There are a whole host of apps designed to support our emotional wellbeing – and with concerns about a second wave of Covid and tighter restrictions being put in place through winter, now might be a good time to check them out.
The first lockdown took a huge toll on the nation’s mental health, and rates of depression and anxiety in UK ‘tripled during lockdown peak’ back in April, according to new research. So if you’re worried about a second wave and going back into lockdown, you’re definitely not alone – but there are things that can help.
Whether it’s tracking daily activity, guided meditation, or positive morning mantras to set you up for the day – here’s our edit of the best wellness apps to download now…
Calm is essentially a mindfulness masterclass in your pocket. It has a bunch of different guided meditations tailored to common lockdown niggles, like sleep, anxiety, stress and gratitude, that are perfect for people who have never tried the practice before.
Some of the great additional features include bedtime stories, narrated by celebrities like Stephen Fry and Harry Styles, that can help to lull you into dreamland. We also love the ‘Daily Calm’ – a morning meditation that includes an original thought or mantra to carry into your day.
When you’re stuck at home, day-in-day-out, its easy to fall into negative patterns, like being too sedentary, stress eating, or working in your pyjamas.
Streaks helps you to track 12 different custom habits at the same time, whether you’re trying to get your steps in, drink more water or avoid smoking. Every day you complete a task (or avoid a negative habit), your streak is extended on the colourful interface, providing a satisfying overview of your healthy lifestyle choices.
When you’re going through a hard time and the future seems uncertain, a good quote can really help you stay positive. Motivation is a beautiful app that sends you a daily positive reminder to your phone.
You can set up the app so your quote either arrives as a notification on your lock screen, or a widget on your home screen. Motivation includes hundreds of quotes on a wide range of topics, such as self-esteem, relationships and dealing with stress, and you can also save and share your favourite quotes on Instagram.
Most of us can agree lockdown has been a rollercoaster of emotions. This slickly-designed app lets you keep on top of your mood by tracking how you feel every day – whether you’re feeling happy and hopeful, or angry and sad.
My Possible Self encourages you to jot down activities, places and people that possibly influence your mood, so you can better learn about yourself and focus on the things that make you feel great, and do less of the things that don’t. It also gives you access to learning modules, developed by psychologists, that will teach you coping mechanisms for dealing with high-stress situations.
Viber’s USP is simple: the messaging app helps to bring people together – whether your passion is football, gaming or beauty blogging.
The app has different ‘communities’ on a variety of niche topics, so you can find your tribe and chat digitally about your hobbies with others around the globe. Viber could be particularly helpful if you’ve felt lonely and isolated since social distancing measures came into place.
6. Drinkaware
During the first lockdown, many of us fell into unhealthy patterns with drinking as a way to cope with stress and distinguish between day and night while working from home.
Not surprisingly, drinking over the recommended weekly allowance isn’t great for us – physically and mentally – and it’s advisable to take steps to moderate our intake. Drinkaware is a brilliantly simple app that helps you track and calculate your units, so you can make sure you know how you’re consuming each week.
As well as showing you the units for each beverage, it also converts your drinks into calories, so you can’t turn a blind eye to the potential health implications long-term. Handily, users can also set goals to help them regain control of their drinking, and the app will provide support and motivation with regular and personalised feedback along the way.