Set a reminder to write down how you’re feeling every day. Now you’ve started a mood diary.
These sorts of techniques are usually reserved for the therapist’s chair. But with anxiety rising during the pandemic and many psychologists unwilling to take new clients during lockdown, we need to get people help now, before the stress they’re feeling spirals into something worse. A solution might be to teach them how to help themselves—virtually.
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Some apps have been specifically created for coronavirus-linked anxiety. Covid Coach includes meditation and breathing exercises, tools to track anxiety and moods, and pointers to resources for people who need help with domestic violence, substance abuse, and other issues.
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Another app launched during the pandemic, called Clarity, nudges users to check in and set a score for their mood every day.
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But all these products tap into a tantalizing idea: getting more people to proactively look after their mental health. [Web designer Simon] Fox hopes we might use the pandemic as an opportunity to further destigmatize mental health care and help build up people’s resilience. “This can be a chance to grow your own toolbox to deal with difficult things,” he says.
