Anxiety, depression, and stress have become common in everyday modern life, impacting relationships, families, communities, and even the workplace. In fact, mental health problems have an impact on employers and businesses directly through increased absenteeism, and a negative impact on productivity and profits. According to Mental health America (MHA), managing stress and balancing professional and personal demands continues to be a prominent issue for employees.
In 2021, some 80% of employees agreed that the stress from work affects their relationships with friends, family, and co-workers. A further 71% of employees say that they find it difficult to concentrate at work -up by 6% from 2020. Very often anxiety manifests itself in the form of increased heart rate, rapid breathing, restlessness, trouble concentrating, insomnia, and others.
If you experience some of these symptoms perhaps you might want to seek help from a trained mental health professional. But in the meantime, you might consider trying out some mental health apps to help relieve your anxiety.
What is an Anxiety App?
Anxiety apps are tools that help users focus on improving different aspects of their mental health and well-being. They employ a variety of behavioral exercises and relaxation techniques to help you break free from anxious thoughts and feelings. These may include meditation sessions, calming tracks, breathing exercises, mood monitors, sleep therapy, goal setting, courses, and more. With anxiety apps, all you need is your mobile device and a few minutes to focus. Anxiety apps not only help you overcome panic attacks but also help you receive therapy in the comfort of your own home. They make it easier for people to reach out for help and are easily accessible for anyone trying to cope with mental health problems.
Why You Should Download an Anxiety App
Anxiety apps can help you find the right mental health services that suit your needs. They also can help ease any apprehensions when it comes to seeking to address a mental health issue in person. There are many potential benefits of using anxiety apps for alleviating depression and anxiety and including:
- Affordability: Unlike therapy with a mental health professional anxiety apps come at a relatively low price. However, they may not be the best substitute for treatment if you are dealing with anxiety at work or serious mental health issues.
- Supplement existing therapy: Anxiety apps can supplement treatment as they help to offer compliance to routine treatment through worksheets and tools.
- Convenience: Anxiety apps come in the palm of your hands making it easy for you to access some tools to help you cope with depression, anxiety, and insomnia. They also offer convenient ways of practicing strategies learned in face-to-face therapies and include reminders that can be set to increase treatment and continuation of therapy.
- Gathering data and trends: Some anxiety apps can generate data through graphs or tables showing improvements or areas that need improvement. This can help therapists determine which interventions are working best and which ones should be changed.
| Benefits of Using Anxiety Apps | Description |
|---|---|
| Affordability | Anxiety apps are generally more cost-effective than traditional therapy, making them an affordable option for mental health support. However, they may not be suitable for severe mental health issues. |
| Supplementing Existing Therapy | These apps can complement existing therapy by offering tools and worksheets that enhance the effectiveness of routine treatments. |
| Convenience | Anxiety apps provide easy access to tools for coping with depression, anxiety, and insomnia, right at your fingertips. They also facilitate practicing strategies learned in face-to-face therapy and offer reminders for treatment continuity. |
| Gathering Data and Trends | Some anxiety apps can generate valuable data in the form of graphs or tables, showing improvements and areas that require attention. This data can assist therapists in evaluating the effectiveness of interventions and making necessary adjustments. |
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Choosing an Anxiety App: Our Methodology
When it comes to selecting an anxiety app, it’s crucial to consider various factors that cater to their specific needs and well-being. Here are the key criteria we take into account, with each rated on a scale from one to five, with five representing the most crucial elements:
- Effectiveness (Importance: 5/5):
- The primary criterion is the app’s ability to effectively help manage and reduce anxiety. Its track record in aiding anxiety relief is paramount.
- User-Friendly Interface (Importance: 4/5):
- A simple and intuitive user interface ensures that users can easily navigate the app and access anxiety-relief tools when needed.
- Accessibility (Importance: 4/5):
- The app should be readily available on both iOS and Android platforms, making it accessible to a wide range of users.
- Evidence-Based Techniques (Importance: 5/5):
- The app’s anxiety management techniques should be grounded in evidence-based practices, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or mindfulness.
- Customization (Importance: 3/5):
- The ability to customize anxiety-relief exercises and strategies allows users to tailor their experience to their unique needs.
- Offline Access (Importance: 3/5):
- The app should offer offline access to anxiety relief tools, ensuring users can use them even without an internet connection.
- Privacy and Data Security (Importance: 4/5):
- Ensuring user data privacy and security is essential, especially when dealing with sensitive mental health information.
- Community and Support (Importance: 3/5):
- Features that facilitate connecting with a supportive community or accessing professional support can be beneficial.
- Cost (Importance: 2/5):
- The app’s pricing structure should be reasonable and align with the user’s budget, with free or affordable options available.
