5 Free Mental Health Apps that Could Help with Your Recovery

Nowadays technology is pretty much everywhere, and while some people don’t like that, there is no denying that it has many good sides too. In recent years there has been a lot of research into the relationship between, and possibilities for combining mental health and technology. Many mental health workers use so called ‘eHealth’ programmes focused on specific problems. Most of these are only accessible through a professional or cost a lot of money, but we have found some great free mental health apps for you to try out.

Some of these free mental health apps are focused on specific problems, such as anxiety or depression.  Others focus on tracking your mood in general, and trying to help you understand where your problems might stem from. In any case, we hope you get something out of these free mental health apps.

Disclaimer: Most of the free mental health apps named in this article are indeed free of charge at the time of publication, but we cannot guarantee that this is still the case at the time of reading this. Most are completely free, others have options for paid expansion.

1. Daylio Mood Tracking and Micro Diary (Android, iPhone)

Great: This mental health app has a database of cleanly designed icons for activities you might like to log. Some of the other apps have a set selection of things to track, but Daylio also gives you the options to add other things to track. You can customize names of moods you can view your stats over the month in a color-coded calendar too, which gives you a view of what your most common mood or emotion was that month. This one comes with a PIN lock possibility too, and you can export data to print your mood-graphs.

Doubts: The many options mean it takes a little longer to get used to it, but all in all the organization is quite clear and should not be a true problem. If you’re easily overwhelmed by too options though, you might want gently ease your way into this one, or go for a slightly less extensive mental health app.

Example: see above.

2. Moodspace (Android)

Good: The interface of this mental health app is easy to read and use. The whole experience is peaceful but there are some creative twists in the interface, which make for a helpful but also informal experience. No extra account needed.

Doubts: It is still maintained but no longer actively developed due to a lack of funding, though the way it functions now is already very commendable. However, we do not need to expect any new features in the near future. Edit: Recently the app has been updated but no new features seem to be added. It does look more organized than previously.

Example: Three Clouds: Write three things that were good today, and why they were good. If you’ve used the app recently, it’ll remind you to fill in the three clouds for today via push notification.

3. Pacifica – Stress & Anxiety (Android, iPhone)

Great: For a free app it’s very extensive. It’s got many features and exercises, and you can customize the look of your interface.

Doubts: You need to make a separate account, which is a bit of a hassle, but you get a lot of exercises and other support features.

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Example: You can fill out your mood at different times in the day over the course of your use of the app. You can do it as often as you want, maybe every 12 hours, or just once per day. The apps draws graphs according to what you gave as mood input so you can see clearly what days your mood swung, or which times are most difficult for you.

4. Calm: meditate, sleep, relax (Android, iPhone)

Great: through guided meditations of high sound quality this mental health app helps you gain the focus that is hard to get when you are not feeling well. It helps you focus on your breathing and guides you through a session calmly. The interface looks nice, and very professional. Added bonus, you can do these on your daily commute if that’s doable.

Doubts: It’s a mindfulness app, so it doesn’t offer many other functions. If you want to get a more detailed experience of mental health apps, you might have to download this in combination with another one.

Example: There are nature sound scapes, or meditation guides. It also features daily programs which you can do to improve at a particular mindfulness skill.

Trigger warning: self harm discussion. This one is last because of the trigger warning.

5. Calm Harm – manage the urge to self harm

Great: This mental health app is specifically aimed at helping managing self-harm urges.

It’s based on the model that the urge to self harm behaves like a wave, rising and subsiding, and it gives you tools to help you ride the wave. You have some costumization options, for example, in a team of your choice of animated mascotte figures, who appear throughout the app. You also have several options of color scheme, to pick one that you feel fits what you need.

The app lists several categories of exercises, from breathing to comfort, release or distractions. You can even track your progress by assessing the strength of the urge and whether the activities helped you and how well. Based on your input app will suggest ways to try to help you in the future.

It’s password protected and your activity log is private.

Doubts: –

Example: When you feel the urge to self-harm you pick one of the categories and the app will suggest activities you can do to ride the wave. When you have finished an activity, you can tell the app whether the urge has passed or whether you want another exercise.

All of these apps seem to have something unique to offer. Which one will you be trying? Or which other ones would you recommend to the readers? Leave a comment here, or on our tumblr or facebook!

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Disclaimer: we are not affiliated with any of the named apps, and readers engage with the apps at their own risk.