Anxiety can be debilitating, regardless of age or gender. Those who suffer from anxiety find it almost impossible to deal with various aspects of life. It could be a fear of taking tests, worrying about your job or one of many other reasons. What is Anxiety? The Miriam Webster Dictionary defines anxiety as:
If you’re experiencing these sensations, the best solution is to see a therapist and find the root cause for your anxiety. If you don’t have the time or money, these 16 smartphone apps may help you cope. The Apps: |
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An effective way to deal with anxiety is meditation, it helps calm the nerves and allows you to focus. Those who regularly meditate can learn to control their anxiety. What Equanimity does is simple – it times your meditation, providing you with unobtrusive cues, so you know how long each session took. (iOS - $4.99) |
2. Relax Melodies Anxiety can disrupt your sleep patterns, and lack of sleep can increase the levels of anxiety. Going to sleep in a calm environment helps you fall asleep and remain asleep. This is where Relax Melodies comes in handy – it has 50 different sounds and melodies that will help soothe the mind, a built-in timer if you need it to stop once you’re asleep, and even an alarm that will help you wake up calmly. |
3. Anxiety Free Some therapists use hypnosis to help their patients deal with stress and anxiety. Anxiety Free’s creators claim that the “audio recordings contain subliminal signals that speak to the subconscious with powerful effect.” Hypnosis, similarly to mediation, requires practice, so if you want to enjoy the effects, you will need to use the app for some time. (iOS - Free) |
4. Breathe2Relax Breathing is a powerful tool in controlling levels of stress, fear, anxiety, and more. We all know that taking deep breaths helps a person calm down. What Breathe2Relax does is it guides you through various breathing exercises, meant to address upcoming attacks. If you feel an episode coming on, find a quiet room, launch the app and follow the exercises until you’re calm again. |
5. Acupressure: Heal Yourself Acupressure is a method in which pressure is applied to specific points in the body to alleviate pain and other symptoms. It can also improve your blood flow, which can improve your health and mood. The Acupressure app will help you find the relevant points in your body that will help you deal with anxiety, amongst other things. |
6. Qi Gong Meditation Relaxation “Qi Gong” is a traditional Chinese medicinal method that uses breathing and posture to reduce anxiety and stress. This app provides the user with access to videos explaining various relaxation techniques. Created by Dr. Monica Frank, a psychologist with over twenty years of experience in dealing with anxiety. (Android - Free) |
7. Nature Sounds Relax and Sleep If you find that natural sounds help you relax, this app is perfect for you. Whenever you’re feeling stress or anxious, put on a pair of earphones and let this app carry your mind to calming locations like the ocean, a forest, a rainstorm, etc. (Android - Free) |
8. Calming Music to Simplicity Simplicity uses calm traditional Chinese music to help ease your tension and relax your mind. (Android - Free) |
9. Worry Box – Anxiety Self-Help Want to leave all your worries in a box, lock it and go on with your life? That’s what the Worry Box is for. Worry Box lets you keep a journal where you write your thoughts and worries, and then the app will help you deal with them by asking you questions, provide you with anxiety-reducing tips. The app is password protected, so you don’t need to worry about other people reading your private thoughts. (Android - Free) |
10. Stop Panic & Anxiety Help If you find that panic attacks and anxiety are controlling your life, this app may be a good solution. It uses relaxation training music that help you find your much-needed state of calm. The app also has a journal that you can use to write what triggered the attack, and will allow you to address these aspects in your life. (Android - Free) |
11. Relax & Rest Guided Meditation If you want to try meditation, this app will help you learn how to meditate, guiding you through the different kinds of meditation, such as Breath Awareness or Deep Rest. |
12. I Can Be Fearless by Human Progress A helpful app that motivates you through an anxiety episode by using audio hypnosis. It’s also helpful in dealing with fears, worries, and even low confidence. (iOS - Free) |
13. Relaxing Sounds of Nature Lite Another great application that has 35 audio tracks of nature (such as crickets, waves, etc.), which help you slow down your racing mind so you can focus and relax. The app has even more tracks available for download for free, in case the original tracks are not enough. (iOS - Free) |
14. Universal Breathing – Pranayama During an anxiety attack, focusing and slowing down your breathing can often help. This app will teach you various breathing techniques, from novices to experts, that will help you deal with anxiety, stress, fear, etc. (There is a full version available, which costs $4.99) |
15. Self-Help Anxiety Management Developed by the University of West England, this app can assist you in regaining control over your mental state and control anxiety and panic attacks. Tell the app your level of stress or anxiety, and it will give you various self-help methods to help you deal with it. It is also a small, closed social network for people dealing with similar issues, so you can interact with them without airing your dirty laundry on Facebook or the likes. |
16. Anti-Anxiety APP This app is as close as you can get to a therapist (but it’s still an app, not a licensed therapist). The app will give you a diagnostic quiz and use your results to design a custom treatment specifically tailored for you. It also has self-help videos, and can track your progress as you learn to calm yourself down. (Android - Free) |
Therapy If these apps don’t provide enough help, don’t hesitate and contact a licensed therapist. Anxiety and stress may lead to depression, so dealing with them should be a priority. |
| Photo by freedigitalphotos.net |
