Mobile phones are part of our everyday lives, they wake us up in the morning, we can plan our days on them, its easier to keep in touch with friends and family through social media apps and we play games on them where we become part of communities that stretch right around the globe.
But have you ever considered how they can become support for you when anxiety strikes?
You see if there is one thing I learned from my own experience with anxiety, was focusing can be really hard!
Especially when you are in the middle of "get me outta here!!! ", so often I would find myself sat on a bench just trying to concentrate on one thing, even if it was just a piece of rubbish swishing around the pavement, for a moment, that paper bag blowing in the wind was my savior!
Now if I could have just taken my phone out of my bag and for a few minutes concentrated on an app that was aimed at helping me calm down, I think that would have been really helpful and I think it would have been easier for me to focus as well.
So I wanted to share with you, three apps that I have tried , and that I think would be useful.....
Headspace
This was such a simple app to use, the animations are fun to look at and the voices they use just seem to feel naturally calming. It's packed with stuff like meditations, sleep tools, and my favorite was the body scanning animation.
It has a variety of breathing exercises to help with anxiety and the animations really caught my attention. You may want to use a pair of headphones but I know I would have found that more calming ( kind of like taking a little break away). I think there is a subscription fee but in certain circumstances, you can get it free for a year.
Rootd- Panic attack and Anxiety relief
So again this was a simple app to use with easy on the eye pictures. It has a variety of features, from breathing techniques, meditation and it even has a journal within the app to offer some insight and reflection, when you feel able.
It has a red button on the screen to press when you feel anxiety has got too much, when you press it, you will be guided through a few options including calling for support from a helpline or a trusted person.
The journal has a few prompts to help you reflect each day, as well as giving you a gratitude part, so encouraging you to look for things that help and the positives, I really thought the gratitude part was a really thoughtful touch, let's be honest when it feels like anxiety has overtaken our lives, it can become really difficult to see the positives.
https://www.rootd.io/
Calm
When starting this app for the first time it asks what your goals are so it can tailor the support that you need.
There is a section for reducing anxiety, again there are guided meditations for anxiety, and if meditation really isn't your thing you can choose calming music to help you gain focus.
I really liked the nature sounds option as well, there's something naturally calming about listening to birds tweeting or rain falling.
As with Headspace, there is a free version but if you want the full version then they do charge. Like the other apps, you may want to make sure you have a pair of earphones to hand.
Apps can be a great way not just to help in those moments of panic, but as the mobile phone its self, we can use them in our daily routines to help explore those really difficult times where it all feels too much.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of each App and its features but I would say give them a try and see which one may fit best for you.
What I have discovered is, that they can be a great edition in our toolbox of coping with anxiety, and by using something that is with us all the time, we can easily have support at hand.
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