I've done you all a solid and downloaded a ton of apps for mental health, and sorted through them..
I'll be honest, I don't see the point of paying for them, so anything that was mainly accessible through payment only was disqualified from my list (with maybe an exception).
Here's the winners.
Meditation
Calm: This would be my one exception to the payment.. I've been paying for this app for 2-3 years now, and I still freaking love it. This app taught me to meditate, and helped me heal and grow in more ways than I can tell you. I learned and practiced gratitude, forgiveness, and self-care through this app. I love the "take a deep breath" feature and have used that in times I felt overwhelmed and anxious. There are also podcasts, sleep stories/meditations/music and other goodies among this app.
Headspace: This is the free alternative to the Calm app. I was never a fan of the guided meditations on this one because I think I was already biased to Calm..but regardless, super popular, great to use and free!
Mood Tracker
Daylio: I dig this app -- although you can add premium, the free version is great. It lets you track your mood (with cute emojis), which hobbies you've been doing, how your sleep is, your heath, self care and chores you've done that day, along with goals. You can also add a photo and a note if you need to. It offers you the ability to look back and see patterns.
So if you notice your sleep has sucked on all the days you didn't do any activities and sat around feeling bummed out..and your mood and sleep improve when you do things you love.. It could be. a little eye opening. It also gives us incentives to change our daily habits!
Medication Reminders
MyTherapy: I went through quite a few of these, and I really like this one. You can add in reminders for all of your medication. It gives you options to choose if they are daily, or as needed -- you can also set alarms if you need multiple dosages within a day. Bonus: you can track inventory of pills. So instead of being down to your last pill and begging your provider for a refill, this app will notify you when you're low.
Sleep
CBT - i Coach: I recommend this app A LOT. This app offers you ALL the important tips for great sleep, and offers tools such as progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, breathing tools, a guided observation of your thoughts..and so on. Everything you need to know about sleeping great - it's here. It even has reminders to wind down, go to bed, wake up, etc. Plus.. it's an incredible way to track your sleep habits (which might help to share with your psychiatric provider). You can also continue to take assessments to track your personal progress.
Coping Skills
Calm Harm: This app is SO CUTE. It's to help reduce feelings and urges of self harm, but honestly it could be used for anxiety, depression, etc. It gives you ideas to distract yourself, find comfort, express yourself, release the feeling or to breathe.. I like the breathing bubble. I find it soothing. Essentially you "ride out the wave" of the negative feeling.
Clear Fear: This app is also adorable. It has inspirational quotes, space to write positive thoughts, and it teaches you about each specific type of anxiety, along with coping skills for each type. There's tools for panic attacks, a safety plan, the cute breathing bubble..and also space for a journal, goal-setting and anxiety tracker.
PTSD Coach: I've spent most of my career working with trauma, so I really, really love this app. It has parenting tips, info about child PTSD, ways to talk to kids about PTSD, tips for relationships/couples and it reviews common symptoms of PTSD along with offering tools to reduce those symptoms. Some include grounding, deep breathing, changing your perspective, sounds, body scanning, quotes, mindfulness, muscle relaxation, positive imagery, scheduling worry time, sleeping tools, soothing your senses, thought shifting, time outs.. It even reviews positive communication and fair fighting with your partner. This is essentially the equivalent of having your therapist at home with you.
Celebrating your Progress
I am Sober: Several of my patients use this app and genuinely love it...which means I also love it. What's your addiction? Drugs, alcohol, self harm, caffeine, cookies, gambling, hair pulling, shopping, nail biting, social media, video games... You choose it, and mark the day you started recovery. It tells you how many days you've gone without it, your milestones, a reminder of why you're doing this, and you can even track how much money/time/calories/etc you've saved by not doing this habit. It's pretty freaking motivational IMO.
If you have any you use that you prefer and think we should try out, let us know!
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