Most of what I talk about here on my blog is witchcraft, today I want to share something that is important to anyone who wants to stand in their power and become the best version of themselves that they can be. That is one of the goals of witchcraft, but it's also important to all human beings on the earth no matter what your path is in life, what I'm talking about is your mental and emotional health. I've noticed many of my online friends (are there any other kind in 2021?) are struggling, and I wanted to share some resources with you that might help. My blog just seemed like the easiest way to do that.
I know it's been the most challenging year that most of us have ever faced. The pandemic has made everything including big overreaching problems and little minor things that go wrong in our lives seem to be magnified. As someone who was diagnosed with PTSD shortly before the pandemic started and continued therapy remotely throughout this past 12-plus months I get it. So many of us are just completely overwhelmed and getting so tired. We've tried to do whatever we could to protect our communities, families, and ourselves. If you've decided to be part of the solution instead of adding to the problem, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. We've faced our inner demons, we've discovered implicit biases hidden inside and felt outrage at the hate, racism, willful ignorance, and violence that humanity seems to have been steeped in for far too long. We want to face the world with compassion and wisdom, but how can we help others if we haven't done the work to help ourselves? You can't pour from an empty vessel.
I know, you're tired, frustrated, tattered and torn. So am I. You miss your families, friends, and being together in the world. You're mourning the lives lost this year to the virus, to violence, systemic racism, suicide, and reasons too many to count. Sometimes life hurts. I get it.
The truth is, I'm concerned for all of us, dear reader. I can't tell you how many times I was so grateful after talking with my therapist about how I've been feeling. It really helps. I know that I really lucked out with her and that many people don't have the privilege to be able to get therapy, years ago I didn't either. With all that we as individuals and a society are facing right now, I'll tell you something, those feelings you're having...they're normal given the circumstances we're living in, you shouldn't have to face those feelings alone. You deserve better
To that end, I wanted to share some resources,
most are free, some of the apps have in-app purchases, but if you’re on a
limited budget you can get a lot out of the free versions. None of these apps
or companies have paid me to share these with you, these are some that I found
on my own or that were recommended. If you find one or more that helps you then
you have another tool for managing and maybe you’ll
share it with someone else in need. Let's destigmatize and normalize mental health treatment. Together, I hope we can go from simply
surviving to eventually thriving.
Important Note:
These applications
explicitly do not replace the diagnosis by a mental health care provider, but
can aid treatment. These applications explicitly do not replace psychotherapy. I've provided links so that you can research these apps on your own, most (I think all) are available for iPhone and Android.
Resources For Mental Health
The Mighty- Free
The
Mighty is the world's largest digital health community. We're people who talk
about what health is really like — from mental health to chronic illness,
disability, rare disease, parenting, neuro-diversity, care-giving and so much
more. Find and foster the human connections that will help you navigate your health
journey, no matter what you or your loved one is going through. We're here for
you.https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-mighty/id1432324582
MindDoc:
Your Mental Health Companion- Free
Top mental health app with
over 3,000,000 downloads and 4.7 stars out of 26,000+ reviews.
Developed by clinical psychologists in close
collaboration with leading researchers for those who want to learn about
emotional well-being or who suffer from mild-to-moderate mental illness
including depression, anxiety, insomnia, and eating disorders. https://mymoodpath.com/en/
7 Cups: Online
Therapy & Chat- Free with in-app purchases, They also offer counseling with
licensed therapists for $150 per month.
Thanks to
thousands of volunteer listeners stepping up to lend a friendly ear, 7 Cups is
happy to say, "We're here for you!" No matter who you are or what
you're going through, this is a place where you'll be heard and cared for. We
might be strangers on the surface, but underneath we're just the friends you
haven't met yet. https://www.7cups.com/
CPT Coach -Free
CPT
Coach is for Veterans, Service members, and others with PTSD who are
participating in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) with a professional mental
healthcare provider. This app contains support materials for a complete course
of CPT to help you manage your treatment, including between session
assignments, readings, PTSD symptom monitoring, and mobile versions of CPT
worksheets. CPT Coach is not intended to be used as self-help without the
guidance of a professional mental healthcare provider.https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gov.va.mobilehealth.ncptsd.cptcoach&hl=en&gl=US
ACT Coach -Free
Acceptance and
Commitment Therapy (ACT) aims to help you live with unpleasant thoughts, ACT Coach was developed for Veterans,
Servicemembers, and other people who are in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
in consultation with a therapist. It offers exercises, tools, information, and
tracking logs so you can practice what you’re learning in your daily life. In ACT, you are encouraged to commit to
actions so that you can live your life by your values, even in the face of
these unpleasant experiences.https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=is.vertical.actcoach&hl=en
CBT-i Coach-Free
CBT-i Coach is for people
who are engaged in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia with a health
provider, or who have experienced symptoms of insomnia and would like to
improve their sleep habits. The app will guide users through the process of
learning about sleep, developing positive sleep routines, and improving their
sleep environments. It provides a structured program that teaches strategies
proven to improve sleep and help alleviate symptoms of insomnia. CBT-i Coach is intended to augment face-to-face
care with a healthcare professional. It can be used on its own, but it is not
intended to replace therapy for those who need it. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gov.va.mobilehealth.ncptsd.cbti&hl=en&gl=US
What’s Up? A Mental Health App -
Free- In-App Purchases
What's Up? is a fantastic free app
utilizing some of the best CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and ACT
(Acceptance Commitment Therapy) methods to help you cope with Depression,
Anxiety, Anger, Stress and more! With a beautiful, modern design, simple
heading and easy-to-follow methods, you can get to what helps you the most in
seconds! https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jacksontempra.apps.whatsup&hl=en&gl=US
Bloom- Free- In-App Purchases
Bloom is the easiest & most affordable way to do therapy. Train your mind with over 500+ exercises from cognitive-behavioral-therapy (CBT). Do therapy yourself and get personalized daily mental health coaching sessions to manage stress and anxiety, improve sleep, build better habits, foster stronger relationships and improve the quality of life. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bloom-cbt-therapy-self-care/id1475128511
Calm Harm- Free
Calm Harm is an award-winning app developed
for teenage mental health charity stem4 by Dr Nihara Krause, Consultant
Clinical Psychologist, using the basic principles of an evidence-based therapy
called Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT). Calm Harm provides tasks to help
you resist or manage the urge to self-harm. You can make it private by setting
a password, and personalize the app if you so wish. You will be able to track
your progress and notice change. https://calmharm.co.uk/#row1
DBT Coach - Free- In-App Purchases
This is the most
comprehensive DBT app that exists today with easy to follow visual tools.
