College students have a lot on their plate: schoolwork, jobs, relationships, you name it. For most of us, stress is unavoidable. Unfortunately, many stress-relieving remedies just aren’t practical for the modern day college student. It’s hard to set aside the time to stop what we’re doing, sit down, and truly de-stress. Here are some apps that make it just a little bit easier to unwind and work some mindfulness into our daily routines.
Designed by psychologists, Pacifica is meant to help manage stress, anxiety and depression one day at a time. This app allows you to set goals for yourself (i.e. “feel happier” or “decrease anxiety”) and complete daily challenges to work your way toward them. Pacifica also includes meditation tools, a mood tracker, and a way to record and analyze your thought patterns in order to combat distorted thinking that leads to stress and anxiety.
This app allows you to “check in” on how your feeling and provides guided exercises and meditation sessions to best fit that particular mood. Feeling creative? Indifferent? Self-critical? There are recommended exercises for whatever it may be. With Stop, Breathe & Think, you have the opportunity to select from a wide range of emotions, ensuring that your mindfulness recommendations are 100 percent tuned to how you feel.
Next on the list is Headspace, one of the most popular and comprehensive apps for meditation. Headspace offers short daily guided meditation sessions over a wide range of topics, from stress to anxiety to self-esteem. With just a few minutes each day, this app teaches the life-changing skills of meditation and mindfulness in order to help lead a more stress-free life.
If you want to work on both your mind and body, this is the app for you. With Pocket Yoga, there’s no experience required. Detailed visual and verbal instructions help guide you through the proper posture, alignment and breathing required for each pose, all from the comfort of your own home.
What better way to relieve stress than by coloring? The Sandbox Coloring app is a mobile version of the “paint by number” classic and is a perfect way to relax and de-stress when things are starting to feel a little too much. There are tons of fun designs and patterns that are completely free, and here’s the best part: there’s no artistic skill required.