My stress levels were holding up well during this crisis – until this past week. Whether you’re working from home, your gym is closed, or your grocery store trips end with only half your list crossed off – this pandemic has hit home. When I finally began to crack this past week, I found myself turning to meditation apps for anxiety.
We’ve all had our lives impacted in some way by this Virus-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named.
I’ve always known that mental health is important, but nowadays it’s more important than ever. We have to take care of our minds.
As I felt the strain increase, I realized I had a ton of options. And they were literally at my fingertips.
Meditation apps are nothing new – but that makes it harder than ever to decide which one is right for you.
So here’s a list of 5 meditation apps for anxiety (and sleep, productivity, gratitude, etc.) that’ll help keep you out of a funk during this distressing time.
5 Meditation Apps for Anxiety
Breethe
The first thing that struck me about Breethe was the stunning images.
Breethe is all about meditation any time of day. With five categories, including “Start Your Day,” “Enrich Your Ride,” and even “Focus at Work,” I like that they certainly seem to know when you’re going to need that stress relief.
AKA: all the time.
At first I thought you had to pay for the app – it definitely makes it seem that way when you’re getting started (in fact, all of these apps make it seem that way at first). But they do have some meditations available even if you opt out of signing up. You can access at least a few in each of their five categories, as well as their “Daily Breether” meditation. The other meditations remain locked until you consent to pay their monthly fee.
Cost: Can access some meditations for free. Premium is $12.99/month. 14 day free trial for Premium.
Aura
Aura is exceptional because it’s ultra-personalized. After answering questions during the app set-up, they recommend specific meditations just for you.
It almost feels as though you’re getting to talk to an actual person. On the homepage it asks how you’re feeling, and you can click the button to “Share emotions.” This takes you to a page where you can either enter what’s going on (like “can’t sleep” or “sad”) or answer what Aura can do to help you (“improve focus” or “confidence & self love,” etc.).
The way the app is designed and the specific way it asks questions really makes it feel like it’s a person who cares – rather than an app – that you’re interacting with.
The meditations themselves are created by a lot of different people. You can follow your favorite teachers on their Meditation Channels, though, so you can listen to more of their work.
Cost: 7 day free trial. $59.99/year ($4.99/month).
Relax Melodies
Relax Melodies is mostly advertised as a falling asleep aid.
It’s big pull is the ability to “mix” sounds and music behind bedtime stories or meditations. It’s extremely customizable.
I’m not gonna lie – this app is pretty impressive. It’s really easy to load up on different sounds and music, as well as adjust how loud each one is.
For example, I personally like the sounds of a fireplace and of rain. Although I wouldn’t normally find these together, I can turn on a rain sound along with a crackling fireplace, and then slide the volumes of each individually until I like the mix. Then, I can proceed to find a meditation I like and drift off to sleep while listening to the sounds I personally find the most relaxing.
It’s genius.
The first time I went to find a meditation after setting the sounds I liked, I was floored. You can choose if you want a male or female voice, can adjust the level of sounds/music even after starting the meditation, set the sounds/music to continue for a set time after the meditation ends, or even set the app to close after the meditation is over.
This app also has bedtime stories available and a section called SleepMoves that talks you through getting your body relaxed for sleep.
You may also want to consider this app for it’s bedtime reminder (goodness knows I need this) and it’s progressive morning alarm that can slowly fade in over seconds to minutes.
This one probably gives you the most for free out of all these apps.
Cost: Can access a lot of features and meditations for free. Premium is $59.99/year ($4.99/month). 7 day free trial for Premium.
Photo used in this pin: House photo created by drobotdean – www.freepik.com
Headspace
Headspace is pretty well-known, probably because a lot of employers partner up with the company to provide subscriptions to employees for free. An extremely admiral employee benefit, if you ask me.
Headspace is of course all about meditation, covering everything from sleep to productivity to coping with life challenges.
One thing I really like about this app is the Move feature. The app has two trainers, Kim and Leon, who can walk you through different workouts. While most will involve some stretching, there are also some that incorporate strength and cardio. There’s even guided meditations for walks and runs (which as a runner, I think is pretty cool). Because the mind and body are connected, I think this is a wonderful addition to the app. However, this feature does require the subscription.
Cost: can access some features and meditations for free. Headspace Plus is $69.99/year ($5.99/month) with a 14 day free trial OR $12.99/month with a 7 day free trial.
Calm
Calm is another one that’s pretty well-advertised. And this one probably isn’t worth it without the subscription, as most features are locked until you pay.
But once you do, this app has quite a lot. There are loads of meditations, stories, and beautiful, tranquil backgrounds.
There’s also a feature called calm body that has some yoga and light stretching for stress relief.
This one is definitely a good option as well.
Cost: Can access a few features and meditations for free. Calm is $69.99/year with a 7 day free trial.
Bonus: Mantra – Daily Affirmations
While this app doesn’t have meditations, I had to include it as a bonus. Mantra is an app that sends you an uplifting affirmation every day.
I just recently got this one, but I’m already a huge fan.
I love affirmations. They’re a great way to quickly change your mindset – which is really the key to staying motivated and empowered.
For more affirmation inspo, read my post on 25 Powerful Positive Affirmations for Women During a Bad Day at Work.
Cost: Can receive affirmations from “general” category. Premium is $19.99/year with a 7 day free trial.
I hope that one of these meditation apps for anxiety can help you weather this storm a little better. I really liked all of these when I tried them out – otherwise I wouldn’t have recommended them!
Give this a share on Pinterest if you found this post helpful! Wishing you all the best during this tough time!
Love this! I struggle with anxiety so I’ll definitely have a look at all those apps. Thanks for sharing x
Yes do it! Meditation helps me so much, especially just to calm and reset my mind after a stressful day. Hope you find an app you love!