Anxiety is rampant in our modern world, as are anxiety triggers. Our jobs, our relationships, and upsetting world events leave many feeling overwhelmed and uncertain. Technology is one of the major contributors to anxiety, especially with the way social media floods us with negative messages, promotes comparison, and contributes to cyberbullying. Still, even as technology has helped add to our anxiety, some technology producers have endeavored to alleviate anxiety as well. These are some of the top technologies to help with anxiety.
Mood Management Apps
Ultimately, seeking professional help will always be the most recommended approach to dealing with anxiety. Sometimes, though, in the day-to-day life between therapy sessions, extra support is needed. For these times, there are several quality mood management apps that help users track their mood and respond using tactics recommended by mental health specialists. The most popular and highly rated of these apps is Sanvello, which includes functions like recognizing thought patterns, visualization exercises, and community chats. Similar, highly rated apps include Mindshift and Moodtrack Diary.
Massage Chairs
Getting a massage is usually associated with relieving physical tension, but massage therapy also helps reduce the production of the stress hormone cortisol and manage the “fight-or-flight” response which the body becomes stuck in when a person struggles with anxiety. Massage chair technology has grown ever more sophisticated since its advent in the 1950s. Nowadays, massage chairs offer a wide range of functionalities to mimic human massage and offer many of these same benefits. These chairs even have added anxiety-reducing attributes like the “zero gravity” massage chairs.
Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy
Exposure therapy—a therapy that involves exposing a patient to distressing stimuli in controlled situations—has often been used to help combat anxiety, panic disorders, phobias, and PTSD. With the rise of virtual reality, many professionals have taken to using this technology to aid in exposure therapy. Because anxiety disorders can lead to avoidance of the distressing stimuli which can exacerbate anxiety and PTSD symptoms over time and affect daily life, the goal is for patients to become desensitized to the stimuli so that they will be able to interact with the stimuli in real life without anxiety.
These are only a few ways people have been using technology to help with anxiety, and new technologies are always on the rise. Hopefully, as technology becomes more sophisticated, technology can be used to help reverse some of its own negative effects.
