Mental well-being is an important aspect of overall wellness, and it should not be treated lightly. Most individuals are aware that they can exercise, eat healthily, get adequate sleep, and drink enough water to maintain their physical health. However, it’s less common for people to focus on their mental well-being. It’s just as essential for your mental health to receive support as it is for your physical health.

According to the World Health Organization, mental illness is one of the most widespread causes of disability throughout the world. The incidence and impact of mental illnesses are rising, with significant health and social, human rights, and economic consequences in all countries around the globe.

Know that you are not alone if you or someone you know has a mental health condition. There are several resources available today to assist individuals with mental health difficulties in working through their problems.

We have curated a list of excellent mental health apps that are available for both Android and iOS devices to help you in your journey to mental wellness.

Best Mental Health Apps

What Are Mental Health Apps?

Mental health apps are mobile applications that offer mental health support and services. These apps provide mental health education, tracking, reminders, and therapy.

They can also serve as a replacement for or supplement to traditional mental health services such as in-person therapy sessions.

What Are the Benefits of Mental Health Apps?

There are many benefits of mental health apps. They can:

• Help you track your moods and mental health symptoms over time
• Connect you with mental health resources and information
• Assist you in developing healthy coping mechanisms and strategies
• Help you find support from other people who have similar experiences
• Allow you to access mental health care from anywhere at any time (24/seven)

Do Mental Health Apps Work?

Mental health apps can be effective for some people. However, it’s important to keep in mind that mental health apps are not a replacement for professional mental health care.

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (800-273-8225) or text “HOME” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.

In general, mental health apps can be most helpful when used in combination with other mental health treatments, such as therapy or medication.

How Do I Choose a Mental Health App?

There are many mental health apps available, and it can be tricky to know where to start. When choosing a mental health app, it’s important to consider your specific mental health needs.

For example, if you have anxiety, you might want an app that focuses on relaxation and stress reduction techniques.

If you are dealing with depression, you might want an app that helps you track your moods and provides resources for positive coping strategies.

There is no “one size fits all” mental health app, so it’s important to find one that meets your individual needs.

What Are the Best Mental Health Apps?

There are many mental health apps available, but not all of them are created equal. Some of the best mental health apps include:

Best App for Overall Mental Health

1. Moodfit

Moodfit is a free mental health application with tools and understanding meant to “shape up” your mood. This app, similar to how you might intend to get into physical condition, is intended to assist you in maintaining a healthy mental state.

Moodfit is designed to assist you to feel better whether you want to comprehend your emotions better, are feeling anxiety, sadness, or high levels of stress. There’s also a questionnaire that will help you assess the severity of your symptoms, as well as various articles and audio files that can help you understand what you’re going through. Download

2. Happify

The Happify app provides games to raise your spirits. The activities were designed using positive psychology methods and CBT treatments to help you enhance resilience, overcome negative thinking, and manage stress.

The techniques are created by renowned psychologists and experts who have been researching evidence-based therapy for years in the areas of positive psychology, mindfulness, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Download

3. Talkspace

Talkspace is the most convenient and cost-effective method to enhance your mental health. From the convenience of your phone, get matched with a licensed therapist in your state, and communicate via text, audio, and video.

Anyone between the ages of 13 and up, may obtain access to high-quality mental health treatment through its subscription service, which has already helped more than a million people. Download

Best App for Meditation

4. Headspace

Headspace’s guided meditation and mindfulness exercises for everyday use might help you find peace, health, and balance. Try any of their new meditations for sleep, including music, environmental soundscapes, or storytelling sleep casts before going to bed. The app creates customized programs based on a little input from you so that you can learn the basics of meditation and build upon that knowledge. Download

5. Calm

Calm is a wonderful app that has stress-reducing exercises and breathing techniques to assist you to relax. It also includes a Calm Kids area with meditation for children 3 to 17 years old. There are new breathing exercises, mindful walking meditation, and relaxing activities accessible from your Apple Watch for an intentional experience. Download

6. Buddhify

The Buddhify app has more than 200 mindfulness exercises to help you reduce anxiety and stress, improve sleep, and handle unpleasant feelings. With categories tailored to whatever you’re doing — traveling, working, waking up, eating, or browsing the internet—you may practice mindfulness techniques. Sessions last from 3 to 40 minutes and are suitable for beginners or advanced practitioners. Download

Best App for Addiction

7. Quit That!

Quit That! is a habit-busting app designed to assist individuals cure addictions. The program helps you keep track of your habits in order to quit smoking, drinking alcohol, using drugs, or even drinking coffee.

However, if you have a more severe addiction, you should look for medical or professional assistance. Residential treatment (rehab), therapy, medication, or support groups are all viable options for a specialist to explore. Download

Best App for Stress

8. iBreathe

iBreathe is an easy-to-use application for breathing exercises that may help you reduce stress and anxiety. Deep breathing exercises might aid in the reduction of tension and worry. The app was created with a single aim in mind: basic deep breathing exercises. There’s nothing distracting or overwhelming about the software. Download

9. Colorfy

Colorfy is an online coloring book for adults. With a variety of pictures and mandalas to choose from, or the option to add your own drawings to color, you may lose hours in a deep concentration or focused meditation with this software.

Adult coloring may help reduce anxiety, according to a 2020 study. Pouring your attention into the lovely patterns might help you distract from anxious ideas and provide some calm. Download

10. Moodnotes

Moodnotes allows you to record every aspect of your stress reaction in its many forms. This software, which is based on cognitive behavioral therapy and good psychology, helps you understand and manage the full experience of anxiety.

Moodnotes has a variety of stress-reducing techniques available. You can capture a photo of your face to see how you’re feeling, jot down your feelings as soon as you begin to feel nervous, or read instructional materials that help you break free from the cycle of “thinking traps.” Download

Best App for Anxiety

11. Shine

When it comes to anxiety, culture plays a huge role. Your cultural background may influence how you experience and express worry. Women of Color developed the Shine app to help people in their communities deal with their anxieties. The app contains meditation techniques, podcasts, a huge audio library, and community forums so you can work on your anxiety on your own or with the assistance of others who have similar experiences.

Although Shine does have a monthly fee, it includes many of the app’s features without requiring a subscription. Daily mood-boosting audio recordings and gratitude check-ins are available without needing to subscribe, as is a 7-day free trial before purchasing a subscription. Download

12. MindShift CBT

The MindShift CBT app was designed to utilize cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques to alter thinking and behaviors in order to relieve anxiety. The program is advertised as a way to address worry, panic, perfectionism, social anxiety, and phobias. Short meditations, thought diaries, coping cards, and fear-facing activities are among the features. Download

13. NOCD

The NOCD app is designed to aid in the treatment of the obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) by combining mindfulness and exposure-response strategies. The software is based on study and OCD professionals’ feedback.

NOCD offers live video-based OCD therapy as well as in-between session assistance. Find a qualified OCD therapist in your state from the convenience of your smartphone and start achieving with NOCD’s video, text, and more. Download

The Bottom Line

Mental health is essential to our overall well-being, and there are many high-quality mental health apps available to address a wide variety of needs. No matter what your mental health concern may be, there is likely an app that can help you work on it in a way that is convenient, discreet, and affordable. Do some research, ask your therapist for recommendations, and give a few mental health apps a try.

If you’re not sure where to start, the 13 mental health apps listed above are all excellent options with evidence-based approaches that can help you address anxiety, depression, stress, OCD, and more. Give one or two a try and see how they work for you – chances are good that you’ll find at least one mental health app that you love and that helps you to feel better.