Mental health is a serious topic these days. In simple terms, it's a state of well-being that affects how you think, feel, and behave, and it's important that we learn how to care for our mental health.
Of course, because we live in a digital world, there's a wide array of mental health apps available. Some can help you deal with PTSD and depression, while others purely let you track your moods. My Possible Self is a mobile app with a number of helpful features, but can it improve your mental health? Let's take a look at what the app offers.
What Is My Possible Self?
Available on Android, iOS, and any web browser, My Possible Self is a totally ad-free mobile app. The app features only clinically certified content from Priory Healthcare, a provider of mental health care in the UK. Besides being clinically certified, another reason why this app is so valid is that it's also been NHS-approved. For those who don't know, the NHS is the National Health Service system in England.
My Possible Self is an app that uses cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to help people with stress, anxiety, sleep, depression, and making healthy lifestyle choices. So if you're ready to learn more about the features of the app and whether it's the tool to improve your mental health, let's jump right in.
Download: My Possible Self for iOS | Android (Free, subscription available)
Mood and Behaviors
One of the most popular features of My Possible Self is the mood tracking feature. It allows you to record how you feel on a specific day at a specific time, whether that's great, good, okay, bad, or awful. Once you've rated your mood, you have the option to dig a little deeper. You can add more details, like where you are, what activity you're doing, and who you're with.
These specific descriptions make your insights page more beneficial over time. If you've only been using the app for a day or two, you won't have many insights available. However, the more you use it, the more of a pattern you'll see between your moods and your behaviors.
For example, My Possible Self makes a connection when you regularly tag your mood as bad when you're at work or school. Or, if you constantly tag socializing when you input your mood as great. This little feature is incredibly helpful in pinpointing what's causing mood changes in your life.
Guided Series
My Possible Self encourages you to take the lifestyle quiz to find out which parts of your life you should pay attention to—as well as which guided series is best for you. After asking a couple of questions about your diet, sleep habits, anxiety, work-life balance, friends, activity levels, and alcohol intake, the app produces a lifestyle score with some recommendations.
On the app, there are nine guided series, each touching on a different topic. For example, the guided series about managing stress includes an assessment and a couple of ways to reduce your stress, such as yoga and affirmations. If you pick the guided series about sleeping well, it also starts with an assessment accompanied by helpful videos about introducing good habits and sleep tools.
The guided series section of My Possible Self is particularly useful because they're mainly made up of short videos, assessments, and quizzes. This is especially great for people who lose interest quickly.
Toolkit
The toolkit is made up of everything you need to keep track of your progress. It is a section of the app where you can easily find your mood tracker, meditation audio, food and drink log, exercises, recipes, and so on. What is in your toolkit all depends on what you want to work on, whether it's anxiety, depression, sleep, stress, or your lifestyle.
If you're someone who wants to focus mainly on your eating habits, then tap on your food and drink log. Inside, there's an option to add your breakfast, lunch, and dinners, and whether the meals were healthy or not. Additionally, you can also add drinks and snacks to your log.
For those suffering from depression, click on enjoyable activities in your toolkit to add an activity you love doing. When you've added the activity, set how difficult you feel it could be for you to accomplish as well as when you'd like to complete it. Setting goals for yourself helps you track your achievements and encourages you to hold yourself accountable for your actions!
Library
The library on My Possible Self is similar to the toolkit as you can categorize the content according to anxiety, depression, stress, sleep, physical health, and lifestyle. In addition, it displays what's new on the app and basically everything it has to offer, from podcasts and mindfulness exercises to motivation and articles.
For busybodies who simply don't have time to sit and read articles, try listening to a podcast instead. This makes it convenient to still work on your mental health while you're going about your day. The podcasts cover a variety of topics such as bullying, bipolar disorder, self-love, and so much more.
There is a tab for exercises on the app too. Conveniently, all the exercises are in categories based on the workout type and fitness skill level. Browse and choose what you want to try, from cardio, yoga, and an online barre workout to mindfulness practices and breathwork.
Should You Download My Possible Self?
The My Possible Self app is completely free of charge. For the number of awesome features the app offers, it's amazing that you don't have to pay for a subscription.
The guided series is fantastic and includes useful strategies and practices. The material is well-thought-out and can help you take back control of your mental health as well as your physical health.
If you're struggling with gambling and alcohol addiction, which can affect your mental health negatively, My Possible Self covers subjects like that, too. There's just so much interesting content to choose from, with new content uploaded on a regular basis.
All in all, unlike other useless mental health apps, My Possible Self is a mental health app that is well-made, easy to use, and straightforward. Plus, the little animations are cute.
Please note: If you need health during a mental health crisis or emergency, tap the crisis button in the app, and you can dial 999.
A Mental Health App to Lend You a Helping Hand
Are you worried about your mental health? It's a difficult subject to talk about, and the feelings that come with it are hard to cope with! But, with the right help, you can re-balance your life. My Possible Self is a mobile app that provides you with all the essential mental health tools that you need.