Choosing the best mental health app in 2024

Published on February 15th 2023.
Updated on Jan 1st 2024.
Written by Jenna Farmer.

Chapters.
1. What are the different types of mental health apps?
2. What should I look for in a mental health app?
3. How can I choose the right mental health app for me?
4. What are the benefits of mental health apps?
5. When do therapists recommend using a mental health app?
6. What do users want from a mental health app?

Whether you’re looking for an app to track your mood or to help when an anxiety attack hits, mental health apps are on the rise. It’s thought there’s up to 20,000 mental health apps to help on the market, so knowing which one will actually help and which will just take up data storage is important. Let’s take a look at how to choose the best mental health app for your health in 2024.

Photo by Gemma Chua-Tran on Unsplash

What are the different types of mental health apps?

There are lots of different types of mental health apps on the market. Some of these apps are designed to help you understand your mental health better and others are specifically designed to help you adapt self-management strategies to cope. These apps include:

Mental health tracking apps.
These apps allow you to easily track your mood. Not only is this a great way to get an overall picture of your mental health over a longer period of time but you can also gain insights into how certain triggers or life events impact your mental health.

Journaling apps.
Journaling apps allow you to write down your feelings in one safe space. Some people use journaling apps for prompts to write in a physical journal, whilst others choose to record it all in the app. There are different types of journals. For example, you might use a gratitude journal to record the things you’re grateful for at the beginning of the day or a CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy journal) to help you challenge negative thoughts.

Counselling apps.
Counselling apps allow you to connect directly with therapists. The counselling may be done via phone, online chat or even email messages. Counselling apps may be used alongside regular therapy or to replace it, especially if you can’t access face-to-face therapy right now.

General self-care apps.
There are lots of general self-care apps that can also be beneficial to your overall mental well-being. These might include apps that feature mindfulness activities, general self-care prompts or even a specific type of self-care, such as colouring, manifestation prompts or brain busy tasks like word searches.

What should I look for in a mental health app?

Customisation.
There are several things to consider when looking for a mental health app to download. The first is to look for an app that offers flexibility and customisation. Whilst you may want to just rate your mood on a sliding scale, look for an app that allows you to add extra notes to get a clearer picture.

Shareability.
Another thing to look for is shareability. You might choose to share the app with your therapist or GP to get an idea if you need extra support. If you are taking antidepressants, you may want to share information with your doctor so they can alter your dose going forward.

Privacy & Security.
Firstly, let’s talk about privacy. If you’re thinking of using a mental health app, you want to make sure that your data is as private and secure as possible.

Both the Apple App Store and Android Play Store make it easy to review the measures taken by an app to keep your data private and secure. These measures include an explanation of:

- What data is being collected
- What data is being shared
- Why this data is being collected
- Whether collecting the data is optional
- The security practices of the App

Some important things to look out for are:

- Can your data be deleted?
- How much Personally Identifiable Data (PII) is being collected and for what reason?
- Is your data encrypted?

If you’re unsure about the privacy and security of your health data it could also be helpful to read the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy or you could even contact the developers directly.

Note. If you live in the US and are concerned about details of your reproductive health being shared with law enforcement officials, you can look for apps that are based outside of the US and that fall outside of the jurisdiction of the US legal system.

Credibility.
One of the best ways to determine which mental health app is right for you is to read other people’s testimonials. Specifically looking for reviews written by people with similar mental health conditions. If using a counselling app, it’s important to ensure the therapists are accredited and qualified.

Insights & Reports.
One of the unique benefits of mental health apps is you can use them to identify what may help and worsen your mental health. For example…

- Mood trends so you can understand how certain triggers impact your mental well-being.
- Correlations between your mental health and medication or therapy.
- How a specific event or change may be impacting your overall mood score.

How can I choose the right mental health app for me?

There are several things to consider when choosing the right mental health app for you. Firstly, consider why you’re planning to use an app. If it’s to get a clearer overall picture of your mental health, then choose an app that allows you to track this over longer time periods, in relation to other triggers (such as stress level or sleep). Make sure the app allows you to track in a way that works for you (e.g. a simple scoring system or taking more detailed notes). If you are receiving treatment for your mental health, you may look for a mental health app that allows you to share this information easily with your therapist or GP.

