The social distancing and quarantine measures required to help control the spread of COVID-19 can bring a lot of stress, induce anxiety, and push you into total isolation. Additionally, it’s extra difficult to seek traditional mental health support during these times.
Good thing, technology has opened several ways to get help online and on your phone. Here we list several mobile apps you can use to help with your mental health while in quarantine. Note, however, that while these apps can help, it’s still important to consult a mental health professional to receive the best and most appropriate treatment.
Antistress
Android | iOS
Antistress’ collection of toys gives you that much needed relaxation, diversion, and moment of distraction. Among the things you can do on the app are: hear the sound of a bamboo chime; play with wooden boxes; swipe gently your finger in the water; tap buttons; draw with chalks, and so on. Antistress offers 50 toys that you can play with.
Calm
Android | iOS
Calm promotes better sleep, lower stress, and less anxiety through its host of guided meditations, breathing programs, stretching exercises, and relaxing music. The app also features Sleep Stores, an archive of bedtime stories for children and adults alike, featuring well-known talent such as Stephen Fry, Matthew McConaughey, Leona Lewis, and Jerome Flynn.
Calm Harm
Android | iOS
This free app helps its users to resist or manage the urge to self-harm through various tasks that teach self-control, comfort, allow self expression, provide alternatives to self-injury, and find calm. It lets you set a password for privacy; the user interface can be personalized through background color themes and virtual characters.
Cove
iOS
Trusted by doctors and therapists as a safe and secure way to look after your mental health, Cove is a mobile app that lets you express your emotions through music. This app is easy to use: you pick a mood; tap to add chords, melody, or percussion; and swipe to change instruments. You can explore and be creative in making your music.
Lumosity Mind
Android | iOS
Lumosity Mind utilizes a science-driven mindfulness practice to help you discover calm, clarity, focus, and more. It offers daily meditations that are based on you interests and experience to help you gain attention, relaxation, and focus. The app also provides hundred of sessions designed to help you unwind stress and teach you how to handle the emotional pressures of your daily grind.
Mindshift CBT
Android | iOS
Mindshift uses scientifically proven strategies based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help you learn to relax and be mindful, develop more effective ways of thinking, and use active steps to take charge of your anxiety. This free-to-download app offers tools to tackle worry, panic, perfectionism, social anxiety, and phobias.
MoodMission
Android | iOS
Based in CBT, MoodMission asks you’re feeling and it will give you tailored list of five missions, which can help you feel better and improve your wellbeing, based on your answers. The missions are mental heath strategies that are quick, easily achievable, and backed up by scientific evidence. This includes mindful meditations, relaxation, exercise and fitness activities, and more.
Slowly: Connect to the World
Android | iOS
Meet pen friends from your smartphone with Slowly! This app matches you with another user that shares your passion and language you speak. You can write you match (or matches) a letter and collect stamps from around the world. Slowly is created for those who are looking for meaningful conversations with people in the era of instant messaging.
Tide
Android | iOS
By integrating sleep, meditation, relaxation, and focusing, Tide helps you care for your physical and mental wellbeing. The app provides a massive library of audio clips that are inspired by traveling, nature, and meditation. This includes natural soundscapes and mindful practices. Tide helps you enter into peaceful and calm moments to relive stress, stay focused, relax with mindfulness, and sleep better.