- Reviews and Ratings (Importance: 4/5):
- Checking user reviews and ratings can provide insights into the app’s effectiveness and user satisfaction.
| Criteria | Description | Importance (out of 5) |
|---|---|---|
| Effectiveness | The app's ability to effectively help manage and reduce anxiety should be a top priority, with a track record of proven anxiety relief. | 5 |
| User-Friendly Interface | An intuitive and user-friendly interface ensures ease of navigation and access to anxiety-relief tools when needed. | 4 |
| Accessibility | Ensure the app is available on both iOS and Android platforms to cater to a wider audience of users. | 4 |
| Evidence-Based Techniques | The app's anxiety management techniques should be grounded in evidence-based practices, such as CBT or mindfulness. | 5 |
| Customization | Customizable anxiety-relief exercises and strategies allow users to tailor their experience to their unique needs. | 3 |
| Offline Access | The app should offer offline access to anxiety relief tools, ensuring usability even without an internet connection. | 3 |
| Privacy and Data Security | Ensuring user data privacy and security is crucial, especially when dealing with sensitive mental health information. | 4 |
| Community and Support | Features that enable users to connect with a supportive community or access professional support can be highly beneficial. | 3 |
| Cost | The app's pricing structure should be reasonable and budget-friendly, with options that suit users' financial constraints. | 2 |
| Reviews and Ratings | Checking user reviews and ratings provides insights into the app's effectiveness and user satisfaction, helping in decision-making. | 4 |
Best Free Apps for Anxiety
If you need help coping with anxiety, depression or insomnia try one of the free anxiety apps below:
1. Mindshift
MindShift CBT helps users manage their anxiety and stress using effective, evidence-based anxiety management strategies based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This free self-help anxiety relief app helps to reduce stress, learn more about anxiety, develop more effective ways of thinking, be mindful, and relax. It comes with a user-friendly intuitive design, tools based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) designed for anxiety relief and self-management; daily check-in to keep track of your anxiety levels and mood tracking; facts and tips to overcome general worry, social anxiety, perfectionism, panic attack, and phobias; goal setting tools to keep users accountable; coping cards and statements to help users deal with anxiety; guided relaxation and mindfulness meditations; tips and tricks for incorporating healthy habits into your life and minimizing anxiety naturally; the ability to share data to streamline sessions with your counselor, therapist, or psychologist; and more.
Available on: iOS and Android.
2. Smiling Mind
Smiling Mind is a free app for meditation and mindfulness developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to users’ lives. The user-friendly interface is designed to assist people in dealing with the pressure, stress, and challenges of daily life. It has dedicated sleep programs for adults, teens, and even kids. The app offers guided meditations that help users wind down at night to assist with both getting to sleep and improving overall sleep quality. It also touts being able to help increase productivity and attention; help in anxiety reduction and stress management; offer clearer and more focused thinking; and increased positive emotion, life satisfaction, and self-esteem beyond the workplace.
Available on: iOS and Android.
3. Dare: Panic & Anxiety Relief
Dare app offers users an interactive experience that helps users overcome anxiety, panic attacks, worry, and insomnia. It comes with evidence-based information on anxiety, panic attacks and other topics. It has exercises to help users work through their anxieties and offers several meditations too. Users can also download the free audio guides to help them meditate and tackle insomnia. In addition to its free version, its robust paid subscription comes at a price tag of $9.99 a month.
Available on: iOS and Android.
4. Stop Panic & Anxiety Self-Help
Stop Panic & Anxiety Self-Help app helps users monitor and manage symptoms of panic. The app includes articles about anxiety and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and includes effective tools for relaxation, mindfulness, and teaching audios. With it, users have access to a mood log and analysis, cognitive diary, healthy goals, and more.
Available on: Android.
5. Bearable
Bearable is a simple, customizable health tracker that helps users track trends and patterns in relation to their mood, and symptoms through the use of calendars and graphs. With it, users can understand the impact of different treatments and medications on health issues such as anxiety, depression, pain, fatigue, and mood disorders. Users can also use Bearable to identify triggers, find the cause of flare-ups, help with medical appointments, manage existing health conditions, and to understand correlations between their habits and health. Users can customize reminders for diary entries, medication, and more while being able to sync their health data from Apple Health and Apple Health Kit. The free version comes with a basic version while subscriptions start at $4.49/month,
Available on: iOS and Android.
6. Shine
Shine app can help you start your mental wellness through daily meditation and Self-Care Courses. It helps users to log and track their mood, get support from a diverse community, and explore an audio library of over 800 meditations, bedtime stories, and calming sounds to help you shift your mindset or mood. Its free version offers daily meditations, a daily article and the ability to log your gratitude its more robust paid version comes with a $14.99 a month subscription.
Available on: iOS and Android.
Best Apps for Anxiety Disorders (Paid)
If you are relooking for anxiety apps that offer robust features and enhanced tools you might want to look towards paid apps where you pay upfront for the app or through subscriptions. Below are our picks of best-paid anxiety apps:
7. Calm App
Calm is an easy-to-use meditation app that helps to relieve anxiety. It achieves this by offering nature sounds and sleep stories to help users get into a relaxed sleep. The app is designed to cater to anyone, whether you’re new to meditation or a seasoned expert. It’s also for anyone who needs a mental break, a soothing sound, or a peaceful night’s rest. It comes with guided meditations that are available in lengths of three to 25 minutes. Additional features include sleep stories narrated by well-known voices like Matthew McConaughey, a music library with exclusive tracks from top artists like Keith Urban and Disney, short videos with mindful movement and gentle stretching for every body type and Masterclasses taught by world-renowned experts in the field of mindfulness, soundscapes and nature sounds to use during meditation or to help you sleep, breathing exercises to help you relax, and more.
