Here Are 3 Apps to Help You Deal with Depression

According to their website, the National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES) is a government program that uses interviews and physical examinations to evaluate the overall health and nutritional status of adults and children across the country. They discovered, over many years of studies, that 7.6% of people 12 and older are depressed — and that’s only what’s reported.

Self help is important, especially when mental health care is expensive. Nonetheless, this is not a replacement for seeing a doctor, therapist, or psychiatrist — make sure to get the help that you need, when you can. Still, the following are three top-rated apps to help you manage anxiety and depression day-to-day.

Read More: The Top 3 Philanthropic Apps That Let You Give Back

Charity Miles

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, running has significant benefits for those with clinical depression. Specifically, the endorphins released by your brain when running serve as a natural antidepressant. This app enables you to combine altruism and exercise into the same routine.

Specifically, your phone’s GPS tracks how far you go in a running session. The farther you run, the more you donate to a specific charity. For instance, if you want to raise money for Habitat for Humanity, then your running funds will be given to that nonprofit. Some nonprofits have experienced tremendous success on this application. For instance, the Alzheimer’s Association has raised over $100,000. In summary, exercising — and helping out those in need — will help you to gain control over your depression.

Mood Tools

As the title suggests, this app offers a variety of tools that can help levitate you to wellness. For example, there are tests you can take on the application that will help to diagnose you and provide you with the severity of your condition. Moreover, the application offers a variety of “guided meditations” that instruct you to meditate whenever possible — a habit that has been proven to help depression. The diary included within the app allows you to track your day to day progress on your road to recovery. There is also a safety plan included that can help dissuade any suicidal thoughts.

7 Cups: Anxiety & Stress Chat

7 Cups provides you with volunteer listeners that want to listen to your problems and aid you with any issue that might be occurring in your life, at that moment. Moreover, there are group chats in the app if you wish to gregariously grieve. The best part of the app: everything is free. No doctoral fees or copayments for psychiatrists, as all listeners are volunteering on their own will. You can add your face and provide a brief profile so listeners can gauge your situation in a broader sense.