Being stuck indoors at home can take a toll on anyone’s mind, especially if its for a long number of days at a stretch. With the lockdown now continuing and the spread of the Coronavirus showing no signs of letting up, it is likely that some of you are finding yourself subject to some mental pressure, maybe some anxiety. That didn’t go so well of Jack Nicholson in the Shining, but we’ve got a number of apps here that will prevent you from seeing REDRUM.
Daylio Journal
Daylio is an app that helps you track your moods through the day, without having to type a single word. The app cleverly uses icons to help you express your mood, and what sort of activities you’ve been engaged in to put you in that mood. The activity list displayed by default isn’t that long, but there is a sub-menu that gives you access to a far larger library. It’s a great way to correlate moods to activities and over a period of time, helps you understand your own habits. Over a period of time, Daylio will also help you understand your patterns. Download Daylio Journal for iOS & Android.
Calm
Being stuck indoors can cause heightened anxiety amongst some people, which could lead to a complete lack of sleep. Ever felt that your mind was racing too fast, preventing you from falling asleep? Yea, that’s very likely anxiety induced lack of sleep. Calm is an app to help you meditate in order to lower you anxiety and stress levels. This, in turn, leads to you being able to fall asleep far easier. The app features guided meditations in various durations to suit your needs, along with 30+ soothing sounds from nature to ease you into restful slumber. You can download Calm for iOS and Android.
Headspace
Headspace has been a long time favourite app of mine. Mindspace offers a large number of mental health related feature sets, such as guided meditations, calming sounds of nature to help you fall asleep, reduce anxiety, manage stress and also improve your physical health. In times like these, Mindspace can help you run your entire day with significant peace of mind. It includes programs for everything from getting motivated to working out or falling asleep. There’s also programs to help you manage pain. If you find yourself being unproductive, or generally in a funk throughout the day unable to do anything, Headspace might be the right app for you to get help from. You can download Headspace for iOS and Android.
Shine
Unlike other apps on this list which are self-contained, Shine also offers a social component. The app offers a section where users can post their daily updates, the improvements they’re facing or even their troubles. Users cannot comment on each others’ posts, preventing any kind of trolling. Other than that, the app also offers plenty of guided meditations to lower stress levels. In fact, when you sign into the app, it asks you for what you seek out of it, and tailors the content accordingly. You can download Shine for iOS and Android.
Mindshift CBT
Mindshift CBT is an app that’s been designed using the principals of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a very popular technique for psychological therapy. Mindshift CBT offers interactive tools designed to help you reorient your thinking. The app also offers strategies to help you take action and make lasting changes. There’s a “Coping” section in the app that can ease your time in lockdown. You can download Mindshift CBT for iOS and Android.
Bonus Suggestion: Wild Journey
Wild Journey is an iOS exclusive app unlike any other. The app offers a collection of soundscapes, sounds that reflect specific landscapes to ease your moods. Additionally, the app also offers multi-day experience that help you build a mindfulness habit in a more natural and lasting way. Part of Wild Journey’s effectiveness as an app comes from the fact that the app developers have combined sounds with beautifully designed visuals to give you a more wholesome audio-video experience. It offers some soundscapes for free, but for the full experience, you will need to pay for a subscription. You can download the app for iOS.
Author’s Note: Al the apps suggested in this article are designed to only offer some respite from the after-effects of isolation. In case you feel your experiences are becoming overwhelming, or that your mental health is not on the strongest of footings, we strongly recommend reaching out to a mental health professional to get through this tough time. None of the apps recommended here is a replacement for professional help.
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Swapnil Mathur
Swapnil was Digit's resident camera nerd, (un)official product photographer and the Reviews Editor. Swapnil has moved-on to newer challenges. For any communication related to his stories, please mail us using the email id given here. View Full Profile
