Keeping your therapy appointments and remembering to do your therapy homework are good ways to begin the process of healing and finding relief from anxiety. But sometimes anxiety help can come from unexpected places with technology online or through different apps. I often share these with clients but I wanted to make sure they can be more easily referenced in this blog post for all clients and potential clients to access.
Why should you use technology to better manage anxiety?
1. We are all forgetful, having an app can help remind you to do those important lifestyle changes that can help accelerate healing and make your overall treatment more effective. I have found clients are surprised at how helpful they can be especially since most people always have their phones with them so clients are much more likely to follow through with homework or something they want to try out from a therapy session.
2. It can be a good reminder on how to use certain strategies and further reinforce learning and practice to help integrate it into a more consistent practice which of course, leads to better outcomes in therapy
3. Let’s face it, they can be fun! Sometimes only having a PDF Is not enough and interest can fade in wanting to access or use it. Apps keep your attention and can help you to stay focused in addition to providing more learning.
Here are some Apps/Online Resources I recommend by category:
For Meditation:
Insight Timer: this is by far my favorite! There are like 80,000 different free meditations you can try. You can keep a list of favorites, you can search by category from sleep to dealing with headaches to managing anxiety. You are also able to pick a time you want so if you only have a few minutes you can pick a meditation that is 5 minutes long. This also helps you to stick with it, knowing that you don’t have to meditate for an hour to get positive results. There is also classes and yoga available on a variety of topics.
Other good meditation apps: Calm, HeadSpace and My Life Meditation and Mindfulness
For Mood tracking:
Daylio: This is an amazing tool to indicate what you are feeling daily, track what healthy habits you are doing and set goals for yourself. It provides weekly charts to help you see patterns in your mood and understand where you are emotionally. This is a helpful adjunct to therapy to see progress. It has reminders for you to keep tracking.
To practice Yoga:
My new favorite online yoga is through this website https://www.doyogawithme.com/, there is a free version you can use. I love the quality of classes and the variety. They do include breathwork and meditation as well.
My youtube channel Therapist Raleigh:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyibcRjWbi-Xzj3pi-N2evA
I include yoga, breath work, and mudras that I teach to clients in session. This is a great resource to use to practice what you learn. Other yoga online I like is Yoga with Adrienne and Sara Beth Yoga.
Qi Gong
I find a morning Qi Gong movement to be so relaxing and it can be so energizing. QI Gong is a series of slow, mindful movements meant to move your “qi” or life energy, it can be similar to yoga as well. Here are a couple ones that I love:
This is a quick 10 minute one for energy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-b6YvvaiL0
Nick Loffree is another favorite, he has some amazing backgrounds as well
https://www.youtube.com/c/NickLoffreeBioenergeticHealth
The Best App for Anxiety
Unwinding Anxiety, https://www.unwindinganxiety.com/?keyword=unwinding%20anxiety%20app&utm_campaign=%7Bname%7D&matchtype=e&device=c Evidence based daily guidance designed for anyone suffering from anxiety. There are checkins, easy video lessons and breath/mindful practices. In around 10 minutes a day:
- Uncover what triggers your anxiety
- Identify your “Anxiety habits”
- Break the cycle of worry & panic
- Learn specific anti-anxiety tools
I hope this was helpful! I know it can take some time to experiment and find those apps you most connect with but the time investment is definitely worth it. Do you have a favorite self-care or mental health app you would like to share? Email me at pathtohopec@hushmail.com and I would love to share it with others in the future.
