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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?

#201

Post by april_22 »

pcl wrote: post #174
kjerzyk wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Congrats! I'm actually quite surprised because you must be the first person that learned a language using Duolingo. Most people I spoke with said they only learned how to answer Duo questions, not the language itself.

I’ve used Duolingo quite a bit as a part of my Norwegian training, and to brush up on my French now and then. It’s definitely been effective for me. And I’ve seen others become tourist-proficient in languages with no training aside from Duolingo. I definitely don’t consider it passive consumption.

Duolingo is golden for brushing up languages you have previously learned, yet forgotten

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

#202

Post by april_22 »

dt2m wrote: post #115
rchaud wrote: post #98

Delete every recreational app on your phone. Also delete anything that gamifies passive consumption, e.g. Duolingo. Put some ebooks on your phone and read those. Stop mentally associating the phone with the infinite novelty generated by algorithmic social and YouTube feeds. Do not open your web browser unless you have a specific search query in mind. Disable all notifications except for the calendar and clock. Treat…

> Put some ebooks on your phone and read those. This was the biggest improvement I did to improve my "phone time". I realized I was only kidding myself if the actual goal was zero screen time. Being unproductive and just killing time by yourself isn't a bad thing, but if you spend that time reading something substantial instead of news and Twitter beefs you don't hate yourself afterwards.

Are there some recommend Ebook Apps or just Kindle?

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

#203

Post by april_22 »

johnernaut wrote: post #120

I found an app called Meomind ( https://meomind.com/ ) recently that has helped me a lot. It has a collection of real recorded therapy sessions from individuals that they've decided to share (with personal details scrubbed I assume) that you can listen to at your leisure. They're categorized as well, so if you're looking for understanding why you have a lack of interest in things, are having relationship issues, etc.…

Wow this is such an incredible app. Especially for motivating people that they aren't alone to actually go and see a therapist

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

#204

Post by april_22 »

thefourthchime wrote: post #134
valbaca wrote: post #123

These are my "good" apps: - Spotify: everyone loves music. Put it on speakerphone. Dance and sing silly while you cook. - Shazam: discover music. Exactly what apps ought to be. - Google Maps: Does what it does. - Google home: setting my lights to match the time of day / mood / or movie. - Google Authenticator: 2FA is good - "Justin Guitar", a simple guitar tuner, and a metronome app: I've been learning guitar - Duoli…

At least one iOS there is a built-in Shazam button in the control center if you enable it. It's a faster way to find out the song that's playing.

The Google Assistant on your phone also has a built in Shazam

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

#205

Post by april_22 »

mellosouls wrote: post #152
tomatocracy wrote: post #31

Don't forget boring old Ebook reader apps eg Kindle. Spending more of those little 5 or 10 minute breaks on reading a decent (fiction) book instead of browsing social media etc was one of the best things I've done for my happiness in the past couple of years.

I agree with the principle - but the apps are ultimately comparatively unhealthy compared to hardware ereaders like actual Kindle. I rarely use the app as I've normally got the latter with me if I'm going to have time to read.

Just out of curiosity - why do you find them unhealthy?

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

#206

Post by april_22 »

cpach wrote: post #18

I have found Headspace very useful for learning how to practice mindfulness and meditation. It’s very easy to get started with. https://www.headspace.com/

The getting starting part is what I love most about headspace. They teach you the fundamentals in such an easy way. They make you really understand the 'why' behind meditation.

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

#207

Post by yosito »

kjerzyk wrote: post #161
yosito wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Also delete anything that gamifies passive consumption, e.g. Duolingo Since when is Duolingo passive consumption? I've learned two languages to fluency and Duolingo was my main source of practice. If language learning is your goal, Duolingo is a great app to keep around.

Congrats! I'm actually quite surprised because you must be the first person that learned a language using Duolingo. Most people I spoke with said they only learned how to answer Duo questions, not the language itself.

I didn't exclusively use Duolingo. I also got real world practice. But Duolingo was great for practicing in free moments, and for about 1-2 hours every day. Something that was hard to match with real world conversation partners.

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

#209

Post by tmaracek »

I`m working in a startup which helps people with focus and productivity. We are building this mobile app - AppBlock, where you can basically set up which mobile apps you want to block and when. It also was reccommended for some people with ADHD issues by therapists and it has some other nice use cases like parental control. Feel free to check it out.

https://www.appblock.app

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