Best Apps for Anxiety

Calm’s free version includes timed meditation options, the first day of many of its multi-day meditation programs (such as seven days of focus or 21 days of calm), the Breathe Bubble, and a sleep story called Blue Gold. The app also has free scenes users can select from to play nature sounds and/or music in the background on both the guided and unguided meditation.

A premium subscription includes an original Daily Calm meditation session, several hours of guided meditations covering sleep, anxiety, stress, and gratitude, meditations for kids, and much more. It also grants users access to a library of more than 120 sleep stories. New stories are added every week, along with exclusive music tracks for focus, relaxation, sleep, and masterclasses featuring world-renowned mindfulness experts.

Headspace has one mission: to improve the health and happiness of the world. And with millions of users in more than 190 countries, it is certainly making strides toward that goal.

New users can try a two-week free trial of Headspace Plus and enjoy access to hundreds of guided meditations on everything from stress to sleep. There are short meditations you can do anytime with expert guidance from Headspace co-founder Andy Puddicombe, a former monk. The sleep sounds are sure to ease your mind into a truly restful sleep.

Headspace’s website cites a University of Oxford study that "found that eight weeks of using the [Headspace] app (for 10–20 minute sessions) resulted in a 31% decrease in symptoms of anxiety and a 46% decrease in depression symptoms."

The app is available on Apple iOS or Android devices and can be downloaded from the Apple iTunes App Store or Google Play Store.

If you’d prefer an app that helps you build coping skills and work on trauma with the help of a professional, BetterHelp is a solid option. The company’s thousands of licensed therapists offer convenient counseling for less than the cost of traditional, in-office sessions.

BetterHelp offers clients a range of beneficial resources for stress management, grief, anger, self-esteem, and other mental health issues. You will receive personalized treatment using a variety of techniques that may include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), psychoanalytic psychotherapy, eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and others, depending on the therapist you work with. 

BetterHelp only offers one subscription billed every four weeks, but the price per month may range from $240 to $600 based on your location and current therapist availability.

Colorfy is an art and coloring game designed to help users pass the time, relax their mind and have fun. Coloring comes in the form of a painting book with several designs to choose from. Users will find complex and simple art such as mandalas, animals, patterns, and florals in the coloring book, and they have the option to upload their drawings to color. Although the app is free with in-app purchases, there are limited coloring pages available for non-subscribers.

According to clinical psychologist Scott M. Bea, PsyD, it has everything to do with refocusing our attention, “Adult coloring requires modest attention focused outside of self-awareness," Dr. Bea says. “It’s a simple activity that takes us outside ourselves in the same way cutting the lawn, knitting, or taking a Sunday drive can all be relaxing."

A 2012 study examined the use of art therapy to reduce anxiety with a group of undergraduate students. The results showed a decrease in anxiety levels and suggested that the practice created a meditative state beneficial for reducing anxiety.

Smiling Mind was developed by psychologists and educators to help bring mindful balance to children and adults. The creators behind this app believe "accessibility and inclusiveness are key to empowering a new generation to thrive. We approach everything we do in an open, curious, and non-judgmental way."

Smiling Mind meditations for children start at age 3 with programs called The Bubble Journey, Smiling Starfish, and the Snow Globe. There are also guided meditations for older children that focus on being present and how to be more focused in school and even sports. Created by a family organization in Australia, the guided meditations are read by people with Australian accents, which may be difficult for some children to understand. However, some children may enjoy the accents and thus become more engaged in the lessons.

Studies show one in four secondary students and one in seven primary school students experience a mental illness. Mindfulness is proven to lead to better attention, memory, regulation of emotions, and self-awareness. In turn, improvements in these areas can lead to reduced stress, anxiety, and depression, as well as better academic skills, social skills, and self-esteem.

Insight Timer offers guided meditations and anxiety alleviation talks led by some of the world’s top meditation and mindfulness experts, neuroscientists, psychologists, and instructors from Stanford, Harvard, the University of Oxford, and more. Over 1,500 meditations for anxiety are offered for free, a list that includes close to 400 music selections for anxiety and nearly 200 anxiety talks.

Regular and daily meditation for anxiety relief helps people focus on staying in the present moment and recognize a situation for what it is. Users can sort through meditations based on the length of the session and the gender, popularity, and other information about the teacher. For users who wish to take their meditations offline or tune into courses, an upgrade to Insight Premium is available for $9.99 per month or $59.99 per year.

For those who are just beginning to learn how to meditate, iBreathe makes it easier than ever. The app's breathing exercises are simple and fully customizable to meet your level and needs. You choose how long the session will last and the number of breathing techniques included in each session. This allows you to start slowly and build up to longer, deeper breathing sessions as you become more comfortable with the techniques.

iBreathe syncs with quick actions via haptic touch (a long press from your iPhone or Apple Watch home screen) to quickly start your breathing exercises, which is great when anxiety peaks. Customizable reminders that tell you to breathe throughout the day can be set, and there are predefined presets specifically designed to help with stress and anxiety.

Disrupted sleep can worsen anxiety both in the moment and throughout the day. Tide helps users sleep and nap with the sounds of nature. The app is available for iPhone, Android, iPad, and Chrome users. Tide’s goal is to get listeners away from their fast-paced life and into calm, peaceful moments.

Tide offers sleep analysis, light wake-up alarms, nap modes, and calming nature sounds for users looking to optimize their sleep. More robust sleep meditations are only available for Tide Plus subscribers.

Breathwrk has emerged as the App Store's #1 breathing app, and for good reason. The app offers breathing exercise programs that promote calm, relaxation, and everything from pain management to giving you that mid-day jolt of energy to help carry you through the rest of your work day.

Breathwrk offers a wide range of breathing exercise programs, including Calm, Sleep, Awake, Energize, Anxiety, Ease Pain Relief, Unwind, Recharge, and Stamina. Each program is designed to help with everything from anxiety to cardiovascular health to blood pressure, pain management, and insomnia.

Studies show that "slow, voluntarily regulated breathing practices are non-invasive, easy to learn, and generally safe for treating patients with symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, depression, stress- and trauma-related disorders, ADHD, schizophrenia, and substance abuse."

The Shine app prides itself on being a self-care tool that assists with reducing anxiety, improving mental health, and providing peer-to-peer support, and it certainly does all of that. Upon opening the app you are greeted by calming wind chimes and light music that instantly invoke a feeling of relaxation. You will then be prompted to input a daily check-in that allows you to record your mood and begin a gratitude journal.

With a premium subscription, you unlock an exclusive library with thousands of meditations created by a diverse set of experts. There are also personalized tools and content that are populated based on your needs. You will need a premium membership to take advantage of the inclusive community and mental health experts.