Anxiety is an extremely common but nonetheless extremely disruptive experience. Dealing with anxiety can mean sleepless nights, missed opportunities, feeling sick, and full-blown panic attacks that can keep you from feeling like your full self.
Therapy with a professional is often a huge help, but knowing you’re armed with the tools to confront, dissolve, or embrace your anxious thoughts and feelings can be the bit of empowerment you need in between sessions.
To get started on managing your anxiety, check out our top apps for 2019:
iPhone rating: 4.8 stars
Android rating: 4.3 stars
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Sleep, meditation, and relaxation are in your hands with Calm, another popular mindfulness app. These guided meditations are perfect for complete novices through seasoned practitioners, and you have your pick when it comes to how long you can dedicate to the app each day. Sleep is important for managing stress, but it’s also one of the first things to become problematic when you’re anxious. In addition to an assortment of daily meditations, Calm features nature sounds and sleep stories to help lull you into relaxed sleep.
iPhone rating: 4.8 stars
Android rating: 4.1 stars
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Colorfy is an adult coloring book brought into the digital realm. With a selection of images and mandalas to choose from, or the option to upload your own sketches to color, you can spend hours in a flow state or focused meditation through this app. Pouring your attention into the beautiful designs can distract from your anxious thoughts and help calm you down. Self-critique is out the window, too, as the simple click-to-fill function of the app means you’ll never stray outside the lines.
iPhone rating: 4.7 stars
Android rating: 4.7 stars
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Dare to face your fears, whether you’re dealing with anxiety, panic, worry, or insomnia. The Dare app can walk you through audio recordings to help you sit comfortably with your anxiety rather than avoiding it, a tactic that can just make anxiety worse. On-screen guides give you something to focus on while you breathe deeply, and plenty of additional helpful content is available behind the subscription.
Android rating: 4.5 stars
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Racing thoughts and ruminations are hallmarks of anxiety, but you can slow down, breathe deeply, and clear your thoughts with the gentle sounds and sights of nature in this app. From thunder and rain to crackling fires to bird sounds and more, there’s something for everyone. Set the app timer to listen while you gently drift off to sleep, or set one of the tracks as your morning alarm so you can start your day with a soothing sound.
iPhone rating: 4.7 stars
Android rating: 4.6 stars
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Anxiety isn’t the same for all people of all races. The Shine app was designed by black women specifically to address these anxieties that are specific to the black community, offering meditation practices, podcasts, a huge audio library, and community forums so you can tackle your anxiety alone or with the support of others like you.
iPhone rating: 4.9 stars
Price: Free
If you have anxiety, you’ve probably tried a breathing exercise or two to help calm yourself. The Breathwrk app takes the science of breathing exercises even further by curating a collection of breathing exercises based on your goal: falling asleep, feeling relaxed, feeling energized, and alleviating stress. The app walks you through how to do each exercise and can send you daily reminders to remember to…well, breathe.
iPhone rating: 4.6 stars
Android rating: 3.9 stars
Price: Free
You know those “fidget” cubes with all the little tools and gadgets on them to keep you distracted? Imagine a whole app full of these little fun distractions: that’s the AntiStress app. With mindless games like bubble wrap popping, fidget spinners, pen clicking, soap carving, and many more, this app is a perfect tool to have if you ever just need a quick fix to help take your mind off what’s making you anxious.
Android rating: 4.3 stars
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Whether you believe in hypnosis or not, this app is worth a shot because of its science-backed tools and techniques meant to help soothe your anxiety simply through audio experiences, including readings and pre-recorded sounds, designed to help relieve stress, anxiety, PTSD, and related symptoms like anger and OCD that may be exacerbated because of your anxiety.
iPhone rating: 4.7 stars
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Moodnotes lets you document your entire experience with anxiety in all of its forms. Built on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques and positive psychology, this app lets you understand and take control over the entire experience of anxiety. From taking a picture of your face to visualize your mood and writing down your thoughts at the moment you begin feeling anxious, to reading educational materials that help you get out of the cycle of “thinking traps” that can keep you feeling anxious, there’s a wide range of techniques to choose from.
If you want to nominate an app for this list, email us at nominations@healthline.com.