By Cara

These are especially difficult times we currently live in, and if you feel as though your mental health hasn’t been it’s best, trust that you are not alone. The global pandemic has been affecting all of us in different ways, and I’m sure that it hasn’t been easy for some of us. Whether you’re going through depression, grief, or extreme amounts of stress, it’s important to have access to help when you need it.

But let’s face it — not all of us have that. But over the years, there’s a proliferation of mental health apps that can help you cope. While they’re not a complete substitute for proper therapy and mental health care, they could also be valuable.

These are apps that I use, and some of them are recommended to me personally by my therapist. I hope these could help you, as much as they have helped me. There are a lot of other apps out there, but I try to use free apps as much as I can.

Viridi

Viridi is a virtual garden simulator. You plant your own succulents in a pot and take care of them like real plants. This app helps me when I need to ground. You can talk/sing to the plants (which helps them grow faster), or listen to the soothing background music as you meditate. 

iPhone / Android

Coffitivity

This app recreates ambient sounds much like being in a coffee shop. It can be used for productivity/as you work, but I personally find café shop sounds calming. I use this as a background sound when I work on my coloring books.

iPhone / Site

Rain rain

I use this app as a background when I do meditations or when I’m somehow unable to sleep after an anxiety attack in the middle of the night. The app comes with a series of natural sounds such as fire crackle, thunderstorms, and ocean waves. I find synchronizing my breathing to ocean waves really helpful when I hyperventilate uncontrollably.

iPhone / Android / Site

Stoic

This is one of the apps that was personally recommended to me by my therapist. There’s journaling, breathing techniques, and reminders in the app. It helps me chronicle down my days and emotions, which is helpful when sitting down during my therapy sessions. There is also a ‘fear setting’ which helps you visualize scenarios that helps with anxiety.

iPhone / Site

I am

This app notifies you mantras and affirmations throughout the day. You get to set the time, the duration, and the kind of affirmations you want. 

iPhone / Android

Moodpath

This app also serves as a mental health tracker. It gives you assessments as you log on. My therapist recommended this to me to keep track of my depressive episodes, and it’s a lot easier to describe my days to her. I can also contact my psychiatrist when the assessments tell me I have symptoms of a depressive episode. There are also built-in mediations and breathing synchronizing audio, but I’ve yet to try them.

iPhone / Android

It is important to note that none of these apps are a complete substitute to psychiatric treatment and/or therapy. I see a psychiatrist for my medications and a therapist as I use these apps. If you believe that you need professional help or assistance, please reach out to a health care professional.

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