Lifestyle
9 Mental Health Apps You Need To Check Out
Everyone needs a mental health day, right? How about more than a day? How about a lifestyle change? Are there mental health apps for that?
Our mental health has never been more critical and, thankfully, never been taken more seriously. Once people eventually realized that taking care of your mental state is just as important as your physical health, more and more have finally taken the necessary steps to heal. One effective and convenient method of keeping your mental health on the up and up is an app.
- Talkspace
- Moodfit
- MoodMission
- Sanvello
- Headspace
- Happify
- Shine
- notOK
- MoodKit
1. Talkspace
Here is the Coca-Cola of the mental health apps available. All you need to do is download the app, answer a few screening questions, pick your therapist, and then get to work. It’s an incredibly intuitive app and makes the entire process (which can be very scary for people) totally nonthreatening.
Talkspace allows instant online chat, video, or phone with the therapist of your choice. No sitting in a waiting room, no sifting through lists of psychologists to see who accepts your insurance. Just pull out your phone and hit your therapist up for a healthy chat.
“For the most part, we liked Talkspace’s sign-up process as it felt more personal, and we liked the opportunity to take a more direct role in choosing our therapists.” – opencounseling.com
2.Moodfit
Voted Best Overall Mental Health App 2020 and 2021, Moodfit acknowledges that mental health is an extremely personal journey and that every patient requires a specified process. This app provides a customizable set of tools to make your mental health journey entirely your own.
The app works by allowing users to select daily goals to complete and an accompanying activity that helps complete that goal. You also have a mood journal, gratitude journal, meditation and breathing exercises, sleep and lifestyle trackers, and so much more. Anything you need to take detailed notes on your mental health state.
“This app literally feels like a miracle. 2 days into my 7 day free trial of the membership, I was sold. I can track my moods and sleep, check off daily goals (and set reminders to do them!), see trends over time and see how they correlate with other variables, record thought distortions and challenge them, ground myself back from a panic attack, practice daily gratitude, and more.” – itskristint
3. MoodMission
Some of us need more convincing that taking care of your mental health is worth the effort. MoodMission provides evidence-based Missions to improve your health. For every answer the app gives there is scientifically-backed evidence to explain in full detail why it’s an effective method of therapy.
“I realized that MoodMission would be useful for those times when I was in need of self-care but felt too busy or stressed to prioritize it. With this app, all I would need to do is take a few minutes out of my day no matter where I was.” – oktotalk.com.au
4. Sanvello
Sanvello, originally named Pacifica, was originally designed for people struggling with depression and anxiety but has since expanded to be a full physical and mental health tracker. Like many of these apps, there are meditation exercises and mood trackers of sorts.
But, unlike the other apps, your therapist can have their own account as well. Patients can upload their information and therapists can keep track of it. This kind of collaboration between therapist and patient through an app allows for a more detailed, accurate, and measurable kind of therapy that only serves to help.
“[Sanvello] relies on mainstream respected psychological practices: cognitive-behavioral correcting of erroneous or unduly catastrophizing or insistent thinking, mindfulness, visualizations, self-tracking, goal-setting, and the option for peer support — all for free or, with the paid version, for less than a session or two of therapy.” – Psychology Today
5. Headspace
One aspect of mental health care is quieting your mind. Anyone with anxiety would scoff at the idea of a “quiet mind.” But Headspace has tools and methods that can take even the most on-edge, anxious person and make them meditate like a Buddhist monk.
If you’ve never tried or even considered meditation, Headspace is a great way to start. It provides users with basic instructions on mindfulness and walks them through. More advanced meditators might find this a little repetitive as the app seems to focus mostly on beginners.
“Headspace is the best meditation app we tried. We think its more structured courses – which give you the experience of taking an in-person class, but one that you can do anywhere – will get beginning meditators started and help them maintain the habit. The app also offers short meditations for emergencies or the occasional random quiet moment. We prefer Headspace’s design too, which includes a warm interface that has fun illustrations and a well-organized library of courses.” – NYTimes
6. Happify
Taking care of your mental health doesn’t have to be a depressing bore, it can be fun! Happify provides scientifically-based tasks and games that measure your emotional well-being. Think of Happify as a tool to help increase your happiness in a fun, engaging way!
Unlike a few of these other apps, Happify can be used for people as young as teenagers. Anyone who’s dealt with a depressed teenager may want to take a look at Happify as a tool to help them out.
“Initially, I was skeptical about the use of Happify for my own personal use, but I enjoyed using this app. The features did seem too simple, but then I read the research behind each activity and found myself more engaged than I expected. My favorite part were activities which brought me forward to mindfulness.” – Ellen Belluomini, Ph.D., MSW
7. Shine
Mental health journeys are undoubtedly personal. Shine knows this and aims to make your digital mental health experience as personalized as possible. With daily meditations aimed at people of all experiences, Shine helps you calm your anxiety effectively and personally.
Shine was inspired by the lack of mental health options for underserved communities such as women, POC and indigenous peoples, and LGBT communities. These are people who, more often than not, do not see themselves reflected in mental health efforts. And so, Shine was launched to be there for people who have felt pushed to the side or cannot find a therapist who can relate to their situations.
“Along with the audio tracks, Shine sends inspirational images and relevant educational articles through messaging. Shine also notifies the user daily for a check-in where the user types a gratitude list and self-care goal.” – One Mind PsyberGuide
8. notOK
It’s okay to not be okay. One of the most difficult parts of tackling your mental health issues is admitting to yourself and others that you are, in fact, not okay. notOK aims to make that part easy for you. Like a panic button, notOK hooks you up with some immediate support.
Like Talkspace, notOK connects you with someone amongst your friends and family that you trust to talk to. When you’re having a hard time, all you need to do is push that button and whoever is in your circle will come quickly to support you.
“One important message I’d give to parents of teens and tweens who will use this app: choose that trusted circle of friends and family together. And if your child receives a request to be in the trusted circle, make sure they’re committed (and prepared) to follow through if they receive an SOS alert.” – Katie Etue, Cool Mom Tech
9. MoodKit
The one thing that you can’t find in a standard First Aid Kit are tools to help your mind. That’s where MoodKit steps in. This one of a kind app is designed to aid in your application of coping mechanisms in your mental health journey.
MoodKit, using four integrated tools, helps you work on bringing your mood up, identify and work on unhealthy habits or feelings, keep track of your progress with a 1-10 mood scale, and allow you to keep a journal of your progress for your own peace of mind.
“It’s like having your own portable psychologist … packed with tools designed to improve not just your mood, but also your overall well-being.”
Whatever you choose will be based entirely on your struggles, your situation, and your goals. What’s critical is not necessarily which app you choose, but that you take your mental health as seriously as your physical health. There’s absolutely no shame in being honest about mental difficulties. You’re far better off taking that leap to better health than keeping it inside for fear of judgement.
Mental health matters, make sure you make yours matter.