Looking to boost your morning mood? Look no further than your phone. With numerous mental health apps now available at your fingertips, app developers have made it easier than ever to take that 10 minute meditation lunch break or find peace on your next Metro journey. They even have apps for kids!
So, how do you know which app is best for you? We’ve selected some of the top mental health apps as ranked by Healthline and Medical News Today to help get you started. While each one has its own approach, they all have a similar mission: to help improve users’ moods and overall mental health.
1) Calm
Calm was branded as Apple’s “App of the Year” in 2017. The app is designed to reduce anxiety, improve sleep, and help you to feel happier .Calm focuses on the four key areas of meditation, breathing, sleep, and relaxation, with the aim of bringing joy, clarity, and peace to your daily life. It also includes a feature called Daily Calm, a 10-minute program you can practice before the beginning or end of your day — a great routine to get into.
2) Headspace
Whether you need to build healthier relationships, find a place of calm, keep your mind fit, or reduce stress, Headspace has hundreds of themed mindfulness and meditation sessions to support you. Its free trial includes 10 exercises geared toward beginners that can help you learn more about meditation as well as applying it to your life. Check out the personalized progress page, reward system for continued practice, and buddy system that lets users connect with others to stay on track.
3) Smiling Mind
Get your little ones into the practice of meditation using Smiling Mind, an app that can be tailored to different age groups — even children as young as seven years old. Create accounts for different family members so everyone can manage their meditation practice in the app. Teachers can also use the app to make meditation education part of their classroom activities
4) Moodnotes
iPhone: $3.99
Moodnotes is a thought journal and mood diary. The app can be used to capture your feelings and improve your thinking habits through the implementation of CBT and positive psychology. It can help you learn to recognize “traps” in your thinking and ways to rethink the situation.
5) Moodpath
Moodpath asks daily questions in order to assess your well-being and screen for symptoms of depression. The screening progress aims to increase your awareness of your thoughts, emotions, and feelings. After a period of 2 weeks, the app generates an electronic document that you can discuss with a healthcare professional.
6) 10% Happier
Not sure if you should try meditation? This app is designed for skeptics who want to try meditation, but want to simplify the process with practical, easy-to-apply content. The exercises aim to help users with anxiety and sleep, and the app always adds new content each week. This app was created by the well-known news anchor Dan Harris to help others find more peace in life
7) Stop, Breathe & Think
This meditation app boasts more than 55 options for guided meditation selections, so you’ll never get bored with your practice. It also segments exercises according to topics such as sleep, compassion, depression, and anxiety. You can tailor chimes and sounds to your preferences, and record your daily meditation practice to track progress throughout the year. Even more content is available with premium subscription.8)
8) Happify
Happify is a space to overcome negative thoughts and stress and build resilience. Whether you are feeling stressed, anxious, or sad, Happify helps you to regain control of your thoughts and feelings. In fact, 86 percent of the app’s users report feeling better about their lives after 2 months of using it. Happify employs techniques and evidence-based interventions in the areas of CBT, positive psychology, and mindfulness to help you break old and unhealthful patterns and form new, healthful habits.
9) The Wellbeing Hotline
Don’t forget that part of your GW Benefits plan includes The Wellbeing Hotline – Resources for Living. At no cost to you and all members of your household (including dependent children up to age 26, whether or not they live at home), you can receive help from work-life specialists that will help get your “to-do” list complete.
Also included is up to five counseling sessions* with licensed network professionals at no cost to you; you don’t have to worry about copays or deductibles. Counseling sessions are available in-person, by phone or via televideo. This no-cost counseling service helps you address stress, relationship and other personal issues you and your family may face.
- Stress, anxiety and depression
- Relationship/marital conflicts
- Problems with children
- Job pressures
- Grief and loss
- Substance abuse
*Per person, per issue, per year
