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Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?

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Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?

#41

Post by jnovek »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #30
LeonB wrote: post #22

As a thought experiment, imagine you had a smart phone without internet access (but it was somehow able to download apps). Apps you would want on that device might include a lot of healthy apps. For example — It would replace many of the devices we used pre-internet. A compass. A calendar. A guitar tuner. A pedometer. A notebook. A recipe book - where you place recipes. A recording device - and a bank of guitar effec…

Creative apps are healthy apps.

Procreate my well be the best value per dollar of anything I’ve purchased in my entire life measured in hours of joy and self-improvement it has provided.

Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?

#42

Post by a_bonobo »

I use Waking Up for guided meditations (if you can stand Sam Harris). There are a few promo code around Google for a few free weeks. It's a 'how to meditate' course followed by daily meditations, with a bunch of podcast-style interviews and collections of recordings. The course has really helped my shape my meditation practice, and I usually do the daily meditation, which has really helped me focus myself.

(Another guided meditations app is Plum Village - free, but a bit worse quality, with a bit more random order of things.)

Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?

#43

Post by [deleted] »

sph wrote: post #27

Extremely unpopular opinion from a software engineer on a tech forum but: mental health is as far away from the Internet as possible. The more you can integrate the slower pace of nature and natural life, the better your mental health. Your physical presence is optimised for long days of doing fuck all, sitting in the grass, waiting for a deer to pass by. Still struggling with this, but my long term life goal is livi…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?

#44

Post by fritzo »

sph wrote: post #27

Extremely unpopular opinion from a software engineer on a tech forum but: mental health is as far away from the Internet as possible. The more you can integrate the slower pace of nature and natural life, the better your mental health. Your physical presence is optimised for long days of doing fuck all, sitting in the grass, waiting for a deer to pass by. Still struggling with this, but my long term life goal is livi…

Did I misread? Wouldn't you want "middle of nowhere with no easy access to the ... Internet"?

Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?

#45

Post by horsawlarway »

sph wrote: post #27

Extremely unpopular opinion from a software engineer on a tech forum but: mental health is as far away from the Internet as possible. The more you can integrate the slower pace of nature and natural life, the better your mental health. Your physical presence is optimised for long days of doing fuck all, sitting in the grass, waiting for a deer to pass by. Still struggling with this, but my long term life goal is livi…

> mental health is as far away from the Internet as possible.

I don't think it's the internet, exactly. But anywhere on the internet where your attention has been commoditized.

Basically - if you aren't paying to use the app (and it's not decent open source software), get that fucking cancer out of your device.

Just the basics: messages, calls, GPS, maps, shared connection, photos/videos

those make one awesome, compelling device. Don't ruin it by letting fucking scum companies siphon all your energy and attention away for their own profit (and they are actively trying - complete with statistics and graphs, OKRs & key performance indicators... all painting a picture about how much they can fuck you by stealing all your attention and time)

Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?

#46

Post by jnovek »

ericmay wrote: post #38

> I’m in a battle to minimize social media and related apps influence over my life. Get rid of the social media apps. You don't need them. You're lying to yourself if you think that you do. Nobody is going to miss your Instagram or Facebook posts. TikTok is a stupid waste of time and likely algorithmically programmed to make you hate your country (why we let China ban our social media apps and then let them operate i…

“Get rid of the social media apps.”

A middle road I’ve used is to restrict myself to the browser versions of social media. The user experience is so frustrating that I don’t want to stick around, I just check on what people are up to once or twice per week.

Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?

#47

Post by q_andrew »

I agree about what others are saying about internet access being a pandora's box of stress and depression, so I think creative apps would fit your description a bit better.

Even if you're not the artistic type, you should try Townscaper:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.OskarStalb...

It's a bit like meditating, you lay out these tiny little island villages that add all of the extra little details for you. It helps me cope with the world.

Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?

#49

Post by Apreche »

Get rid of all the apps where you consume content, except for maybe an eBook reading app. Reading books is still good.

Fill your devices only with apps that allow you to create content. Don't even worry about sharing the content. Just get apps that let you create. Photography, video, code, drawing, writing, music, whatever.

Re: Ask HN: What are some mentally healthy apps to have?

#50

Post by marban »

sph wrote: post #27

Extremely unpopular opinion from a software engineer on a tech forum but: mental health is as far away from the Internet as possible. The more you can integrate the slower pace of nature and natural life, the better your mental health. Your physical presence is optimised for long days of doing fuck all, sitting in the grass, waiting for a deer to pass by. Still struggling with this, but my long term life goal is livi…

Reading this from a cabin in the middle of nowhere — However I combine it with regular work and news consumption but it's definitely beneficial to be able to easily step outside for ideation and decision making, or some push-ups in the grass.
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