Resources and Apps
Online resources and apps are great tools to improve mental health since they are easily accessible and relatively affordable.
Websites such as
CHADD (For ADHD)
Awaken The World (Online meditation)
The Jed Foundation (Mental health foundation for teens and young adults)
Talk lines
Talk lines are a quick and important tool to use if you are not doing well or in a crisis.
They can help calm and guide you to the next steps in your journey in improving your mental health.
988 is now a nationwide helpline we highly recommend.
Apps such as
Insight Timer, Waking up, Moments of Space, Moodnotes, Daylio, and The Mindfulness App are all great options to expand your "toolkit"/skills and understanding of mental health.
Insight Timer Offers an extensive library of meditation. Much of which is free, unlike many other options that are available.
The premium membership helps support the instructors on the app, which is great to see.
"Teachers receive 50% of all subscription income that Insight Timer receives after app store commissions."
Premium will cost $59.99 annually or $9.99 monthly (In line or a little cheaper than some other options on the market)
Here are key features that people love about Insight Timer
The timer
Meditations
Courses
Insight Timer offers a lot of value for free which may be enough for many people.
They help reward their instructors by sharing subscription revenue.
And the premium is well priced within the market with plenty of value to justify the price.
->(By Choosing Therapy)
A great meditation app although it is a pricer option at $19.99 a month or $119.99 annually.
This app seems to be designed for more advanced, serious-minded, or goal-oriented users.
But there are still beginner meditation practices, as well as daily meditations which are accessible on the home page, making it simpler to prioritize taking action to meditate instead of searching for the "perfect meditation practice."
“Waking Up donates a minimum of 10% of its profits to the most effective charities. “
With Walking Up there are many challenging and insightful talks available as well to dive deeper into who you are, how you think, and other topics about life.
If you are looking for an app that has great beginner meditation, yet is tailored to a more advanced individual, this can be a great app to continue to grow with.
If you are looking for a simple no frills meditation app this is it. The app is aesthetic, clean, and simple.
Moments of Space offers a great delivery for their meditation
Which is paired with a soothing voice
The apps takes advantage of a tried and true learning model (Which makes the delivery and learning process different from other options)
You Learn
Practice
Then apply what you’ve learned
With this app it is easy to find great meditation, there aren't a ton of distractions and silly features. There is no confusion on where to begin and the app is based off of a constructive learning model.
A one-time $4.99 fee to download the app.
This is great for those who are looking for a lot of simple CBT features without paying a monthly subscription.
(Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) or CBT Practices.
Mood Notes takes advantage of a simple approach to journaling and tracking your mood. They can help address cognitive distortions through journaling, learning new healthy behaviors, challenging negative thoughts, and reflecting on your day.
These add up which can help improve your overall mood and out look from day to day.
However, the biggest downside is that Moodnotes is only available on IOS devices.
For a similar journaling app Daylio is available on both IOS and Android. With similar features both Daylio and Moodnotes are well rated and recommended.
Keep in mind meditation is best done without the reliance on an app and or sounds.
We recommend no more than 3 apps.
As the number of apps on your phone increases these apps become more of a distraction, leading to less effective results. The goal of these apps is to explore and learn new skills and habits that can improve your mental health. As you build a solid foundation your reliance on platforms and apps should decrease.
Keep implementing things that you have learned and only use apps that are necessary to continue to improve your mental health.
Here's an example: there are great journaling apps that can help teach you how to journal (Mood Notes) but once you have a foundation of how to journal it is best to transfer that skill to journaling in a physical book. This way you are less reliant on your phone, which can be the source of many distractions.
The best mediation can be done in many places without the reliance on many tools. However, these platforms are great learning tools and places to start to create a foundation for your mediation style and practice.
We are excited to hear how these recommendations help you. Something we missed? Feel free to share your recommendations with us!
And let us know how we can improve to better help each other!
Let us know your experience (and thoughts) here.