If you are using an app to help your overall mental health, consider what strategies have proven useful for you in the past. If you know you struggle to sit still for ten minutes, don’t download a mindfulness app that will expect you to do just that. Consider how much time you have to dedicate to your mental well-being. There are some simple mental health apps that allow you to record a gratitude prompt in just a minute, whilst if you have more time to spend, you may choose to download a journaling app.

Finally, consider if you will use this app to replace or exist alongside current therapy. If the former, it’s really important to ensure the app provides a type of therapy that is comprehensive and delivered by a qualified professional.

What are the benefits of mental health apps?

There are many benefits to using a mental health app-both for doctors and their patients.

Better insight into mental health.
The most obvious one is that mental health apps can give you more insight into mental health to understand it better. The simple act of recording your mood scores and mental well-being over a set period of time can help get a clearer picture of your overall mental health. Sometimes we don’t realise we’re spiralling until our symptoms worsen significantly so ultimately this could allow you to access earlier intervention.

Overall benefits on your mental wellbeing.
Mental health apps can also allow you to understand if certain things worsen your mental health so you can act accordingly. For example, you may notice that caffeine is making your anxiety worse or meditation has a really positive effect on your depression. Apps with self-monitoring features are thought to help your emotional self-awareness which can in turn reduce mental illness symptoms and improve coping skills.

Help with specific mental health symptoms.
Mental health apps can also help with specific mental health symptoms. For example, CBT apps may help you deal with negative thoughts whilst gratitude apps may help with low moods. There’s evidence that technology can be just as helpful with mental health symptoms as face-to-face therapy. For example, online CBT has been found to help various disorders such as depression, generalised anxiety disorder and OCD. Whilst we know interventions don’t need to be in person to be effective, there’s not much scientific evidence yet on mental health apps specifically as they’re a relatively new phenomenon. This shouldn’t discourage you from using them, especially if they’re the only option available to you. However, you might benefit from tracking the impact on your symptoms and well-being over time to ensure that it’s having a positive impact. When possible you might also benefit from also speaking with your doctor about your use of the app.

What do users want from a mental health app?

Many mental health users want an app that is simple to use but creates a big impact. “I look for an app to help me simply log three good things every night before bed. I focus on things that I’m grateful for and it creates a positive reaction in my brain. Going to sleep with happy thoughts makes for a better night’s sleep!” says Kristen Whitehouse, a mental health app user and women’s fitness expert.

Others look for mental health apps with more space to record their thoughts. “I use an app to help my mind declutter. I struggle with panic attacks and too much information in my mind can give me anxiety. I use a mental health app to write down my thoughts-good or bad-to improve my own well-being,” says Robert Bolohan, a language translator.

Some patients find apps with insights useful. “I can find myself feeling particularly low some days and can’t always pinpoint. So I will use a mental health app which reminds me where I am in my cycle. It’s reassuring to match my mood to my hormones,” says Sarah Birchall.

Finally, some use apps to help keep track of simple self-care habits. “I use a habit tracker app to help motivate me to keep up with better self-care habits. I set goals and find it helps to have a visual record of my progress,” says Stacie Swift.

TLDR.

- There’s a huge range of mental health apps, so consider if you need a mood tracker, mental health self-management tools or both.
- Consider how much time you have to commit to using mental health apps: features range from entering a numerical value to having space to write down your innermost thoughts.
- Consider how mental health apps can support your existing treatment. It may be worth chatting with your therapist to see what they recommend.

The information provided is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Consult a medical professional or healthcare provider if you’re seeking medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment.

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Choosing the best symptom tracker in 2024

Choosing a symptom tracker with a friend

Choosing the best symptom tracker in 2024

Published on December 30th 2022.
Written by Jenna Farmer.

Chapters.
1. What is a symptom tracker?
2. What types of symptom trackers are there?
3. What are the benefits of symptom tracking?
4. How to choose the right symptom tracker?
5. When do Doctors recommend symptom trackers?
6. What do other people want from a symptom tracker?

With an estimated 133 million Americans suffering from long-term health problems, many of us are dealing with daily health symptoms that we’d like to keep a closer eye on. Some people use symptom trackers as a way to help them get to know their body better and others as a way to share more detailed symptom info with their Doctor. Whatever the reason, keeping track of your symptoms can have a number of benefits. Using a symptom tracker in 2024 is a simple health resolution you can make this year, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. So whether you’re looking for a simple symptom log or a way to pinpoint symptom triggers, here’s our guide to choosing the best symptom tracker for you.

