Technology and Apps to Support Mental Health and Mindfulness

By Stephanie Worthley

The MHS Counselors spent time this summer creating a toolbox of resources for our students to use when struggling with anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions. Apps and websites can be effective in making therapy more accessible, efficient, and portable. The MHS Counselors used Summer R&D time to research apps and websites that can most efficiently help students whether at school or that they can access at home.

The following apps have all been reviewed and previewed by the MHS Counselors and may prove to be helpful in times of stress:

Calm
    Calm is the #1 app for meditation and sleep. Join the millions experiencing lower stress, less anxiety, and more restful sleep with our guided meditations, Sleep Stories, breathing programs, masterclasses, and relaxing music. Recommended by top psychologists, therapists, and mental health experts.
    Guided meditation sessions are available in lengths of 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 minutes so you can choose the perfect length to fit with your schedule.
    Topics include:
* Calming Anxiety * Managing Stress * Deep Sleep * Focus and Concentration * Relationships
* Breaking Habits * Happiness * Gratitude * Self-Esteem * Body Scan * Loving-Kindness
* Forgiveness * Non-judgement * Commuting to work or school * Mindfulness at College
* Mindfulness at Work * Walking meditation * Calm Kids * And so much more...

Headspace
Headspace is the simple way to reframe stress. Sleep trouble? Meditation creates the ideal conditions for a good night’s rest. Relax with guided meditations and mindfulness techniques that bring calm, wellness and balance to your life in just a few minutes a day.

Calm Harm
Calm Harm provides tasks to help you resist or manage the urge to self-harm. The app then provides you with four categories of tasks to help you surf the urge. ‘Distract' helps in learning self-control; ‘Comfort' helps you care rather than harm; 'Express Yourself' gets those feelings out in a different way and ‘Release' provides safe alternatives to self-injury. There is also a ‘Breathe' category to help calm and get back in control.
Calm Harm has been developed for teenage mental health charity stem4 by Dr Krause, Consultant Clinical Psychologist using the basic principles of an evidence based treatment called Dialectic Behaviour Therapy (DBT).

Safety Plan
Suicidal thoughts can seem like they will last forever – but these thoughts and feelings pass with time. This app is designed to support those dealing with suicidal thoughts and help prevent suicide.
Having a plan in place that can help guide you through difficult moments can help you cope and keep you safe. A safety plan is designed so that you can start at the beginning and continue through the steps. You can customize your own warning signs that a crisis may be developing, coping strategies for dealing with suicidal urges, places for distraction, friends and family members you can reach out to, professionals you can call, methods of making your environment safe, and your own important reasons for living.
If following your safety plan is not enough to stem a suicidal crisis, then this app also contains an easy-to-access list of emergency resources so that help is just a tap away. For long-term recovery, we provide a thorough guide to dealing with suicidal thoughts.

Mindshift
Struggling with anxiety? Tired of missing out? There are things you can do to stop anxiety and fear from controlling your life. MindShift is an app designed to help teens and young adults cope with anxiety. It can help you change how you think about anxiety. Rather than trying to avoid anxiety, you can make an important shift and face it.
MindShift will help you learn how to relax, develop more helpful ways of thinking, and identify active steps that will help you take charge of your anxiety.

Breath2Relax
Breathe2Relax is a portable stress management tool which provides detailed information on the effects of stress on the body and instructions and practice exercises to help users learn the stress management skill called diaphragmatic breathing.Breathing exercises have been documented to decrease the body’s ‘fight-or-flight’ (stress) response, and help with mood stabilization, anger control, and anxiety management.

Moodtools
If you are feeling sad, anxious, or depressed, lift your mood with MoodTools! MoodTools is designed to help you combat depression and alleviate your negative moods, aiding you on your road to recovery.
MoodTools contains several different research-supported tools. They include:
  - Thought Diary - Improve your mood by analyzing your thoughts and identifying negative / distorted thinking patterns based on principles from Cognitive Therapy
  - Activities - Regain your energy by performing energizing activities and tracking your mood before and after, based on Behavioral Activation Therapy
  - Safety Plan - Develop a suicide safety plan to keep you safe and utilize emergency resources during a suicidal crisis
  - Information - Read information, self-help guidelines, and find help with internet resources
  - Test - Take the PHQ-9 depression questionnaire and track your symptom severity over time
  - Video - Discover helpful YouTube videos that can improve your mood and behavior, from guided meditations to enlightening TED talks

Booster Buddy
Manage your personal wellness journey and earn achievements as your sidekick guides you through a series of daily quests designed to establish and sustain positive habits.
•Check-in with how you are feeling each day
•Use coping skills
•Keep track of appointments and medications
•Get started on tasks
•Follow self-care routines
•Increase real-life socialization

YouTube: Marconi Union
Relax and restore your mind body and soul
Neuroscience Says Listening to This Song Reduces Anxiety by Up to 65 Percent
The group that created "Weightless", Marconi Union, did so in collaboration with sound therapists. Its carefully arranged harmonies, rhythms, and bass lines help slow a listener's heart rate, reduce blood pressure and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/neuroscience-says-listening-to-this-one-song-reduces-anxiety-by-up-to-65-percent.html