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Dec 20, 2023 · MindShift CBT is a free self-help anxiety relief app, that helps you reduce worry, stress, and panic by following evidence-based strategies. Using CBT tools, you can challenge negativity, learn...
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- Health & Fitness
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- Anxiety Canada Association
MindShift® CBT App Features: HEALTHY HABITS. Tips to set the stage to better manage anxiety by taking better care of yourself. COPING CARDS. Ease your anxiety in the moment by re-adjusting your thinking with helpful coping statements. THOUGHT JOURNAL.
MindShift CBT is a free self-help anxiety relief app, that helps you reduce worry, stress, and panic by following evidence-based strategies. Using CBT tools, you can challenge negativity, learn more about anxiety, develop more effective ways of thinking, be mindful, and relax.
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- © Anxiety Canada
- Health & Fitness
- Anxiety Canada Association
- Overview
- Getting Started With MindShift CBT
- Activities for Healthy Thinking
- Meditations in Chill Zone
- Changing Behaviors by Taking Action
- Pros and Cons
- Final Thoughts
I am a worrywart. One of the earliest memories I have is of my family’s move to another state. Moving boxes were loaded in the bed of a pickup truck as I stared out at the freeway, worrying about what would happen next. What if the boxes fly open and my clothes end up on the highway? What will the new town look like? What if our neighbors don’t like us? What if someone breaks into our new house?
Since then, I’ve always worried about the future, creating worst-case scenarios in my head, and even planning for them as a means to cope. So by the time I started therapy, it didn’t take long for me to be diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. In addition to going to therapy, I wanted to try to improve my coping strategies—so I jumped at the chance to try MindShift CBT.
MindShift CBT uses techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, to help users manage symptoms of anxiety or stress. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of evidence-based therapy that targets thought patterns that negatively affect a person’s behaviors and emotions. By acknowledging and challenging destructive thought patterns, you can then replace them with more positive and realistic thoughts. Often I forget what I learned in therapy each week, so testing MindShift CBT allowed me to really hone in on and practice tools for coping with anxiety.
Initially, I didn’t expect much out of MindShift CBT because I had not heard of the app before—and I’ve had my fair share of experiences with mental health apps. But, after using MindShift CBT regularly for five weeks, I started to notice what features seemed to support what I needed. MindShift CBT exceeded my low expectations, but I know my consistent use of the app played a role in its effect. Here’s what to know about the app if you’re thinking of trying it too.
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The app’s step-by-step instructions, calming colors, and organized layout set it apart from other apps, such as Calm and Happify, which can seem overwhelming at first glance. Also, MindShift CBT is free to download and use and is available for both iOS and Android, increasing its accessibility beyond that of its competitors.
When I first opened the app, I was greeted by the “Check-In” page, which is essentially a mood tracker. I could move the slider up or down to describe my mood at that time, ranging from good and great to okay to awful. Once I submitted my check-in each day, I was prompted to rate my anxiety on a scale of 0 to 10, describe what was going on at that moment, and add what symptoms of anxiety I was experiencing at the time. The symptoms were in a checklist format and included physical and emotional symptoms, such as a racing heart, dry mouth, trouble concentrating, and the urge to avoid/get away.
The three exercises for healthy thinking included a thought journal, coping cards, and belief experiments. I could do as many exercises as I wanted in a day, which was helpful for those more anxiety-provoking days. Each one took me between one and five minutes, depending on how much I wrote or how long I took to think through something.
In addition to the tools to manage anxiety, the app has a “Chill Zone” consisting of short, recorded guided meditations.
There are nine audio recordings useful for various situations and needs, including public speaking, body scanning, or test anxiety.
Even though the recordings were about different experiences, the language used felt repetitive. It was strange to me that the app only included nine audio recordings when other apps (like Calm) have hundreds or even thousands. I didn’t use the meditations often, but the body scan and mindful breathing ones were helpful in moments when I needed to be still and reset my nervous system.
Mindfulness can be used in CBT as a coping strategy to clear your thoughts and implement positive behaviors instead of reverting to the negative cycles of unhelpful thoughts and actions. The idea is that by focusing on the present and becoming aware of those unhelpful thoughts, you can recognize them in the future as they crop up and know that you have an alternate way of reacting to them.
The third section for “Tools” focused on adapting old behaviors or adding in new, more positive behaviors. I could identify fears that were holding me back and plan out small steps necessary to overcome them. The app provided information about healthy habits and possible steps I could take to change my habits, such as reducing alcohol, starting a hobby, or connecting with friends. The app’s Healthy Habits exercise centers around psychoeducation—a structured way to provide information about mental illness and mental wellness based on cognitive behavior therapy—to explain why each habit can be useful and how to practice it.
MindShift CBT outlined “Comfort Zone Challenges” for me in four topics, including becoming independent, tackling social situations, dealing with perfectionism, and facing the unknown. Comfort Zone Challenges are intended to replace negative patterns of behavior with more positive and productive behaviors, which is an important aspect of CBT. These challenges are also a small form of exposure therapy, a technique of CBT that involves facing your fears in real life to learn that the outcomes are not as dire as you thought they would be.
My experience with MindShift CBT was largely positive, but I recognize that the app may not be for everyone. It is important to weigh the positives and negatives to find what best fits your needs.
I was generally pleased with my experience with MindShift CBT. I think the app could be good for people who are seeking a way to manage their day-to-day symptoms of stress or worry. If you worry about anything, from work to peer pressure, consistently spending five minutes a day with the app might improve your symptoms by gradually helping you build the skills necessary to cope.
I felt that the app was missing a few key elements.
For example, relaxation skills are also important in the CBT model as they can help reframe thoughts to be more objective and positive. Adding a checklist of coping mechanisms and a way to keep track of what was effective could be a way to enhance the coping cards and healthy habits exercises. I also expected more exercises to be available, specifically exercises intended to develop coping skills.
That said, I was positively surprised by the amount of psychoeducation included in the app.
MindShift CBT takes the time to outline and explain what might be occurring in the body, mind, and behaviors behind each feeling, such as panic, general worry, perfectionism, social anxiety, and phobias.
Thankfully, MindShift CBT is a free app, so there is no harm in trying it for a few weeks and seeing if it is effective for you.
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VANCOUVER, April 22, 2019 // Anxiety Canada, a world leader delivering evidence-based mental health relief through digital channels, has released MindShift™ CBT for iOS and Android, free to download and use for all Canadians. It employs scientifically proven strategies based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to help users learn to relax ...
The MindShift CBT app uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) strategies to help people learn more effective ways to manage their anxiety. Interactive and intuitive, the MindShift CBT app is designed so that individuals can figure out and use the app on their own.
