8 Mobile applications to maintain mental health & bull; hello healthy

Indonesia is reportedly ranked 79th as the happiest country in the world, beating out a number of other countries in Southeast Asia. A pretty proud achievement, right?

Ironically, the level of happiness in this country is inversely proportional to the quality of the mental well-being of its population. Mental health problems, including anxiety disorders and depression in adults in Indonesia, have reached an incredible 11.6 percent.

However, facilities to support mental health are still few. The lack of support can be seen from the inadequate access and professional human resources, as well as legal support from the central and local governments who are still half-hearted in responding to the seriousness of mental health problems.

Some of the smart mental health apps below can help people with mental health issues who may not be willing or able to get access to face-to-face therapy.

Mental health app for managing symptoms of depression and anxiety

1. Riliv

This application made by the nation's children facilitates its users to consult their personal problems free of charge to professional psychologists or psychology students. The psychologists themselves consist of six professional psychologists and 50 student psychologists (relievers) from the University of Indonesia, Airlangga University, and Surabaya State University.

Psychologist student volunteers who are registered in this application function more as friends who listen to confide in, not as problem solvers. For answers and medical advice, you can subscribe to a paid premium facility to consult directly with a licensed professional psychologist or therapist in their field.

The new Riliv can be downloaded for free on the Google Play Store. There is no further information regarding the release of the application on iOS.

2. Operation Reach Out

Operation Reach Out was originally developed by the United States military agency as platform to treat cases of depression and PTSD among military veterans. This free app that acts as an intervention tool helps people who have suicidal thoughts or are prone to attempted suicide to get help as soon as possible.

You can upload important phone numbers and other emergency contact information in this application. Then, in times when you are really feeling overwhelmed, you can easily call for help. Operation Reach Out is also equipped with a GPS feature that can tell you your current position as well as videos that can help you calm down and refocus.

You can download Operation Reach Out on the Google Play Store and iOS.

3. SAM

SAM is short for Self-help Anxiety Management. Initially, SAM was developed by a team of psychologists and computer experts from the University of West England to create a mental health resource that is both attractive and practical for the public.

SAM is an application designed to help people manage their anxiety. Users can record their anxiety levels and identify different stress and anxiety triggers. The app includes 25 self-help options to help users manage physical and mental symptoms of anxiety, such as breathing techniques. The app also has a social cloud feature which allows users to anonymously share their experiences with other SAM users.

SAM can be downloaded on the Google Play Store and iOS.

4. What's Up?

What's Up? is a free app that aims to manage the mental health of its users by combining aspects of CBT therapy and commitment therapy to create personalized coping strategies for depression, anxiety, anger, and stress.

The strong points of this app are a tracker of good and bad habits that you do every time you solve a problem, which you can use as a guide, and 3 easy breathing techniques so you can stay calm and relaxed when you are overwhelmed. What's Up? It also has a diary feature, where you can record every thought and feeling you have, including the ability to rate your feelings on a scale of 1-10.

What's Up? can be downloaded on the Google Play Store and iOS.

5. Pacifica

Stress, anxiety, and depression can keep you from living a quality life. Pacifica provides you with holistic tools for managing your depression and anxiety symptoms that are based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness, relaxation, and general physical well-being.

Pacifica's features include the Mood Rate, which allows you to score your moods during the day and includes recording any mood changes you experience. Pacifica also provides you with relaxation techniques and a diary that is useful for releasing all negative thoughts when the mind is awkward.

Download Pacifica on the Google Play Store and iOS.

6. CBT Depression

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective approaches to managing depression and other mental health problems. This app helps you monitor your mood with a grading test that tracks the severity of your depressive mood and provides several resources aimed at educating you about negative thought patterns that might worsen your depression. There are also audio features for relaxation and depression relief.

Download Depression CBT on the Google Play Store.

7. Mood Tools

Designed in collaboration with mental health professionals, Mood Tools is a free application developed to help users identify symptoms of a manic or depressive episode as well as a questionnaire to track the severity of your mood over time.

Mood Tools is also equipped with a diary feature, special activities for you to do based on CBT therapy, and also a video library to improve your mood with meditation to "lectures" of inner encouragement from TED Talks.

Get Mood Tools on the Google Play Store and iOS.

8. Mindshift

Mindshift is an app that uses CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) based guidance and evaluation to help people learn and practice their anxiety-coping skills. You can add to your own list of anxiety-triggering situations and then use the tools provided to help deal with anxiety in those situations.

This app provides users with a variety of methods for responding to anxiety, including developing their knowledge of anxiety and its symptoms, being actively involved in relaxation techniques, evaluating anxiety levels in certain situations, developing realistic thinking patterns, and changing their negative behavior. Users can alsobookmark their favorite kind of approach for easy access next time.

Download Mindshift on the Google Play Store and iOS.