The pace of our life speeds up constantly. The environment we live in today is safer, but ironically, much more stressful and hectic than the world of our ancestors. Our smartphones alone cause enough troubles and distractions to drive us to the brink of sanity. Luckily, there are lots of apps that can turn our devices into the tools of coping and sources of peace and mindfulness. Here are just a few to choose from.
Happify
Available: iOS, Android, Web
This app aims to modify your habits by providing effective tools for taking control over anxieties and emotions. Basing on the cognitive behavioral therapy, it offers engaging activities and puzzles that take a few minutes to solve, but help to lower the stress-level. As the creators of the app say, “small slices of time can make big-time changes.” The Happify app also measures your emotional wellbeing level to provide a feedback on your progress.
Calm
Available: iOS, Android, Web
This app offers you an array of programs ranging by their time and purpose from 10-minute talk about mindfulness to 21-day courses in better sleep and non-judgment. It is your guide to easy meditation with a focus on your particular needs at the moment. This beautiful app provides everything one may need to start meditating – a brief on the concept, delightful scenery, and wonderful tracks by meditation music master, Kip Mazuy. It will help you to relax and sleep more and will bring calm into your life.
Anti-Stress Quotes
Available: iOS, Android
Sometimes friendly advice is all you need to cheer up and start looking on the bright side. This app has an enormous selection of comforting and inspiring words of influential people and verses from sacred books. These motivational quotes will help you to keep a positive and philosophical outlook on life and reassure you when you find yourself in a difficult situation.
The app also allows saving your favorite lines and sharing them with your friends via e-mail, SMS and Facebook.
The Worry Box
Available: Android
If there is a trouble on your mind, just put it in the box. All your troubles, worries, and concerns come to this little casket to relieve you and help you cope with them. This cognitive diary helps you to keep the track of your worries and to approach them mindfully. It gives you advice suitable for your particular situation, or words of comfort if the worry is beyond your control. The app also offers coach audios with tips on coping strategies, articles that will help you understand cognitive-behavioral therapy and a selection of relaxing tracks.
Relax Melodies
Available: iOS, Android
The app offers a variety of relaxing sounds and melodies to help you fall asleep, create a mood for yoga and meditation or simply have a few moments of serenity in a middle of a busy day. Apart from beautiful and user-friendly layout, there is another nice feature that makes Relax Melodies stand out among similar apps – it allows you to create personalized mix of sound that you find particularly helpful (for example, you can add crickets chirping to the sound of ocean waves and mix it together with a soothing melody).
Breathe2Relax
Available: iOS, Android
The purpose of this app is to provide you with a tool for anger, stress and anxiety management. Breathing exercises help you to calm down and reduce the “fight-or-flight” response of your nervous system to stressful factors. The guided breathing sessions are short, they are not enough for a long meditation, but prove to be very effective as an immediate remedy. Another handy feature is a possibility to customize the length of breathing cycles in order to match your preferences.
Pumpic App
Available: iOS, Android
This app is good for your own peace of mind as a parent: it enables you to monitor mobile devices of your underage children. When you can always see what your teen is up to online and keep him or her out of trouble, you have fewer things to worry about. It will also help you to take care of the emotional well-being of your children, enabling you to block the unsuitable content, inappropriate apps, and to ensure they do not suffer from cyberbullying, unwanted solicitation and other harmful aspects of digital life.
Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector
Available: iOS, Android
To effectively de-stress and restore positive mindset you absolutely have to smile and think of something nice. What can be nicer than furry cuddly kittens? That’s right, more kittens! The game is easy – all you have to do is to leave some snacks and toys and they will come. Your reward is to watch them playing and romping around in your yard. Unlike games where speed, reaction, concentration and skills matter the most, this one is refreshingly undemanding. It was created to shower you with cuteness and good mood, and it certainly delivers.
With these apps on your device, you will be able to dispel stress before it affects you, and to cope with troubles mindfully.