Photo by Surface on Unsplash

What is a symptom tracker?

A symptom tracker is a tool that helps you to keep a close eye on the symptoms and health conditions that you’re experiencing. Symptom trackers can be used daily to help get a detailed overview of changes in your health, help you to predict potential flare-ups, or even just keep track of acute symptoms when they occur. Some symptom trackers can also help you to monitor positive and negative trends in your symptoms, help you to track both objective (e.g. heart rate & steps) and subjective (e.g. fatigue level and emotions) health markers, and can be used as a symptom journal to facilitate more in-depth conversations with a Doctor or Therapist.

What are the different types of symptom trackers?

There are a couple of different types of symptom trackers that you can use.

Pen & paper symptom trackers.

First of all, the good old-fashioned way is simply putting pen to paper! Some people prefer to do this with the same prompts each day (e.g. logging their level of pain on a scale of 1-10) whilst others prefer a diary format that allows them more freedom to jot down how they’re feeling. This is a great excuse to splash out on a new notebook (who doesn’t love stationary?) but does have the disadvantage that it can quickly get disorganised, especially if you misplace the notebook. This is why many people rely on technology to track their symptoms instead.

Digital symptom trackers.

These can include anything from creating your own document on a computer (you can even make a colour-coordinated spreadsheet) or using an app on your mobile phone. The benefit of a digital symptom tracker is that it allows you to have a clearer long-term picture of your health. For example, you can quickly view symptom trends and many platforms make it easy for you to analyse symptom trends and correlations. Digital symptom trackers or symptom apps may also be more easily shared and the data more easily interpreted by a medical professional.

What are the benefits of symptom trackers?

Using any kind of symptom tracker has a range of benefits. The biggest one is that it allows you to pay closer attention to your health, which may help you access support sooner. This is especially important if you have a long-term condition. Many people who do, are more likely to use symptom trackers. Symptom tracking consistently can even allow you to spot patterns, potentially predict future flare-ups, or pinpoint symptom triggers. All of these can help you feel more in control of your health.

Symptom tracking can be beneficial in aiding communicating with others too, including your GP. 34% of those who use symptom trackers share their info with others, and over half of these share it with their GP. This is because it allows you to present information about your health clearly and ensures you don’t forget to miss any important symptoms. This can also save time at appointments as all your information is there for your medical professional to quickly access without having to ask you lots of questions. This can be especially helpful for people that live with the ‘brain fog’ that is symptomatic of many chronic physical and mental health conditions.

Research has found that symptom trackers allow us to feel more confident in sharing information with our doctors, which can be key to getting a diagnosis and accessing the right support. In 2018, 39% of British people were worried about sharing information but this recently fell to just 15% thanks to the increase in symptom-tracking apps. Having the information in one place may also help conversations with loved ones too as it can help give them a clearer picture of how you’re feeling.

For many, symptom tracking changes how they view their health. 46% of trackers say using symptom trackers has changed their approach to health with 63% agreeing it has had a significant impact on how they live with a chronic illness.

How to choose the right symptom tracker for you?

The right type of symptom tracker will depend on your own individual needs. Firstly, it may depend on your health itself. If you are tracking one simple symptom, you may find a notebook is all you need. However, if you are tracking multiple symptoms and are looking for real insights into these, then using a digital symptom tracker or symptom tracker app could be a better idea.

It’s also worth considering when and where you’re likely to be symptom tracking. If you want to track ‘in real time’ then using your mobile phone is the best idea, as a notebook or laptop may not always be within reach. However, if it’s something you plan to do each evening, then using a pen-and-paper symptom journal could be integrated into your evening routine.

Thinking about how you want to use the data is also key. If you plan to share it with medical professionals, then using an app that makes sharing your symptoms data easy could be crucial.

What should I look for in a symptom-tracking app?

If you’re looking for a symptom-tracking app, then there are several things to look out for.

Privacy & Security.

Firstly, let’s talk about privacy. Digital symptom trackers that can be locked with a pin code or password are potentially more secure than a pen-and-paper symptom tracker. However, If you’re thinking of using a symptom-tracking app, you want to make sure that your data is as private and secure as possible.

