Phone Apps

MindShift (link)

Cost:
Free

Description:
MindShift is a collaboration between AnxietyBC and BC Addictions Services. The MindShift app is designed to help teens and young adults cope with anxiety. The app will help youth learn how to relax and develop more helpful ways of thinking.

Pros of App:

• App includes strategies to deal with everyday anxiety and youth-friendly information about anxiety disorders
• App provides inspirational quotes, relaxation/guided meditation modules and active steps to manage specific anxiety issues
• App is easy to navigate, and “chill out tools” are very helpful

Suitable for:
Recommended for youth and adults. Under the “chill out” tab , the guided relaxation, guided meditation and guided visualisation exercises are extremely useful for individuals to develop practical skills.

The Mindfulness App (link)

Cost:
Free for first seven days, then prompt to pay to upgrade

Description:
The Mindfulness App is a tool for increasing awareness in life. It helps with a most difficult aspect of mindfulness practice, namely to remember to be mindful.

Pros of App:

• App has great guided meditation exercises as well as silent meditation for those who are more experienced meditators
• The app allows for personalised reminders to be set up to help users to remember to meditate
• Meditations are adaptable to the user’s situation (with 3-minute, 5-minute, 15-minute and 30-
  minute meditation)
• App provides guided body scan and centring exercises
• Features are laid out clearly and are easily accessible

Suitable for:
Recommended for youth and adults. Also consider suggesting MindShift as the guided meditations are excellent and free.

Tactical Breather (link)

Cost:
Free

Description:
Tactical Breathing is a 4-count method of breathing designed to help create a relaxation response

Pros of App:

• App is very simple and easy to use
• “Tutorial” button helps to explain how the breathing exercise should be carried out
• “Breathe” tab leads to looped guided tactical breathing exercise

Cons of App:

• Voice used to guide the breathing exercise is very monotonous App is free for the first seven days, after which you are prompted to pay for the upgrade

Suitable for:
Recommended for all ages to assist in teaching breathing as a relaxation strategy

Calm-Meditate, Sleep, Relax (link)

Cost:
Free

Description:
This app can help reduce stress, increase calm and improve mood through guided mediation designed to help  quiet the mind.

Pros of App:

• App includes 7 guided relaxation sessions from 2 minutes to 30 minutes long
• App is user friendly, easy to use and free

Suitable for:
Recommended for older children, youth and adults

Cost:
Free

Description:
This mood tracker app was developed through extensive testing with youth and professionals who serve them

Pros of App:

• App includes a choice of 7 mood-faces and 28 mood-words as well as capacity to add notes
• App can measure intensity of moods and graph intense emotions
• Built-in e-mail functionality to e-mail mood log to service provider

Suitable for:
Recommended for older youth