App Spotlight: Simple Habit
As a therapist I know all too well that most of us need a bit more tender loving care in our day-to-day lives. It's not easy to find time to practice self-care when you're bombarded with daily worries connecting to performing well at work and at home. That's not to mention maintaining your relationships. Ironically, all these stressors can negatively impact our health too. That is why it's so important that we consistently give ourselves time to restore and recharge.
The aptly named app Simple Habit seeks to help people do just that, create a new daily habit of restoration and rejuvenation. Mindfulness strategies are very popular these days both in and out of therapy sessions.
Mindfulness as both a philosophy and practical strategy can help us better cope with the world around us and be more present. Research suggests that mindfulness based cognitive strategies can even help combat anxiety and depression. Simple Habit offers both a free version of the app and a premium version. Both versions give users access to guided meditations and mindfulness exercises. With over 200,000 users around the world, there's evidence that many people need a service like this.
On a smartphone, Simple Habit becomes a digital mindful lifeline where you can practice mindful breathing or meditation while on a walk or on your daily commute (just don't do it while you're the one driving). There's a library full of meditations and exercises led by coaches, therapists and yogis to help you achieve daily inner balance.
If greater inner peace is something that you're looking for, Simple Habit could certainly be worth trying. I tried it myself and found it to be relaxing and a great adjunct to my established daily mindfulness practices. For beginners, it represents a welcoming introduction into the world of mindfulness and meditation. Simple Habit is available in the Apple Store and Google Play.
App Spotlight: CouplesCom
CouplesCom app
In this series of posts called App Spotlight, I'll cover mobile apps that are related to mental health, wellness and healthy relationships. Today's post features CouplesCom.Many couples seek out a therapist to help them improve their way of communicating with one another. Today's featured app, CouplesCom seeks to provide a mobile solution that helps couples work together to create a healthy dialogue about their biggest concerns and issues.According to the product website, CouplesCom:
works a bit like text messaging but guides you through a set process involving active listening, validation and empathy.
Once a couple signs up for the app, they can use it to express their feelings, request changes in their partner's behavior and then provide feedback following the requested action.For couples who may have a hard time communicating effectively I see the potential helpfulness of an app like CouplesCom. It might be especially useful for couples who may be required by circumstances to spend significant time a part. That being said, there is no substitute for the support of a licensed professional. However, CouplesCom could prove to be a useful addition to traditional couples therapy, providing hard data on what happens between sessions.
You can view more about CouplesCom at their app website.
*No application is an adequate substitute for support from a trained and licensed mental health professional. Please use with discretion.
App Spotlight: Sleep Bug
In this series of posts called App Spotlight, I'll cover mobile apps that are related to mental health, wellness and healthy relationships. Today's post features Sleep Bug.These days, pretty much everyone has a hard time relaxing. With work, family and social responsibilities it can be challenging to find even just a few minutes to relax. That's why I always appreciate finding a solid app that can help me re-center and get a little break during the day.
Sleep Bug is a sound mixing app that offers the user a variety of environmental soundscapes. The great thing about Sleep Bug is that is also lets the user have a fair amount of control. Each soundscape also features the ability to add or subtract other sounds elements such as birds, wind, chimes, etc. Each soundscape offers elements that you might naturally find in that particular environment.The free version of Sleep Bug offers the user 12 soundscapes:
Beach - with waves, chimes, birds and a horn
Music Box - offers a guitar, piano, bells and birds
Zen - feature chants, bamboo, drum and strings
Zen Garden - with bamboo, drum and strings
River - features wind, lightning, frogs, insects and birds
Forest - with wolves, birds, and music beats
Jungle - with parrots, drums, monkeys, frogs and tigers
Classical - features string instruments and drums
Fire - burning wood, lightning, wind, and owls
Waterfall - with streams, birds and rustling trees
Weather - features wind, rain and lightning
Lullaby - with waves, birds and chimes
If users want to upgrade for the paid version, it features 12 other soundscapes to chose from:
Horror
City
Clock
Dreams
Train
Sci-fi
Airport
Outback
Winter
White Noise
Underwater
Dark Drone
In addition to the soundscapes, Sleep Bug offers an easy to use interface which includes high quality images to represent each environment. The app also offers the handy feature of a timer which can be used for sleep or as an aide to help in mindfulness meditation. The app's software also allows it to run in the background on your device so that you can go on to pay attention to other tasks if you absolutely need to but I wouldn't advise that. The whole purpose is to take a break, right?
If you are having trouble sleeping and have access to the technology, Sleep Bug can be a very helpful tool. If you suffer from insomnia or nighttime anxiety, this app lets you control your environment and set a sleep timer to ensure that you don't drain your device's battery all night long. In addition, business users can use it for an in office noise maker and you can use it as a quick aid for daily meditation.
*No application is an adequate substitute for support from a trained and licensed mental health professional. Please use with discretion.
App Spotlight: Breathe2Relax
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Today's post features a free app available in the iTunes Store and its called Breathe2Relax.
Diaphragmatic breathing or "belly breathing" has been shown to help reduce stress, lower blood pressure and increase overall feelings of peace and relaxation. Breathe2Relax is an app that helps you learn the skill of belly breathing so that you can enjoy its benefits practically anywhere.
Most of us haven't learned how to breathe deeply to get the benefits of belly breathing. If you suffer from severe anxiety or have a history of trauma, engaging your mind-body connection by using belly breathing can also be extremely helpful. That being said, while this type of breathing can be very therapeutic, it can also be very triggering for some folks so it may be very helpful to have the support of a therapist to guide you through this practice especially if you fit the above criteria.
I think Breathe2Relax is an especially good app because it not only helps create a relaxing ambient environment, but it also features a video demonstration of the proper way to belly breathe. You can also personalize your inhale and exhale timers so that your in-app coaching is tailored to meet your unique needs and abilities. With a quick and easy setup, I think most people could benefit greatly from this cool piece of technology.The Breathe2Relax app is free and available both in the iTunes and Google Play stores.