Can an App Help Me Manage My Anxiety?

Health and wellness smartphone apps have become so common that if you can name a health goal, desire or condition, you can probably find an app for it.

Nowhere is this truer than with mental health apps. Millions of Americans have downloaded apps to help them manage anxiety, deal with depression, focus on mindfulness or achieve some other mental health benefit or improvement. There are more than 10,000 mental health and wellness apps available, according to a 2023 study.

Many apps claim to help patients with anxiety disorder. These apps often include guides to meditation, mindfulness and stress reduction. Some even include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) exercises.

With so many apps available to help with anxiety, anyone considering using one probably starts with this question: Can it help me? It might be a simple question, but the answers are a bit more complex.

Apps combined with therapy

The Cleveland Clinic, in an article on its website, says that patients with mild to moderate anxiety or depression can find help from apps, alongside other forms of care, such as talking with a therapist, mindfulness, meditation and breathing exercises. Other benefits that patients  find  in using an app may include the always-on accessibility, low or no cost, and convenient access to services such as virtual coaching from a therapist.

“People are searching for ways to self-empower themselves and get a better handle on managing stress,” Leopoldo Pozuelo, MD, a staff psychiatrist at the Cleveland Clinic, says in the article. “And these apps can be a vehicle to help them feel more comfortable and to succeed.”

Additionally, these types of apps may be used in conjunction with therapy – or use of these apps may even prompt some users to seek out a therapist or additional care.

In an article published by the American Psychological Association, Stephen Schueller, PhD notes that “apps might be a gateway to subsequent care.”  Dr. Schueller, a  Professor of Psychological Science and Informatics at the University of California, Irvine and executive director of One Mind PsyberGuide, a nonprofit that reviews mental health apps. Dr. Schuellersays that, “someone might download a CBT app, realize it’s helpful, and then find a therapist to help more.”

Mental health apps can also be helpful for reducing anxiety when they’re used to support exercise, which in turn can reduce anxiety and symptoms of depression, according to Stephanie Collier, MD, MPH, a psychiatrist and the director of education in the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry Division at McLean Hospital, the psychiatric teaching hospital at Harvard Medical School. In an article in The New York Times, she says that “apps that teach skills such as deep breathing can be helpful to anyone experiencing stress – whether stress is the result of anxiety disorder or just circumstances.”

Limitations and risks of using apps

While some clinicians may make a case for using mental health apps, they also caution that there are many limitations. For example, in a Harvard Medical School publication, Dr. Collier writes about how an app can’t replace the work of a mental health professional.

“A mobile app removes the human element of a therapeutic relationship, which we know is a critical ingredient in treatment success,” she writes. “However, mobile apps can complement therapy through symptom trackers, reminders, reinforcement of skills, and community features to set goals and share progress.”

A review article appearing in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice noted that there may be risks to patients: “An increasing number of mobile apps have been created that claim to be useful for depression and/or anxiety, yet caution is warranted before using most due to limited research on effectiveness, low retention rates, and other issues like safety concerns,” it says.

And David C. Mohr, PhD, director of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University’s Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies, says in the American Psychological Association article: “Anyone can put up an app on the various app stores, so a lot of these are probably not that helpful. And a few apps can be just plain dangerous.” He cited a 2015 study showing that “some apps for bipolar disorder delivered information not consistent with established treatment norms.”

Finding the right app

Selecting an app that’s right for you and your specific needs can be challenging. With more than 10,000 apps estimated to be on the market, it’s important to review and understand the benefits and limitations of each app before downloading, mental health professionals say.

To help patients make choices, several review and evaluation sites have sprung up in recent years. In addition to One Mind PsyberGuide, The New York Times story suggests Mind Apps, created by medical professionals at Beth Israel Lahey Health in Cambridge, Mass.

The Mind Apps website offers this advice: “The best way is to start by identifying your priorities: How do you want to engage with the app? What features are you looking for? Is there a particular standard of privacy you are seeking?”

The Cleveland Clinic article echoes those recommendations, advising people to understand what they want out of their experience with the app – such as help with relaxation or experiencing guided meditation.

If you’ve been diagnosed with a mental health condition and you are interested in using an app to help, the Cleveland Clinic article advises talking with your doctor about if and how any apps could support and enhance treatment.

“In those scenarios, where you have high anxiety levels and high levels of depression and it’s affecting your quality of life, these apps can’t substitute seeing a doctor,” the Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Pozuelo says.

If you’d like to learn more about anxiety, read these GeneSight blog posts:

Meditation for Anxiety

The Power of Mindfulness in Mental Health?