A young client of mine recently mentioned that she found an app that proved itself useful to her: a ball that grows and shrinks, helping the user to control their breathing (Breath ball). This simple instrument helps her manage anxiety in difficult situations. Later on another person mentioned Headspace during our session. From the context, it became clear to me that I am quite out of step with technological developments in my own field. So, I started catching up.
There is a whole vast world of psychological self-help applications out there. Over the last month of searching, experimenting and trying out, I have barely scratched the surface. Many useless ones were discarded along the way. Below, you will find the first of what I hope will become a series of reviews of apps that I found truly helpful.
- Headspace
Mindfulness meditation seems to have been in fashion for a while now, and with good reason. I also turn to it time and again in both my professional and personal life. I used to recommend books on mindfulness to my clients, but sadly, reading becomes less and less popular over time. It requires extra effort that only a few are willing to make an investment in. Now I also have a solution for those people who cannot imagine life away from the screen.
Along with Mindfulness Daily, Meditation, Stop Breathe and Think, and others, Headspace offers its users simple, comprehensible and, most importantly, short guided meditations for any and all occasions. The free trial version of the app only gives you the basics. To move to the deeper levels and access special programs such as Meditation for Anxiety, Meditation for Depression, Meditation for sleep, Meditation for Self-Esteem. Meditation for Productivity and so on, you’ll have to dive into the cookie jar.
These apps are, probably, the only chance for many people to take breaks in their lives, and thus move towards tranquility, confidence, attention and presence. All these apps are essentially the same, but because you will have to listen to another person`s voice on this journey, choose the one you are less disturbed by.
- Gratitude Garden
This app became a true revelation for me. It is common knowledge that gratitude is an important skill for psychological well-being. This is a simple and beautiful way to develop a healthy habit of acknowledging the positive things in life. As a client of mine said when she tried it for a week upon my recommendation: “It is amazing how absolutely every day several really good things happen”. People tend to lose sight of this fact. Gratitude Garden delicately reminds us that even on rainy days somewhere high above the sun is still shining.
- Forest
A simple and elegant solution designed to help you disconnect from your mobile without actually turning it off. Every time you want to concentrate on work/reading/conversation, you plant a virtual tree, specifying the amount of time you want to stay away from the device. If you log out of the app before the set time, the tree will dry out. Slowly you can grow a whole forest.
This app has a paid version that includes many interesting options, such as planting real trees, but the free option may be enough.
- Lumosity
Lumosity is a great alternative to the usual simple games. This app is designed to promote cognitive development and growth. All games in one way or another help you train your brain. To begin with, it tests your baseline abilities (attention, speed, memory) and then every day suggests special games to increase your results. Some of them will seem simple, others will make you feel how your brain creeks getting back in motion.
The basic version of this app has less games and options, but might help you limit the time you spend playing with it.
- Dailio
This app is organized as an extremely simplified diary. You just rate how you feel and mark the activities you were engaged in during the day. It would be especially useful for people who have a tendency towards depressive states. Keeping such a book of emotional ups and downs you would get an opportunity to notice if decreased mood starts to become habitual and maybe even track the associated activities, or lack thereof.
It promises to make you fabulous and doesn’t push you to make choices or decisions (what more could one want?!) Among the apps featured in this list, it is the most thorough and detailed. It sends motivating letters, offers tasks to the users, depending on the chosen pack. You start with baby steps, and gradually raise the complexity on the way to a new, fabulous self.
- Loop
If you already have a clear idea of the habits you need for health and happiness. Loop will help you keep track of progress, reminding you about your routines at specific times. Sometimes such an obvious demonstration of evolution and gentle reminders are exactly what is needed for a fresh start.
Fortunately, no app will ever be able to substitute genuine human connection. So take your attention of your device for a moment right now and look around: maybe there is someone right here worth hugging or talking to?
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