Hi and welcome to the MHFA999 blog, MHFA stands for Mental Health First Aid and I intend to write a regular blog about all things relating to mental health and first aid.
I am a mental health first aid instructor and last week during a mental health first aid course which I was delivering in Manchester one of my students asked if I did a blog and if not could I create one so that I could give out handy hints and tips.
So here is the first one and it is all about my favourite apps that I use to help maintain my own mental wellbeing and to help support others too.
Here are my top 5 personal favourites:
- My Chakra Meditation 2:
Chakra meditation has been around for about 3000 years and was invented in India. It is based on the idea that we have 7 energy pools in our bodies and if we focus our mind on each of them in turn we can maintain the flow of energy through the body and so help to maintain our wellbeing.
This is my favourite app for two reasons: 1) It is a really simple app, and 2) It works for me.
There are no instructions or guided meditations just a set of 7 tones (1 for each of the Chakra points) which play one after the other. You start by regulating your breathing and focusing your attention at the base of your spine which is the Root Chakra, then each time the tone changes you simply move your focus to the next Chakra point in the order Sacral (bladder area), Solar Plexus (below the rib cage), Heart (centre of the chest), Throat (self explanatory), Third Eye (forehead between the eyes), and the Crown (top of the head).
I find using this system of meditation highly energising and also very good for helping me manage my physical aches & pains. It takes around 35 minutes to complete a cycle and afterward I feel calm, balanced, relaxed.
Cost: FREE
2) Qi Gong Meditation Relaxation:
Another fantastic app to help you relax and let the stress drain away, but has many more facets to it including articles, guided meditations, and videos.
Qi Gong is an ancient system of Mindfulness but this one originates in China and it is where Tai Chi comes from.
Enter the Audio tab and you will find lots of guided meditations of varying lengths of time and for different purposes including some for children.
Simply choose your meditation, close your eyes, and follow your guide. I find this app great for guiding me to a relaxing happy place, and also for helping me to learn the art of Tai Chi which is an excellent type of all body exercise.
Cost: FREE
3) Stay Alive:
Stay alive is an excellent app for people who are supporting someone who is suicidal and also for people who are feeling suicidal.
It is crammed full of highly valuable information & resources for both situations including places where you can get professional help, and for crisis planning to stay alive.
This is something I recommend to all of my student on the mental health first aid courses as it really can help you to save a life.
Cost: FREE
4) Breathe, Think, Do With Sesame Street:
If you have young children in your life who are starting so experience anxiety about doing the things that kids do this is the perfect app for you.
It is an interactive app that starts by showing one of the young monster characters from Sesame Street getting up tight and anxious, the child then helps the monster to calm down by getting him to take three deep breaths.
Once he has calmed down there is a “pop the bubbles” game to help to monster think of three possible plans to deal with the situation that has caused the anxiety.
The final step is for the child to chose one of the options and to see the result.
This is a fantastic and fun way for children to learn about anxiety and how to cope with it. I use it with my Grand-daughter and she loves it.
Cost: FREE
5) Anxiety Release:
This is a fairly simple app that sits somewhere between the My Chakra 2 and Qi Gong apps in that it uses a combination of relaxation music and guided meditations to help you relax and deal with your stress and anxiety.
It also keep a record of your perceived stress/anxiety levels when you use it.
It is a really good app but I prefer the other 2, it is an excellent extra tool to add to your Mental Health Tool Kit.
Cost: FREE
Technology is regularly named as a major cause of stress and anxiety in today’s world but it can also be very useful in helping us to maintain our wellbeing. I hope you enjoy checking out my 5 favourite mental health related apps and please feel free to leave your comments about what you think of them and even let me know if you have any favourites of your own.
Please check back next week more the next installment which will be my 5 favourite self-help books.
Finally you can find me all over the internet via my website: mhfa999.co.uk and on social media by searching @mhfa999.
Take good care of yourself and each other.
Cheers, Andy
MHFA999 