The month of May has been designated as Mental Health Month since 1949. This initiative was created by the Mental Health America organization to raise awareness, understand mental health and help reduce the stigma that envelops these conditions.? ‘Back to Basics’ is the theme for 2022.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, more and more people have been discussing and recognizing the importance of speaking about one’s mental health. We at TFword have researched and compiled a list of highly-rated apps and activities one can turn to in those difficult moments. Along with mental health apps that include chatbots, therapy sessions, meditations, and 24/7 support, we’ve also included several games designed to improve mental health.
Being: My Mental Health Friend
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcBAXF5rHC2/
Being provides small, easy, and simple self-improvement steps. They include a Mini-Therapy – professionally created, short, interactive, and hyper-personalized; mini habits – to help users practice self-acceptance and self-care through small steps, and music therapy to help users find mental love and enable anxiety relief. The app’s creators hope to help 1 billion people by 2030, describing it as “the most personalized mental healthcare experience ever.”
The app has partnered with many seasoned therapists, psychotherapists, and psychologists. As stated on their official website, in keeping with the theme of raising awareness and understanding about mental health, the app is currently free to use until June 2022.
Founded in 2020, the app currently has 4.5 out of 5 stars on the Apple Store and 4.6 out of 5 stars on Google Play.
Click here for the informative blogs on mental health on their website | Follow “Being’ On Instagram HERE
Available on: Apple Store HERE | Google Play Store HERE
Amaha (formerly InnerHour)
InnerHour is a healthcare technology company with the mission of empowering people to achieve psychological wellness and shaping happy, productive lives by combining best practices in psychological health and technology. To translate the real-life therapy experience into self-care modules, the app’s psychiatrists and psychologists combine insights from therapy with the latest science in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Positive Psychology and Mindfulness.
Self-care courses are incorporated into the app, including self-care activities, goal setting and mood tracking. It also includes a library of ‘InnerHour Resources,’ which contains articles, tips, and motivational quotes from the team’s therapists.
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InnerHour was named Google Play’s ‘Best App for Good’ in 2020, according to Google’s report of the best apps and games on the Play Store in India.
Click here for the official website | Follow ‘InnerHour’ On Instagram HERE
Available On: Apple Store HERE | Google Play Store HERE
Intellect: Create A Better You
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czeYDNk-_eE&w=853&h=480]Intellect, founded in 2020, offers ample mental health benefits to individuals and businesses. A user can speak with behavioral health coaches, work with licensed psychologists, or participate in self-guided programs through the app. Self-care apps and skill-building programs, certified behavioral health coaches, crisis support and clinical care are all part of Mental Health Care. Users can also call the SOS hotlines and seek support from licensed mental health professionals.
Along with individual users, the app also has consulted with SaaS cybersecurity company Horangi and the online food delivery platform FoodPanda. “Our mission is to make mental health support radically more accessible, preventative & relatable, and stigma-free,” according to their website.
Intellect was also named one of Google’s Best Apps for 2020. It currently has a 4.7 out of 5 rating on Google Play and a 5.0 out of 5 rating on the Apple App Store. It serves over 2 million users, including leading companies around the globe.
Follow ‘Intellect’ on Instagram HERE | Find the official website HERE
Available On: Apple Store HERE | Google Play Store HERE
Wysa: Anxiety, Therapy Chatbot
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28wrhyh0NjQ&w=478&h=269]Wysa is a mental health app that offers emotional support through mood tracking, positivity, and cognitive behavioral therapy in simple and friendly chats. Wysa provides both human well-being coaches and artificial intelligence-driven chatbots. Individuals can contact Wysa anonymously, and the company offers a product for employers. Wysa supports users with stress, anxiety, deep sleep, loss, and other mental health and wellness needs using research-backed techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, yoga, and meditation.
For World Mental Health Day 2018 and 2019, Wysa was named the top mental health app on Google Play twice. Apple Entrepreneurship Camp, Philips Health Works, and Swiss Re’s Insurtech incubator program have all featured Wysa. Wysa has a 93 percent rating from ORCHA, a digital health app evaluation agency, and is also recommended by the NHS.
Click here for the official website | Follow ‘Wysa’ on Instagram HERE
Available On: Apple Store HERE | Google Play Store HERE
29k Mental Health App & Community
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29k is a non-profit organization that provides open-source psychological tools for mental health, personal development, and civic leadership. Users of the app enjoy a personalized journey with a supportive community with no additional costs, no in-app purchases, and no advertising in the app. Small exercises, meditation, or short courses are included for immediate relief, as well as larger and longer courses to assist with life transitions and personal growth. Courses, exercises, meditations, and a variety of tests are all designed on the app to improve mental health.
