Four Free Apps That Offer Quick Mindfulness Activities and Meditations
In a world where technology has taken over and everything is so readily accessible in the palm of our hand, it comes as no surprise that there are endless tasks we can manage by simply unlocking our smartphones. Banking, messaging, tweeting, and emailing. The list goes on! But did you know that you can work on your mental health by downloading a simple app?
While apps should never be considered a form of mental health treatment, they can provide a great and convenient way to work on mindfulness, partake in brief and guided meditations, and learn more about mental health in general. And, surprisingly, many apps provide this without having to make in-app purchases (although, in-app purchases may get you more features, less ads, etc.,)!
In this post, I’ll be going over some of my favorite, free mental health apps I like to use on a daily basis! Feel free to give them a try and see whether they’re the right ones for you!
Insight Timer
Insight Timer is a great app for those who love to listen to guided meditations, soothing sounds and music, and participate in yoga!
Featuring thousands of mindfulness teachers and speakers, Insight Timer is completely free and gives you tons of topics to choose from, including: anxiety, restless nights, healing, spirituality, meditation for beginners, and a whole lot more!
Another little bonus with Insight Timer is that you can even track your moods throughout the day and get a feel for how balanced your feelings and emotions are, which is a great visual that can be for personal use and knowledge, or even for sharing with a therapist.
Bookmark your favorite meditations and sounds and come back to them later, and even create playlists and friend others who are using Insight Timer. This is a great app for getting started and developing a daily meditative routine!
Smiling Mind
Smiling Mind is a meditation app that offers free, full-length meditations! It is made for all ages, and has categorized meditations dependent upon the topic you’re looking to address. Some of their listed categories include: school, work, sleep, mindfulness, digital “detoxes,” relationships, stress management, and more! They also have their meditations categorized by age group, including adults, kids, youth, and even meditations for families to do as a whole.
Smiling Mind does not currently offer a paid version, making everything on the app free to use! Feel free to set reminders if you like to meditate at a certain time of day, such as right before bed, or right as you wake up!
Daylio
Daylio is a daily journal where you can track your moods, activities, and your goals for future days! This is a great way to monitor how you’ve been feeling throughout the week, and even the month. Use it as your own personal keepsake, or even use it in conjunction with therapy to keep your therapist/provider up-to-date on how you’ve been since your last session!
Daylio offers a paid version with some additional settings, emojis, and reminders you can set up; however, the free version offers free backups and customizable moods and emojis that you can easily manipulate to make usable for you.
Breeze
And finally, Breeze is another daily mood-tracking app if you are looking to compare the two and find which one works best for you! Similar to Daylio, the app offers emojis, moods, activities, goals, and a notes section to keep track of your weekly/monthly moods.
In addition to mood tracking, Breeze offers “mental health courses” at an additional cost per month/year which is not currently available on the Daylio app —just something to keep in mind if this may help you with comparing the two apps!
Using these apps in conjunction with one another is a great way to monitor your mental health and find time for mindfulness, self-care, and breathing exercises. It’s also a great way to try something new —I never saw myself as someone who liked to meditate, but after trying Smiling Mind I quickly felt the benefits of even a 5-10 minute meditation!
There are so many outlets and ways to go about mindfulness and self-care, and these are only a few of those apps being offered! Feel free to check out your app store, or even check in with a therapist, doctor, or other provider who may be able to provide you with additional, free resources similar to the ones listed above. These mindfulness apps can be a great addition to the work that you may already be doing with a mental health therapist.
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The counselors and social workers at our Maryland office also offer counseling services for trauma, grief and loss, boundary setting, communication skills, and difficult life transitions. We also offer specialized counseling services including Brainspotting and spiritually-integrated counseling. Because we are located next to several local universities, we also work with college students and international students.
Disclaimer
LifeSpring Counseling Services is not endorsed by, affiliated with, authorized, or sponsored by any of the listed companies or their mobile apps and services. all products listed are provided based on personal recommendation and does not imply association with the listed company or service.
Written by: Madison Hager, Social Media & Digital Marketing Assistant
Photo Credit: freestocks.org, Insight Timer, Smiling Mind, Daylio, Breeze, & cottonbro
Date of Download: 2/11/2022
