Everyone experiences anxiety in their life. Anxiety is a normal reaction in response to stressful situations such as an interview, presentation, or tough conversation. Anxiety can also be experienced when transitioning into something new in your life, such as graduating from school, starting a new job, or going on a first date. At times, anxiety can make us feel overwhelmed, or can even start to feel difficult to manage. There are a handful of phone apps that can be helpful in managing anxiety. What better way to help manage your anxiety than with the device that you carry around with you all day! Here are five apps that help with anxiety.
1. Breathwrk:
Breathwrk is an app on your phone that reminds you to breathe, intentionally, throughout the day. Breathwrk asks you a series of questions after you download it, and then determines a breathing routine set for you. This app can send you notifications when you wake up, prior to going to bed, and throughout the day to help you set aside time to take deep breaths, recenter, and recharge. Breathing is especially important to work on when feeling anxious because different kinds of breaths activate different parts of the brain. Fast and shallow breaths can activate the “fight or flight” part of our nervous system and, in turn, can leave us feeling tense and anxious. If we breathe slowly, it activates an anti-stress response (the parasympathetic nervous system) that can help us feel calm and relaxed.
2. Innerhour:
Innerhour helps you identify where you are experiencing anxiety in your life, whether it is in your relationships, work-related, health-related, or financial. The app also has a text box that you can write in if your worries do not fit in the categories that they have. Innerhour then moves on to assess your overall health by examining your sleeping and eating habits. Innerhour will also ask you a few questions to assess your symptoms of anxiety and how often they occur, as well as how they are impacting your life. After completing the beginning assessment through the app, Innerhour will give you a breakdown of your anxiety score and explain what it means. Afterwards, Innerhour will share a daily plan on what can help manage your anxiety on a day-to-day basis. This can look different for everyone depending on how you answered the questions on the assessment. You can try this app for free with a 7-day free trial, and then afterward decide to continue using the app if you pay for the subscription.
3. Meditation Apps:
There are a handful of meditation apps that are out there. Here are 3 that can be helpful!
- Headspace
- Calm
- 10 Percent Happier
Each of these apps focus on meditation, and how meditation can help with anxiety. There are guided meditations on these apps that can aid with sleep, anxiety, stress and more. Each of these is different in their own way, however, at the core of these apps, they aim to decrease anxiety through guided meditations. You can select how long you want to meditate for, your topic of choice for the day, and when you meditate (selecting nighttime stories and meditations). Meditation allows you to set time aside in your day to focus your attention on something calming. Meditation can bring you a sense of calm and relaxation that is needed when anxiety feels overwhelming and unmanageable.
Each of these apps can be helpful when feeling anxious. You can turn to meditation, deep breathing, exercising, etc., when feeling anxious, all through your phone!
Sources:
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2022, April 29). A beginner’s guide to meditation. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved May 20, 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/
Epel, ―E., About the Author Follow Kira M. Newman Kira M. Newman is the managing editor of Greater Good. Her work has been published in outlets including the Washington Post,
& Follow Kira M. Newman Kira M. Newman is the managing editor of Greater Good. Her work has been published in outlets including the Washington Post. (n.d.). Is The way you breathe making you anxious? Greater Good. Retrieved May 20, 2022, from https://greatergood.berkeley.
