Apps
Sometimes technology can be harmful to our mental health but sometimes it can be a useful tool. These apps might be helpful to improving your mental health. Try some out and give them time to see if they're a good fit for your needs. I do not endorse these products but am simply providing some of options that are available.
Updated 3/30/21
UCLA Mindful
"Mindfulness is the practice of training the mind to be present through moment-to-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, body sensations and environment.Mindfulness promotes an attitude of openness, curiosity, and a willingness to be with our experience. Through regular practice, taught through this app, you can develop a meditation practice and learn to bring more mindfulness into your daily life.
This app offers:
Basic Meditations for getting started, in both English and Spanish
Wellness Meditations for people suffering from challenging health conditions
Informative videos exploring how to get started, supportive meditation postures, and the science of mindfulness
Weekly podcasts from UCLA's Hammer Museum-- a 30 minute meditation on different themes you can search for and bookmark
A timer to meditate on your own"
Healthy Minds Program
"With a combination of podcast-style lessons and both seated and active meditations, you’ll learn what the science says about the brain while developing skills to tap into these learnings for a healthier, happier you."
Smiling Mind
"Smiling Mind is a meditation app for young people. It has been developed by a team of psychologists and uses mindfulness to boost calmness, contentment and clarity. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to help manage stress, resilience, anxiety, depression and improve general health and wellbeing."
MyLife Meditation
"MyLife Meditation is a meditation and mindfulness app that offers daily wellness check-ins and suggests activities personalized on how you feel. Learn to maintain perspective through your mental and physical wellness journey. Destress with a meditation guide to gain a better, calm mindspace.
Aloe Bud
"Aloe Bud is your all-in-one, self-care pocket companion. We gently bring awareness to self-care activities, using encouraging push notifications, rather than guilt or shame. Reminders bring awareness to important activities, that get lost among other priorities. Create and develop self-care routines that work for you."
Youper
"Youper empowers you to take control of your mental health using quick guided therapy exercises to increase happiness, find motivation, feel more calm, practice gratitude, improve sleep, increase mindfulness, stop worrying, change negative thinking, deal with difficult situations, and improve your behavior."
Mend
"Are you burned out or heartbroken? We support your journey inward. You are resilient and you have a deep well of wisdom that is always available to you. And yet, you will still experience difficult moments in life that cause a great deal of suffering and confusion. This is part of being human. Change is inevitable but growth is optional. You can resist the pain or go within. Our mission is to support you on the journey inward. We are honored to walk alongside you and point out some tips and beautiful sights along the way. We are currently mending burnout and breakups, so if you’re burned out or heartbroken, you’re in the right place. Start your journey."
Insight Timer
"Insight Timer is an app and website designed to help make meditation and yoga convenient, easy, and pleasant to do. Meditation and yoga are practices that unite mind and body to focus attention in order to calm racing thoughts, reduce stress, and improve mental and physical health and well-being."
Oak
If it's tough to find even five minutes of quiet in your busy day, Oak could be the meditation app for you. The free Oak app offers quick and simple breathing exercises as well as longer guided and DIY meditations.
Meditation Nest
"The best meditation app for everybody, and for your daily wellness. Meditate for just 5 minutes per day to reduce stress, improve focus, sleep better, relax faster, breathe easier, and more."
Download here (iOS) or here (Google Play)
Mindfulness
"The Mindfulness App is aimed to help users increase mindfulness and improve life satisfaction through guided meditation. The app begins with five days of introductory guided meditations. The user can create a personalized 'Timed Session', choosing length of session, guided by voice, and type of background sound."