Emily’s top 10 mental health apps in 2019

There are an increasing number of self-help apps for mobile and it can be hard to know which ones to choose, so I have listed those that I think are some of the best available below. Some are general wellbeing meditation apps, whilst others are designed for specific mental health disorders, i.e. bipolar. None of these mental heath apps should be considered a substitute for professional help or prescribed treatments. They can, however, allow someone to feel more in control, help to manage some of your symptoms and accompany other services to create a fuller system of support.

1. Hub of Hope is both an app and a website which quickly and accurately signposts you to mental health services in your area. There are around 1200 services linked to the Hub of Hope and more are being added all the time. It challenges the stigma of mental health by sharing stories and encouraging everybody to talk about their experiences in its ‘Chasing the Stigma’ section.
2. MoodMission offers mood boosting activities for anxiety, stress and depression and supports users to develop coping mechanisms. By identifying a mood from a range of prompts, it will then offer 5 simple and tailored activities to complete which are aimed at reducing stress levels.
3. HeadSpace offers 10 short meditations and 4 videos explaining what mediation is. It is well designed and user friendly. 10 minutes a day over 10 days provides a great introduction to the world of meditation and its wellbeing benefits.
4. notOK is a suicide prevention app which may be particularly popular with young people due to its simple digital format. It includes a large red panic button which, when activated, alerts up to five chosen friends or family members that they are not okay, and support is needed. The recipients receive an automatic message along with their GPS location. A good tip is to, where possible, add people in different time zones.
5. What’s Up is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. It offers tips and suggestions to help cope with low mood and anxiety. What’s particularly useful about this app is its emphasis on grounding techniques and learning how to recognise negative patterns of behaviour.
6. nOCD is specifically designed for people suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It focusses on mindfulness and exposure resistance and seems particularly useful to use when an OCD episode is happening as it offers immediate help and guidance.
7. emoods has been designed for people with bipolar disorder. It allows the user to track their mood and psychotic symptoms so they can stay alert to any changes in their mental health. At the end of each month a colour coded mood calendar allows users to take note of any patterns or any particular triggers.
8. Calm is an award winning and very popular mindfulness app offering meditation, breathing programmes and relaxing sleep music. The meditations are guided which makes it accessible to those who have not tried mediation techniques previously.
9. Depression CBT self-help guide This is a comprehensive app which explains what depression is and offers articles and audios to help understand the ways in which depression can affect everyday life. The diary is a particularly useful way of tracking mood and expressing feelings whilst the grounding techniques help with emotional regulation.
10. Loop is for fun. As an arts for wellbeing organisation, it wouldn’t be right not to mention a creative app! If you’re looking for a quick and clean way to be creative when you need it, then Loop is a great app to try (iOS; free) “Loop is a joy: it makes “hand-drawn animations” where your scribblings come to life.” that can be saved for sharing.

If you or someone you know is experiencing mental health issues and is based in or around Stockport, UK, please see this page for more information on our wellbeing programmes, or contact the referrals team today at referrals@arc-centre.org.
 

Emily Weygang, project manager, Arc