Smart phones and self care

Everyone has a happy place where they feel comfortable and safe. Some people can leave these safe places with ease, but for others it can be distressing. When you have mental health issues, leaving your safe space can mean distancing yourself from coping mechanisms and peace of mind. Symptoms can get so overwhelming that completely harmless coffee shops or bus rides turn into scary situations. In times like this, I turn to my iPhone. I’ve learned that the smartphone can be modified into the ultimate and ever-accessible mental health tool that can be used to cope with turbulent symptoms. I’ve sifted through apps and found the mindfulness gems that have helped me, and today I want to share them with you.

Apps for Long Term Help

Recovery Record
iPhone/Android
Free

This app was created in 2011 by a group of psychologists and app developers in Palo Alto, who were backed by the Stanford University Department of Psychiatry. It has become the best app for aiding those recovering from an eating disorder. Track your meals, thoughts, feelings, and behaviours in charts and take questionnaires to see your progress over time. The app offers optional access to chat with ED clinicians. It has an inspiration section where you can save pictures or messages to look at, or gain rewards for completing meal logs. You can file personalized coping skills, pair up with other app users to recover together, or call the National Eating Disorder Information Centre in Toronto from the app at any time.

Talkspace
iPhone/Android
Free (in-app purchases)

Initiating therapy treatment can be difficult and ridiculously expensive. This app offers access to licensed, degree holding therapists that you can carry in your pocket with you. They offer different monthly subscriptions that range from $128 to $276 dollars a month. A subscription allows access to your own assigned therapist that you can message or video call. This may seem expensive, but when you consider that private counselling can cost up to $240 for a single one-hour session, these plans are actually quite good.

Self-Help Anxiety Management (SAM)
iPhone/Android
Free

SAM is an app created by the University of the West of England. It’s used to track and manage anxiety. You can learn information about anxiety and why it happens, create a toolkit of self-help tools, and be led through various mindfulness exercises by the app. It’s great for getting to know your symptoms better, and practicing self-help tools to reduce anxiety.

Apps for Distress and Crisis
PTSD Coach
iPhone/Android
Free

This app was originally created by the US Department of Veterans Affairs and the US Department of Defense. It offers educational information about PTSD, a self-assessment symptom tracker, multiple symptom managing tools, and options for finding support. It also allows you to set up soothing images and audio, and a list of your own emergency contacts that you can reach while in distress.

Stop, Breathe & Think
iPhone/Android
Free (in-app purchases)

This meditation based app is one of my favourites. It features an uplifting design with beautiful illustrations. After checking in by listing how you are feeling, the app produces customized meditations based on your answers. The meditations range from a few minutes to an hour, and feature titles like “Lion Mind.” If that’s not cool enough, the meditations are narrated by Jamie Price and K.D. Lang.

Self-Care Apps
Calm
iPhone/Android
Free (in-app purchases)

If you find yourself in a crowded, unpleasant place, with your symptoms becoming increasingly uncomfortable, open this app. When you open it, nature scenes fill your screen. You can choose between a large variety of scenes, from falling raindrops to a slowly rotating Earth. Each scene is accompanied by nature sounds and custom music. It’s like an oasis in your pocket.

Relax Melodies
iPhone/Android
Free (in-app purchases)

This app is a great tool for building soothing soundscapes. You can create customizable sound mixes of anything from a rainstorm to city noise. It’s great for sleeping, studying, meditating, or just when you need a peaceful moment.

Deep Sleep and Relax Hypnosis by Mindifi
iPhone/Android
Free (in-app purchases)

Insomnia is an uncomfortable disorder by itself, but it also accompanies a lot of mental illnesses as a side symptom. I’ve tried everything from sleeping meds to meticulous sleep hygiene, but nothing has knocked me out faster and given me a better sleep than the Insomnia Relief hypnosis from this app. They also have hypnosis tracks for power naps, disarming nightmares, and mental massages.

Cute or Not
iPhone/Android
Free

This is genuinely one of the most simple feel-good apps out there. Created by BuzzFeed last year, this app works like Tinder, except with cute animals. People post photos of their pets to the app and you can swipe right if they’re cute, and left if they’re not. (Spoiler alert: they’re all cute.)
Even if none of these apps work for you, ones that you use every day can be extremely uplifting. Watch an inspiring TED Talk, or make a happiness board on Pinterest. Follow light-hearted Instagram and Snapchat accounts or Facebook pages. Browse the comedy sections of 9Gag, Vine, or Buzzfeed. Get a phone case that makes you smile, and set your screensavers to peaceful pictures. Your smartphone is a great mental health tool that you can carry with you, everywhere you go.