From connecting people around the world to extending the human lifespan, technology is rapidly changing our world in extraordinary ways. Often overlooked, however, is how technology can help individuals on their mental health journeys. There is actually quite a wide variety of websites and apps that are designed to improve health and wellness. I've compiled a short list of my favorite iPhone apps to deal with anxiety.
1. Pacifica
Pacifica Highlights:
--record and track mood
--set long term goals and daily challenges
--set target goals for daily activities
--guided and unguided meditations
Pacifica is a great app for tracking your mood and health habits. Its most prominent feature is its mood tracker which allows you to rate your mood, add feelings (anxious, overwhelmed, calm, etc.), and write about how you're feeling. For this reason, Pacifica could be especially helpful for people with anxious depression or other mood disorders in addition to anxiety. Pacifica also allows you to set goals for the amount of time or the number of times per day you do an activity. For example, I set my "sleep" target for seven hours and my "water" for six glasses. There are also several meditations and breathing exercises that can be downloaded. Unfortunately, most of the specialized meditations are only available to paying users who upgrade to Pacifica Premium.
2. SAM
SAM Highlights:
--anxiety tracker
--anxiety tools and toolkit
--resources for anxiety
SAM stands for Self-help Anxiety Management and is an app developed by the University of the West of England. I love its anxiety tracker because it allows you to rate and track specific symptoms of anxiety: "Feelings of anxiety and tension," "Worrying thoughts," "Unpleasant physical sensations," and "Avoiding things I fear." SAM comes packed with lots of activities and resources to help treat anxiety and allows you to save your favorites in "My anxiety toolkit." One of my favorite activities is called "Positivity practice" and works by helping you focus on your positive thoughts rather than negative ones.
3. GPS for the Soul
GPS for the Soul Highlights:
--breathing guides
--wellness articles
--create your own guides
GPS for the Soul is an app developed by the Huffington Post and their wellness section that goes by the same name. The app includes articles from this section as well as relaxation guides. The guides combine calming photos and phrases with a breathing marker to regulate your breath. It also allows you to create your own guide by uploading photos and writing sentences to go with them. I like using this app when I'm on the go in public and feeling stressed. The breathing guide especially allows me to relax and refocus.
4. Grid Diary
Grid Diary Highlights:
--easy-to-use grid format
--daily reminders
--customizable grids
Positive psychology has shown us that journaling and practicing gratitude help rewire the brain and lead to happiness. Unfortunately, for many of us, daily journaling is far too time-consuming to keep up in practice. The Grid Diary app provides a super easy, convenient, and non-intimidating way to reflect on the day without spending too much time or energy. I like to set a reminder for every night at 9:00 pm to complete my grid diary. The app lets you note the weather and your mood for the day then fill out however many grids you would like. The grids are completely customizable, and the app comes with lots of ideas for potential grids. I would recommend having at least one grid every day that has to do with gratitude or reflecting on a positive memory from that day.
5. Stop, Breathe & Think
Stop, Breathe & Think Highlights:
--guided meditations
--mental, physical and emotional health tracker
--track your progress
Stop, Breathe & Think is probably the best app I've ever downloaded. It provides dozens of guided meditations for all types of purposes. The app even recommends meditations based on how you feel mentally, physically and emotionally. It also rewards you with stickers as you meditate more and more. I've found that I enjoy this app a lot more than other similar meditation apps because the meditations require more thinking. While some of the meditations are more traditional, others are a lot like thought experiments mixed with breathing exercises. This app may appeal especially to people who aren't experienced meditators but who want to try it out for the mental health benefits.