Both the Apple App Store and Android Play Store make it easy to review the measures taken by an app to keep your data private and secure. These measures include an explanation of:

- What data is being collected
- What data is being shared
- Why this data is being collected
- Whether collecting the data is optional
- The security practices of the App

Some important things to look out for are:

- Can your data be deleted?
- How much Personally Identifiable Data (PII) is being collected and for what reason?
- Is your data encrypted?

If you’re unsure about the privacy and security of your health data it could also be helpful to read the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy or you could even contact the developers directly.

Customisable & Personalisable.

If you’re interested in symptom tracking, it’s likely that you have a number of very specific symptoms that you need to keep track of. This makes it important that the solution you use isn’t too restrictive and allows you to customise what you track in as much or as little detail as you need.

Whilst this could be an argument in favour of pen-and-paper symptom tracking, there are a number of symptom tracker apps that allow you to customise how you track your symptoms in plenty of detail. So when you’re next assessing digital symptom tracking solutions, you might want to consider if the symptom tracker allows you to measure:

- Severity level of the symptom
- The type of symptom
- Location of the symptom
- Time & date of the symptom
- Detailed notes about the symptom
- The impact of the symptom on your well-being (e.g. Mood, Emotions, Sleep, Energy, Stress, etc.

Finding solutions that let you track your symptoms in a way that best represents how you experience them can be important. This is especially true if you want to share very detailed symptom information with a medical professional.

Credibility.

As there are so many symptom-tracking options available, so it’s important to find a way to distinguish between them all. One of the best ways to determine which option is right for you is to read other people’s testimonials and reviews. Looking for in-depth reviews where a person has taken the time to provide a fair and balanced overview of their experience is a good place to start. Specifically looking for reviews written by people with your health condition(s) can be helpful too.

Beyond reading user reviews, you can also look for information about whether the symptom tracker has been clinically reviewed or tested in an empirical study. This will help you to understand if the claims made by the symptom tracker are supported by scientific research.

Another handy measure of credibility is whether or not the symptom tracker has been recommended by health organisations or recognisable publications. However, we suggest that you read the articles in which the symptom tracker is recommended to ensure that you have a full understanding of why it was recommended.

Insights & Reports.

One of the unique benefits of digital symptom tracking, many of the options can help you to identify:

- Symptom trends so you can take preventative steps to delay or prevent flare-ups.
- Correlations between your habits & treatment and changes in your symptoms.
- Average frequency and severity of your symptoms.
- The relationship between different symptoms.
- The potential impact of different habits & treatments on all of your symptoms.
- Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Yearly changes in symptoms.

If you’re seeking a symptom tracker to help you with managing your symptoms or if you’re in the process of obtaining a diagnosis, these types of insights can be especially helpful.

Ultimately, if you’re looking to have more control over your symptoms or a clearer understanding of why and when they occur, symptom trackers with reporting features may be the right option for you.

When do medical professionals recommend using a symptom tracker?

Many medical professionals find symptom trackers helpful. For example, using apps that record symptoms have been reported to help streamline healthcare professionals’ workload and help them get support more quickly.

“I recommend using an app like Bearable to clients to track the correlation between their symptoms (pain, IBS, migraines and insomnia) with stress, anxiety, any major life events or other changes in their lives. It helps them see how stress impacts their pain symptoms and by learning to manage stress differently, I find their symptoms improve. I also recommend they use an app they can customise as some of my clients have unusual symptoms that aren’t often listed on other trackers. So I recommend Bearable because it has the option to add your own symptoms,” says Psychotherapist Tina Wright.

What do users want from a symptom tracker?

Many users report that a symptom tracker that’s quick and easy to use is top of their list. “I like to use apps that make it really easy to track my symptoms. Features that allow me to give ratings by stars or symptoms via tick boxes make it really quick and easy. It allows me to fill in without having to think too much about it,” says Lucy, who has Crohn’s disease.

For others, being able to see the bigger picture is crucial if they have a long-term condition. “I use an app that allows me to have a check-in space for each day but with the option to view for a week/month to allow me to see the bigger picture,” says another patient.

Patients with multiple chronic conditions often want a symptom tracker that gives them space to make notes and customise their reporting. “I use one app to track my endometriosis but another to track my migraines. I like to use an app that can also help me know when I’ve taken my meds and then make notes for my career to see and report any side effects. I also use a spreadsheet to keep a diary of migraines,” says Lauren Perry, who runs a blog about living with chronic illness and disability.