Learn and practice DBT skills using video
lessons and fun animations which helps you to remember skills longer. Features
over 100 videos and 200+ animations. You can also take notes on these lessons
for future use. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.swasth.dbtcoach&hl=en_US&gl=US
SuperBetter -Free
Join nearly a millon people who have played SuperBetter so far to build resilience, achieve goals, and tackle challenges including anxiety, depression, stress, chronic pain, concussion recovery, and more. This app is fun and encouraging and backed by science. Created by game designer Jane McGonigal, SuperBetter is powered by the Live Gamefully® method; a framework that activates the psychological strengths of game play to build resilience and success in real life. Proven results in just minutes a day. https://www.superbetter.com/
Meditation
Apps
Waking Up: Guided Meditation -
Free- In-App Purchases
Waking
Up is a guide to understanding the mind, for the purpose of living a more
balanced and fulfilling life. Join Sam Harris—neuroscientist, philosopher, and
New York Times best-selling author—as he explores the practice of meditation
and examines the theory behind it. https://wakingup.com/
Insight
Timer Free- In-App Purchases
Insight
Timer offers 90,000 free guided meditations. We believe everyone deserves
access to a free daily meditation practice. Which is why we publish the world's
largest collection of free guided meditations, with over 90,000 titles. There
are meditations for almost any topic you can imagine and even meditations for
children. https://insighttimer.com/
Liberate -Free- In-App Purchases
Liberate is the meditation app for us, by us that is Black-owned. We’re not only just a meditation app, we’re a safe space for the Black community to develop a daily meditation habit. Anyone is welcome to use Liberate, we just want to be clear who we’re here for.
With popular meditations and talks like The Joy of Gratitude, Mindfulness of Healing, and For The Ancestor In You we offer a meditation journey that speaks to the realities of being Black in the modern day. Our carefully-curated library of over 260+ titles is led by teachers of color representing a wide range of experiences and lineages in their practice. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/liberate-black-meditation-app/id1451620569
The
Tapping Solution Free- In-App Purchases
After
540,000 plays of our “Releasing Anxiety” Tapping meditation the average
reported reduction of anxiety was 41% in just 9 minutes. Tapping, also known as
EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), is a powerful stress relief technique.
Tapping is based on the combined principles of ancient Chinese acupressure and
modern psychology. This is because stress is linked to anxiety, weight gain,
sleep problems, lack of motivation, chronic pain, stomach issues, and
depression. Tapping is proven to reduce stress, lower cortisol, improve sleep,
reduce anxiety, relieve pain, increase productivity, and so much more! https://www.thetappingsolution.com/tapping-101/
Headspace
-Free, In-App Purchases
Headspace
makes meditation techniques available online so more people could experience
the benefits of meditation anytime, anywhere. With this app you’ll find: guided
meditations, animations, articles and videos, all in the distinct Headspace
style. There are also useful articles on the website and a show on Netflix
about meditation. https://www.headspace.com/
Calm
- Free, In-App Purchases
Sleep, Meditation and Relaxation, with over 100 million
downloads and over 1.5M+ 5-star reviews. We’re honored to be an Apple BEST OF
2018 award winner, Apple's App of the Year 2017, Google Play Editor's Choice
2018, and to be named by the Center for Humane Technology as "the world's
happiest app". https://www.calm.com/
I hope you find some resources here that are helpful. It might also "break the seal" on the idea of looking for help. You might even find more if you search for apps on your phone. If you want to get in person mental health treatment (and many are doing telehealth these days too.) You can visit Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/ and they have a great search where you can find all kinds of mental health professionals in your area. If you're on a tight budget some even offer a sliding scale. I know it's scary, but if you've read this far then I know you're thinking seriously about it. It's going to be ok. If you had a broken arm, you would go to the doctor, this is no different. I believe in you!
Love and Blessings,
Mickie