Available on: iOS and Android.
Pricing: Calm comes with a $6.99 a month subscription while with the free version, the app offers a limited number of guided exercises and meditative audio to help relieve stress.
8. Sanvello
Sanvello formerly known as Pacifica is a health and wellness app that focuses on stress, anxiety, and depression. Users’ journey with Sanvello journey is customizable meaning the app checks in with how you’re feeling so you can track your emotions and progress over time. As patterns are identified, Sanvello will provide customized tools, rooted in cognitive behavioral therapy, to keep you on the path to feeling better. The app focuses on mindfulness and Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and comes with audio exercises that focus on meditation, deep breathing, and other activities. Users can also access tools that include a mood tracker, daily challenges, goal tracking, and a health tracker.
Available on: iOS and Android.
Pricing: Sanvello comes with a $3.99 monthly subscription while offering a limited free version.
9. Insight Timer – Meditation App
Insight Timer app offers meditation solutions to calm the mind, reduce anxiety, manage stress, sleep deeply and improve happiness. It comes with free guided meditations for both beginners and experienced practitioners. It also offers short meditation sessions when you are on the go, helping you to build a daily habit in addition to thousands of music tracks and ambient sounds to calm the mind, focus, sleep better and relax. This app also offers statistics and milestones for tracking your progress.
Available on: iOS and Android.
Pricing: Insight Premium Meditation comes with a $9.99 monthly subscription while offering a free version as well.
10. InnerHour
The InnerHour app is created by mental health professionals that offer a self-help tool, which provides users with a digital experience of therapy. The easy-to-use app has specific programs to help with worry, stress, sleeplessness, depression, and anger. It comes with self-help courses on depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, stress, anger, and happiness. Users can also access therapists through the app.
Available on: iOS and Android.
Pricing: InnerHour comes with a $4.99 monthly subscription while offering a limited free version.
11. HeadSpace
The headspace app helps users to meditate and sleep soundly. It offers guides on how to practice mindfulness in your everyday life. With it, you learn how to relax, manage stress, and focus your energy to become more centered and well-rested. Its features include daily meditations, sleep meditations, stress relief, coping meditations, and more. It offers over 40 effective meditation courses on topics that include stress and sleep
Available on: iOS and Android.
Pricing: Headspace comes with a $12.99 a month subscription while offering a seven-day free trial.
12. BetterMe: Mental Health
BetterMe mediation app helps users by offering simple meditations and guided courses for mental well-being. The app is a product of a collaboration with mental health specialists to offer tools and coping strategies from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help you tune in to the world surrounding you. The tools available include guided meditations, stress-relief practices, breathwork, and sleep meditations.
Available on: iOS and Android.
Pricing: BetterMe comes with a $9.99 a month subscription while offering a free version as well.
Take Steps to Improve Your Mental Health Today
Mental health issues are a very serious matter, as they affect how we think, feel, and behave in our daily life. They also affect our ability to cope with stress, overcome challenges, build relationships, and deal with life’s setbacks. Strong mental health isn’t simply about the absence of mental health problems but also about being emotionally resilient.
Emotionally and mentally resilient people can cope with difficult situations and maintain a positive outlook. This helps them remain focused, flexible, and productive during both good and bad times. Mental health is not only about mental health issues such as generalized anxiety disorder or elevated anxiety levels but also about making continuous improvements on how we deal with issues and strive to be better versions of ourselves
Speaking to a Mental Health Professional
If you regularly have anxious thoughts or experience anxiety symptoms seeking the help of a mental health professional can help you better understand yourself, your feelings, and generally make sense of everything going on in your life and how that makes you feel. They can also help you resolve complicated feelings or find ways to cope with them.
What is the best app for anxiety?
Calm is considered the best app for anxiety. It helps tackle insomnia that comes with feeling anxious. Through its sleep, meditation, relaxation and other tools Calm helps you not only deal with anxiety but remain productive and emotionally resilient.
Is there an app for people with social anxiety?
Headspace can help people deal with social anxiety. It offers guides on how to practice mindfulness in your everyday life. With it, you learn how to relax, manage stress, and focus your energy to become more centered and well-rested.
Is there a free app to help with anxiety?
MindShift helps users manage anxiety and stress using evidence-based anxiety management strategies based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This free self-help anxiety relief app helps to reduce stress, learn more about anxiety, develop more effective ways of thinking, be mindful, and relax.
What is a good game for anxiety?
SuperBetter is an app designed by Jane McGonigal and is inspired by her book SuperBetter. It helps to incorporate Role Playing Gaming (RPG) in real life to address challenges such as anxiety, depression insomnia, willpower, and others by offering activities to do to overcome them.
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