5 Mental Health Tools to Help You Stay Balanced

Self-care tools have become ever more popular in response to the growing awareness of mental health. These 5 best mental health tools are designed to cater to your emotional wellness.

According to the World Health Organisation, one in four people in the world develops a mental illness at some point in their life, affecting an estimated 450 million people worldwide. However, not everyone who struggles with mental health challenges has access to treatment. While not a replacement for therapy, mental health apps and tools offer a more accessible option to those who are unable to seek professional help. We’ve rounded up 5 of the best mental health tools to take care of your mental wellbeing.

Sanvello

Boasting over 3 million users, Sanvello is the number 1 app for dealing with stress, anxiety, and depression. Sanvello provides clinically validated techniques to help users manage their moods and thoughts, and is packed with expert lessons on mindfulness, daily mood and health trackers, and community boards where users can share their stories with others. For those seeking professional help, the app also includes a directory through which users can find a therapist local to their area.

Available: iOS and Android
Pricing: Free

Aloe Bud

With its retro 8-bit graphics and soft colour scheme, Aloe Bud is an adorably designed app that seeks to bring awareness to the importance of mindfulness and self-care. An ‘all-in-one, self-care pocket companion,’ this app makes use of push notifications to provide gentle daily reminders for activities like drinking water, eating on time, reaching out to friends and taking breaks. Aloe Bud also provides an activity log so that users can log their daily progress and reflect on their achievements.

Available: iOS, with plans to expand to Android
Pricing: Free

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Youper

Designed in collaboration with doctors, scientists and engineers, Youper labels itself as an ‘emotional health assistant’ that is designed to help users identify, track, and process their emotions and behaviour through quick conversations with its AI-powered chatbot. By analysing the users’ thoughts and feelings, Youper can identify and monitor patterns to help users reach a healthier state of mind, providing an entirely personalised experience.

Available: iOS and Android
Pricing: Free

Stoic

A beautifully designed and comprehensive mental health tracker, the Stoic app is rooted in the ancient Greek philosophy of Stoicism, which argues that as the world is inherently unpredictable, we cannot control or rely on external events. Rather, one can only control one’s own mind and choose one’s own behaviour to navigate through these unexpected events. The app seeks to help users manage their negativity by keeping track of their thoughts and actions through reflective exercises such as meditation, mood tracking and breathing exercises, and a strong focus on journaling to give users some insight into the main factors that influence their emotions.

Available: iOS
Pricing: Free

Calmer You

The latest brainchild of Nick Begley, former head of research at Headspace, Calmer You is an app dedicated to helping users build an anxiety-free future. Turning self-development books into actionable, app-based courses, Calmer You incorporates mindfulness and CBT techniques, helping users form positive habits that continue to help them self-regulate their anxiety. With everything from self-compassion exercises to cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness techniques to diaphragmatic breathing, the app provides its users with techniques to break down their worries, boost their self-esteem, relieve their physical symptoms of anxiety and help them make decisions.

Available: iOS and Android
Pricing: Free trial; Full access starts at HKD48 (USD 6.19)