Meditation, Mindfulness, and Mental Wellbeing: The Best Apps for Treating Anxiety

He fatigue and the anxiety disorders They affect more and more people of all ages. And although the recommended thing is always see a mental health specialistthere are several mobile applications that allow you to reach a higher level of awareness, clarity and acceptance of reality through techniques of meditation AND awareness.

He awareness -or full attention- it is a technique that involves paying conscious, non-judgmental attention to present, moment-to-moment experience with a attitude of curiosity, openness and acceptance. THE meditationMeanwhile, it is a practice that involves focusing the mind on a specific object or activity to achieve a state of calm and mental clarity.

Both techniques have a wide variety of mental and physical health benefits. Some of the proven benefits include reduction of stress and anxietythe increase of concentration and memory, the improvement of the quality of sleep, the reduction of depressive symptomsincreasing empathy and compassion and improving overall emotional well-being.

“He awareness It is related to meditation practice. From the Buddhist perspective Our natural state of consciousness, that is, when we are awake, is considered extremely limiting. When we are awake, it is more like a prolonged dream than a true state of consciousness,” explains the graduate Virginia Martinispecializing in Mindfulness and Emotional Awareness.

As far as mobile apps go, there are plenty of options to try meditation or mindfulness on devices. Android or iOS. These usually include audio guidesas well as exercises to develop awareness in everyday situations.

Some of the common features of these apps may include: guided meditation sessions by experts, mindfulness exercises, tools to follow the learning process and customize the meditation experience (length of sessions or background music).

It is worth clarifying that specialists in these disciplines agree on the importance of taking this into account these apps are not intended to replace professional medical advice or treatment with severe symptoms of mental health problems.

Below is a list of the mental health apps best scores.

calm

Calm is a popular meditation and mindfulness app that offers a wealth of tools and resources to help reduces stressanxiety and improve sleep quality.

Awarded as the app of the year 2017 In the App Store, Calm stands out for its large number of guided meditations, relaxing music, breathing programs and mindfulness sessions for different situations, such as work stress, anxiety and insomnia. It also has additional features like bedtime stories and stress reduction programs.

Especially with regard to Calm, Martini says she proposes “the maximum attention to certain sounds of nature and visual effects, even if they are not the best because the idea is to maintain a state of full attention without being distracted. The idea of ​​the conscious breakof the stillness of the mind, it has to do with a connection with oneself to pay attention to who we are, what we feel and what is happening to us at any given moment”.

And he adds: «Everything that helps to interrupt the automatism of our day and during the working day is welcome. The practice of mindfulness or meditation suggests that people naturally before starting the day or sleeping you can do a short meditation“.

Calm is free and has versions for iOS and Android.

Headspace

Another popular meditation app that offers a wide variety of guided meditations, mindfulness programs, and breathing exercises to help improve mental clarity, relaxation, and focus.

It also has specific content for different situations, such as anxiety, work stress, and improved sleep. Also, Headspace delivers meditation programs for children and meditation programs at work.

Aura

Another mobile option that offers guided meditations tailored to the user’s needs, preferences, and goals.

Aura, available on Android and iOS, uses a machine learning algorithm to tailor the meditations to your mood, stress level, and other factors. It also offers Tools to improve sleep qualityreducing stress and anxiety and improving focus and concentration.

Intuition Timer

The app offers a huge collection of over 100,000 guided meditations no subscription or signup required. Several sessions are also led by meditation celebrities such as Brazilian models Gisele Bündchen and Russel Brand, as well as Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh.

Insight Timer also offers features like meditation music and a free meditation timer that lets you practice without guidance, with ambient noise and a soft final bell.

For those who choose to unlock the premium features, the optional paid version starts at $5/month and includes meditation classes, listen offline and other functions.

Insight Timer available for iOS and Android devices.