android phones.
BetterHelp
BetterHelp is an app that connects you with licensed professionals from the comfort of your home. Users can communicate with therapists via email, call, text, or video.
Therapists on BetterHelp employ several therapeutic techniques such as cognitive behavior therapy, psychodynamics, dialectical behavioral therapy, and mindfulness. As a patient, you have the final say in how you wish to communicate with your therapist and how frequently.
BetterHelp is an online service that functions online or on your phone. As BetterHelp grants access to actual professionals, the service is the most expensive on our list, with prices beginning at $35/week. However, this rate is far more affordable than standard therapy rates and may be an option for people with financial hardships.
Moodfit
If you’re experiencing sadness, anger, or anxiety and wish to track these moods during the day, this app is for you. Moodfit is a mood tracker that allows users to log their moods and visualize how their mood is affected. In addition, the app will enable users to ascribe moods to activities and considers other factors such as nutrition, social interactions, and exercise.
Moodfit also has tools for users to improve moods with CBT techniques and mindfulness practices.
Moodfit costs $9/month but has a free version that gives users limited access to its mood tracker. A subscription grants users access to meditations, guided journeys, and a plethora of other self-care content.
Further reading:
– How to improve mental wellbeing through diet
– Find fulfilment helping others as a breathwork facilitator
– Create the right workout to reduce anxiety
Final Thoughts
Please note that these apps are not intended to replace traditional therapy. If you’re experiencing symptoms of mental illness, reach out to a licensed therapist today.
HussaiN is a full-time professional blogger from India. He is passionate about content writing, tech enthusiasts, and computer technologies. Apart from content writing on the internet, he likes reading various tech magazines and several other blogs on the internet. Email ID: [email protected]
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