From Harvard University to the University of London to the Karolinska Institute, 29K collaborates with leading universities, researchers, and psychologists around the world. The app is called 29k as human beings have an average lifespan of 29,000 days. The app currently has a 4.8 rating on Apple Store and a 4.1-star rating on Google Play.
Follow ’29k’ On Instagram HERE | Click here for the official website
Available On: Apple Store HERE | Google Play Store HERE
What’s Up? – Mental Health App
What’s Up? – Mental Health App is a free app that helps users cope with depression, anxiety, anger and stress, using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance Commitment Therapy methods.
Common negative thinking patterns and simple methods to overcome them, a set of over 100 amusing questions to help the user unwind, as well as a series of metaphors to help users cope with negative feelings, are a few of the app’s features. It includes a diary and a corresponding rating scale to keep track of thoughts and feelings. There’s also a ‘Catastrophe Scale’ for gaining perspective on issues and open forums for dialogues with other users.
It has over 500,000 downloads and a 4.4 rating on the Apple Store.
Available On: Apple Store HERE | Google Play Store HERE
7 Cups – Anxiety & Stress Chat
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD5m7RE3guw&w=513&h=289]7 Cups provides confidential emotional support and counseling from highly trained and experienced listeners who have completed psychologist and founder Glen Moriarty’s Active Listening training program.
Volunteers serve as listeners who work for free and are available 24/7. They have over 450,000 trained listeners and therapists. Listeners provide assistance in 152 languages and in 192 countries. Each listener has a profile that includes ratings and a list of categories in which they specialize. According to the company’s LinkedIn page, over 2 million people have used the platform so far.
The Stanford Medicine X award for excellence in Health Care Systems Design was given to 7 Cups in 2016. On the Apple Store and Google Play Store, it has a 4.7 and 4.6 rating, respectively.
Available On: Apple Store HERE | Google Play Store HERE
Happify
Happify, a health and wellness app, uses science-based activities and games to help people reduce stress, conquer negative thoughts, and establish greater resilience by ensuring efficient tools and programs. Its methods were created by top scientists and experts who have spent decades researching the fields of positive psychology, mindfulness, and cognitive-behavioral therapy.
According to their website, through their platform, they have changed 20+ million lives with the app installed in 190 countries. 86% of users report an increase in happiness within two months and a 25% reduction in depression symptoms. The New York Times, The TODAY Show, Forbes, and The New Yorker have all featured Happify.
Click here for the official website
Available on: Apple Store HERE | Google Play Store HERE
SuperBetter
As stated on its website, “SuperBetter builds resilience – the ability to stay strong, motivated, and optimistic even in the face of change and difficult challenges. It employs a framework for developing resilience and success in real life by utilizing the psychological strengths of gameplay.”
SuperBetter is instrumental for achieving objectives and overcoming challenges such as anxiety, depression, and stress. Its challenges and scenarios are science-based, allowing the user to beat depression, overcome anxiety, manage stress, recover from post-traumatic stress, and so on.
Many studies and trials have been conducted for the production of the game, including the ‘Anxiety App Meta-Analysis’ – Can smartphone mental health interventions reduce symptoms of anxiety? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, and ‘Depression App Meta-Analysis’ – The efficacy of smartphone-based mental health interventions for depressive symptoms: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
It was created by a researcher, game designer, and author who believes in using mobile and digital technology to channel positive attitudes – Jane McGonigal.
Superbetter has a 4.7-star rating on the Apple Store and a 4.4-star rating on the Google Play Store.
Available on: Apple Store HERE | Google Play Store HERE | Official website HERE
Rainy Attic Room
Rainy Attic Room is a mental health game in which the player is tasked with completing a series of tasks while caring for his depressed friend. It rains throughout the year in the game, and the audio is filled with somber, soothing music.
The goal of the game is to get to know and understand your depressed friend so that you can help them become ready to interact with the outside world. Players can collect hearts, talks, rainwater, and several others during the game, all of which can be used to assist your friend.
A review on the Google Play store reads “Really fun slow-paced game. Relatable for those with depression. I’m level 5 right now just clicking on everything in the window.” – Erin King
Rainy Attic Room has a 4.6 rating on Google Play, a 4.8 rating on Apple App Store and over a million downloads.
Available on: Apple Store HERE | Google Play Store HERE
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Feature Image Via Morioh.
