Healthy Minds Program

A breathing app such as this one is helpful for overall anxiety and mindfulness. Fear and anxiety disorders often include an irrational response to a stimulus or a sudden onset of emotions that activates the sympathetic nervous system. The activation of the nervous system generally causes adrenaline activation which causes faster heart rate. Breathing teqniques can help reduce the effects of anxiety, calming the mind and triggering the parasympathetic nervous system. Overall, this app is helpful for individuals who may suffer from anxety. Additionally, an increrased awareness of body and mind can help overall diminish feelings of anxiety and/or panic. However, panic disorders cannot be "cured" by mindfulness due to their spontaneous chracteristics, but it can help diminish after effects, giving tools to focus on breathing. For GAD specifically, a symptom of worry can be difficulty relaxing or falling asleep. An increased awareness of breathing or completeing the pracitices within the app before going to sleep can help calm an individual and allow for easier rest. This app is overall valid and reliable, it does most of the things it says it does and it is beneficial for individuals.

I found out about this app because I was participating in a research study for it. The study only required me to use it for a month, but I liked it so much I used it for several more months and finished the course. I have tried several other meditation apps but this is by far the best. The creators are not greedy. Everything about the app is FREE and you can choose to donate only if you want to. So far I have only used the main course and the unguided meditations, and I love that it has both options, as well as many other courses and mini-meditations to choose from. You can personalize it to your needs, choosing the length and type of meditation you want to do. It connects to Apple Health as well. The main course on this app has brought noticeable change into my life and has explained concepts of meditation and life balance in a way that finally makes sense to me. This app has every good trait I have ever seen in a meditation app, with none of the bad. I am so grateful to the creators for doing what they do, and I will be recommending this app to everyone I know.

This is a long journey, and even after completion here, I still think my journey will continue. I’ve been dealing with Chronic Pain, RSD or CRPS in particular, and learning how to process my pain (not letting my mind and stress make a mountain out of a mole hill). Your mind gets into these cycles, and meditation (insight here) gives me more perspective about my pain and focus on how bad it may actually be in that moment. Meditation was given to me years ago, and it has been my saving grace! Dealing with what’s known as the “Suicide Disease,” it really drives your mind in many directions, but I’m learning how to gain more control (instead of my mind going where IT pleases, I have more control steering). Mindfulness has allowed me the opportunity to grow and see I have control, if so choose to master this ability, and that my days can be better. My pain can be less as well! Look up studies in an MRI machine out of California, where they watched a flame (MRI machine was making flame bigger or smaller based on activity of the brain in the pain center). This is the same as mindfulness, just without a machine, radiation, and needing more practice…but exact same concept. Anyway, gives this a good effort and you’ll notice small changes. Continue this effort, and your changes will grow exponentially over time. Best of luck to you all and I hope this inspires some to better their lives. 🙏🏼