Best Apps to Help With Social Anxiety (Mindfulness & Meditation)
August 24, 2016
The person who said technology is hurting us hasn’t met these ten social anxiety apps that are giving clients their lives back.
When was the last time you diagnosed someone with an anxiety disorder? Chances are it was recent. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that 18.1% of the U.S. adult population and 25.1% of 13 to 18-year-olds suffer from anxiety disorders. Can social anxiety apps do anything to help?
The clients in your waiting room who have social anxiety may always have their heads down and hands on their phones. If you’ve diagnosed one of them with an anxiety disorder or they’ve self-identified, social anxiety apps may help to get them through the tough moments when you aren’t there. After all, you can keep a phone in your pocket. A therapist wouldn’t fit.
Since new apps come out every day, and all of your patients have different needs, it’s smartest to create a list of social anxiety apps that you can provide to all patients. Host the info on your website. Send your clients home with a sheet of your preferred social anxiety apps, or include it in a welcome packet. Then, remember to take a peek at the list once or twice a year to ensure that all apps are still current and add any new finds to the list.
10 Social Anxiety Apps to Recommend to Your Patients
1. Acupressure: Heal Yourself
This app guides users with trainable acupressure techniques in moments of social anxiety. Whether it be in school, work, or the bank, there are over 90 acupressure techniques users can employ to target specific issues they may be having. Also, many of the acupressure combinations are discreet, so your clients’ anxieties won’t increase with the idea of using them in public.
2. Headspace
Headspace is a game changer. Users can learn how to practice meditation in just ten minutes a day. The meditation techniques focus on different areas of life, such as health and relationships. The app requires a monthly subscription after the free trial ends, but its popularity shows that users find the cost worth it.
3. HelloMind
- iPhone Free, 2.99 in-app purchases
- Android Free, 2.99 in-app purchases
HelloMind covers over 50 different fears by using audio hypnosis as a guide for change and relaxation. From fear of flying, bugs, and public speaking to personal issues such as quitting smoking, there’s almost no worry or fear this app doesn’t cover.
4. Mindshift
Created with teens and young adults in mind, Midshift helps users cope with anxiety. Rather than avoid it, the app encourages users to face the anxiety and develop strategies for overcoming tough situations in socialization and at school, which can improve confidence as a result.
5. Pacifica
- iPhone Free
- Android Free
Pacifica is a social anxiety app that offers guided deep breathing and muscle relaxation exercises. The “Thoughts” section of the app allows users to record what they’re thinking for later analyzation of thought patterns. What makes Pacifica stand out from other social anxiety apps is its daily anti-anxiety experiments.
6. PTSD Coach
Created by the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), this app provides self-assessment tools and stress management opportunities. For those immediately in need, the app directs users to the closest support groups and recommended support forums.
7. Relax and Rest Meditations
One of the biggest hurdles to meditation is finding the time to do it. The Relax and Rest Meditations app was created to calm users with little time to spare, such as during a short elevator ride or when feeling antsy while standing in a long line at the grocery store.
8. Self Help for Anxiety Management
The Self Help for Anxiety Management app, fondly known as SAM by its users, takes a whole-life approach to managing social anxieties. With anxiety trackers and a toolkit of management lessons, this app puts users in the driver’s seat. What makes SAM stand out from other social anxiety apps is the community of users available for support just a touch away.
9. What’s Up
Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), the What’s Up app is a great tool for social anxiety sufferers who need grounding in reality. The app allows users to scale their “catastrophes” and to challenge their thought patterns, with reality-based questions, which will help them to rationalize whether or not they are unnecessarily anxious. A follow-up grounding exercise helps the users to calm themselves if they find that they are overanxious.
10. Worry Watch
- iPhone 1.99
Worry Watch is a tool for both therapists and their clients. Unlike the other social anxiety apps, Worry Watch works mostly as a journaling tool in which users can log fears, worries, and concerns that take place on a daily basis. They also indicate whether or not the outcome of the situation that they had faced was as bad as they initially believed it to be. Worry Watch is a great app for sharing real-life activity anxiety issues in a session and understanding, “what is worry.”.
These social anxiety apps will, indeed, help your clients, but are you looking for an app that will run your practice better and make you more productive? SimplePractice streamlines the process of setting up all of your patients’ accounts as well as your practice information. Our intuitive interface allows you to input only the information you need, using only a few keystrokes. Try out SimplePractice today for free—no credit card required.
What other social anxiety apps do you recommend to your clients? Let us know in the comment section.
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