Best Apps to Help Maintain Self-care and Health

We sometimes wonder what our lives might be like without our digital devices. We give constant attention to what can feel like a waste of space and time, but is it actually helpful? With the many apps and products available on our phones, spending too much time in the wrong places can wreak havoc on our mental and physical health—if we let it.

Creating a healthy relationship with social media and digital apps is hard for most, but their impact has changed the world for both good and bad. The ever-looming challenge of finding a healthy balance can either be our detriment, or provide a path to self improvement.

The benefit our digital world provides is seemingly endless with the countless apps and products, but what is the objective you are trying to accomplish when you open your device? Before you start, ask yourself what your goal is. We constantly find ourselves getting lost in these apps and wasting our time. On average, the daily user spends 145 minutes on social media alone, according to Statista.com. 

We should all strive to create a healthy lifestyle where using our phones won’t spark guilt or addictive tendencies. Some of the following apps—none of which we sponsor, or sponsor us—can help promote productivity and positivity from your digital experience.

Fooducate

Free to download; in-app purchases

Dieting and health tracking can be stressful and bring toxic traits into your life. Chasing and tracking calories are difficult for everyone, but Fooducate creates awareness for the foods we eat. On this app, you can connect with a community that shares diet articles, fitness tips, and recipes. 

The best thing about this app is its user-friendly food finder. You can take a photo of the barcode of the food you are questioning, and the app will give you a rating, healthier alternatives, and comments from others on how the food tastes. With all of the apps that are used to track calories and make you scared of food, Fooducate offers support on your fitness journey as well as a community to reach out to.

Remente 

Free to download; in-app purchases

Remente’s goal is to increase self-improvement. This app is sectioned off into three different areas: mental wellbeing, motivation, and productivity. The great feature about Remente is that it tells you why you’re not being productive. This app creates a plan that cancels out the issues we have with the obsession with notifications on our phones. This app’s goal setting and to-do lists are what make this app special.

MindDoc

Free to download; in-app purchases

MindDoc is great at showing users a personalized experience. MindDoc checks on you three times a day with questions and analyzes your responses. It caters to the responses and creates insight about how to make a change in your patterns. MindDoc creates statistics and reports that help you realize the patterns you’re going through. This app is helpful for those who feel like they’re constantly having the same issues.

Fabulous: Self Care

Free to download; in-app purchases

What is so enjoyable about this app is the ability to create productive rituals for morning, afternoon, and night. Some of us separate our days by the meals that we eat, making this app best for those who want to separate their day. With Fabulous, you are given a daily coach who provides motivational lessons to guide you throughout the day. Their live challenges give users a chance to connect with people all around the world who are working to get better just like you. Most users of Fabulous see positive and gradual changes with this app.

Stoic.

Free to download; in-app purchases

This app is based on the ancient philosophy of Stoicism. According to the Google definition, Stoicism is the endurance of pain or hardship without the display of feelings and without complaint. This enables the mindset of overcoming self-destructive emotions by developing self-control tactics. This app showcases that you cannot let your emotions overrule you in either good or bad times. You’re provided the opportunity to be more in tune with your emotions. As soon as you open the app, it asks how you are feeling and allows you to build upon those responses. You are able to visually see the emotions you are feeling, while offering light guidance on how to overcome overstimulation. This app has a variety of helpful components like affirmation quotes, journaling, and accolades for water consumption.

Time Management

Getting stressed and consumed in social media and our digital devices is the main killer of mental health. A good quality to start implementing into your life is distracting yourself from the distraction. McClean Hospital states that people aren’t going to stop doing something after you tell them it’s bad for you. In this day and age, it isn’t practical to stop using our technologies completely due to their extreme influence on our daily lives. 

Creating goals and setting time limits can drastically improve our relationship with our digital devices. Use a timer throughout the day to get things done to be aware of how much time you spend on activities. At the end of the day, you’ll be able to know what you haven’t finished and the skills you will need to stay productive.

If your mental and physical health begin to see negative impacts from your social media or online consumption, consider these previous tools. If used in moderation and with conscious awareness of your habits, it can provide a life changing service to our daily routines. To talk with a specialist or like-minded peers who may be affected by addictive tendencies with our devices, or otherwise, contact a facility like Jackson House to receive the help and guidance you or a loved one needs.