According to the American Psychological Association, chronic stress, which is a type of stress experienced over a prolonged period of time, can cause wear and tear on your body. This is either due to your body’s reaction or as an effect of the bad habits that people use to cope with stress such as overeating, smoking and alcohol drinking.
One of the many ways to prevent and relieve stress instantly is with the help of technology. It may be hard to look at technology as a form of “stress-reliever” but when used in the right way and in harmony with other natural stress management methods, it can play a significant role in fighting the stresses of your day to day life.
On a previous article, I walked you through the different Wearable Technologies to Help Beat Stress. Today, let’s talk about 5 stress-relieving applications that you can download from your smartphones, for when you need instant de-stressing.
1. Stop, Breathe & Think
This 2017 Webby People’s Voice Award for Best Health App winner checks in with users’ feelings and helps them fight stress, anxiety and depression through guided meditations, yoga, acupressure videos and other short activities tuned to the user’s emotions. When you’re feeling stress or anxious, just pick up your phone and STOP, BREATH and THINK.
2. Calm
Calm is an app that will help you reduce anxiety, sleep better and feel happier. Use the app to learn about meditation, practice breathing exercises, listen to adult bedtime stories guaranteed to lull you to sleep and soothing nature sounds and scenes for when you are meditating or doing yoga.
3. Happify
Overcome negative thoughts and combat stress, anxiety and depression with this app that provides evidence-based interventions and techniques in the fields of positive psychology, mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy. Here, you can increase your happiness and reduce stress with fun activities and games, and receive inspiring content every day.
4. Colorfy
If you’re not into meditations and breathing exercises, you should try this digital mindfulness coloring book app. Choose from thousands of designs and let the colors and relaxing painting experience ease your worries, stress and anxieties away.
5. 7 Cups
Sometimes, all you need is a healthy venting session. However, it’s not guaranteed that you have family and friends always available anytime you need someone to talk to. But through the 7 Cups app, you have 24/7 access to trained active listeners or therapists who are available to chat with you confidentially and anonymously to help you through difficult and stressful times.
