Resources

There are so many self-help resources and I have composed a list of resources just to get you started. I invite you to use this list as an example of tools out there that may help you on your journey. You can always do your own research from here to find out what helps and aids you in finding a better balance.

Mental Health Apps

  • ACT Coach was created by VA’s National Center for PTSD. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) aims to help you live with unpleasant thoughts, feelings, and impulses without avoiding them or being controlled by them. In the ACT, you are encouraged to commit to actions so that you can live your life by your values, even in the face of these unpleasant experiences.
  • AETAS developed by mental health specialists, provide quick, easy, and effective ways to relax, attain focus, and gain a sense of well-being. Aetas’ unique 4-part design provides info about cutting-edge research on time perspectives, a self-discovery quiz, 3 two-minute guided visualizations to help relax, soothe and focus, and 3 fun interactive exercises.
  • Breathe2Relax is a portable stress management tool that provides detailed information on the effects of stress on the body and instructions and practice exercises to help users learn the stress management skill called diaphragmatic breathing.
  • DBT Diary Card and Skills Coach Learn and practice DBT skills using video lessons and fun animations which help you to remember skills longer. Features over 100 videos and 200+ animations. This app works as a daily mood and thought diary based on the dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) approach. It has a coaching module that gives tips on sticky emotional situations, like how to ask for what you need or how to successfully resolve conflict.
  • Depression CBT Self-Help Guide The natural management of depression involves understanding depression and the factors that contribute to the symptoms. Learning to manage stress in your life and engaging in self-care behaviors can improve your symptoms and your mood. This app contains a depression severity test, audio, articles, a cognitive diary, and a motivational points system that helps you learn how to do this.
  • Happify has an array of engaging games, activity suggestions, and gratitude prompts makes Happify a useful shortcut to a good mood. Designed with input from 18 health and happiness experts, Happify’s positive mood-training program is psychologist-approved.
  • Sanvello helps you understand yourself: Our thoughts, moods, and behaviors all shape how we feel. Sanvello gives you clinically validated techniques to help you manage your moods and thoughts, so you can understand what works for you to feel better
  • Daylio collects recorded moods and activities in the statistics and calendar. This format will help you to understand your habits better. Keep track of your activities and create patterns to become more productive.
  • MindShift uses scientifically proven strategies based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help you learn to relax and be mindful, develop more effective ways of thinking, and use active steps to take charge of your anxiety.
  • Operation Reach Out encourages people to reach out for help when they are having suicidal thoughts. Help those who are concerned about family members, spouses, or fellow service members who may be suicidal. Provide a personal contact help center. Provide activities to help people who are depressed stay connected to others. Operation Reach Out is part of MCA-D’s effort to provide timely and effective support and guidance for military families.
  • PTSD Coach is for anyone who needs help with upsetting feelings. Trauma survivors, their families, or anyone coping with stress can benefit.
  • Quit It is a tiny motivating program, that supports and encourages smokers to quit smoking and helps ex-smokers to stay quit. It keeps track of the cigarettes you did not smoke and how much money you are saving. Furthermore, it shows the benefits of quitting as text and calculates a nice ranking for you.
  • SAM is a friendly app that offers a range of self-help methods for people who are serious about learning to manage their anxiety.
  • Stop, Breathe, Think! This calming meditation app experience is uniquely designed to help you stay mindful, de-stress, sleep better, and build the emotional strength and confidence to handle life’s ups and downs. Mindfulness & meditation is the practice, Stop, Breathe & Think is the process.
  • Stop Drinking is designed to help listeners relax and overcome their emotional and physical cravings for Alcohol. This relaxing, positive, motivational App will give you the tools to change your thinking and access the incredible power of your unconscious mind. When you can learn to easily break unwanted habits and regain control of your clarity of thought, well-being, money, health, and much more then this App will help you change your life. Far more powerful than simple mantras or positive thinking, this App uses the power of relaxation, hypnotherapy, positive suggestions, and visualization to allow you to achieve what you want to achieve.
  • Stress and Anxiety Companion This is a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) app designed to help users manage anxious feelings and identify their triggers. The app has three main features; ‘Tools’, ‘Thoughts’, and ‘Cards’. The ‘Tools’ section has a number of activities aimed to reduce stress and anxiety levels; there are two relaxation audio tracks, one 15-minute Mindfulness exercise and one 10-minute Progressive Muscle Relaxation exercise, a visually aided breathing exercise, and brain games to help interrupt anxious or negative thinking. 
  • Worry Watch is a unique app that helps to reflect on those momentary priceless self-realizations. By writing down our ‘what if’ anxious thoughts and tracking them to ‘what did happen in reality, we may get a deeper understanding of our anxiety patterns and triggers. Such an understanding may help challenge our negative thinking habits and affirm optimism instead.
  • The Safe Place is a Minority Mental Health App geared toward the Black Community. The Purpose of the “Safe Place” is to bring more awareness, education, and hope to this serious issue. Not only can the black community benefit from this app, but also mental health professionals, friends, and family, of ALL colors, can be better educated on this issue and do a service by directing their black friends, co-workers, etc. to the app.

Online Support

  • Racism Mental Health Resources: American Counseling Association provides mental health resources. ACA has compiled a number of resources focused on cultural competencies and combating racism helpful for anybody wanting to learn more.
  • Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective (BEAM) is a group aimed at removing the barriers that Black people experience getting access to or staying connected with emotional health care and healing. They do this through education, training, advocacy, and the creative arts.
  • Asian Mental Health Collective: Collectively building a community for Asian mental health support. Its mission is to raise awareness, promote mental health care, and challenge the stigma around mental illness amongst Asian Diasporic communities worldwide.
  • The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Glass Ceiling in STEM | 50 Free Anti-Racism and Mental Health Resources: Free Resources to Address Inequalities Facing Asians and Pacific Islander (AAPI) in STEM. This includes mental health and self-care, professional development resources, professional development resources for women, STEM resources, associations supporting AAPI and STEM, employer resources, and anti-racism education resources.
  • National Deaf Therapy  This site features articles and videos to help deaf individuals with their mental health care as well as a form to fill out in order to find a therapist or counselor from which to receive regular treatment.
  • Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation is dedicated to the relief of suffering from BDD. It aims to advance education and understanding of BDD. It supports research into BDD and its treatments.
  • Center for Complicated Grief goal is to increase awareness of complicated grief in the general population. It is important that CG sufferers, their family members, and friends understand this problem and learn that help is available.
  • CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers plays an important role in supporting the growth of LGBT centers and addressing the challenges they face, by helping them to improve their organizational and service delivery capacity and increase access to public resources. 
  • LGBT National Help Center provides a safe environment on the phone or internet for people of all ages to discuss issues that they don’t feel comfortable talking about anywhere else. They also maintain the largest collection of resources for the LGBT community in the United States, with 15,000 local resources for cities and towns across the country.
  • Healing From BPD is a peer-run Facebook group that focuses on healing from borderline personality disorder or BPD traits. There are also some great resources including books, workbooks, worksheets, classes, movies, and more.
  • International OCD Foundation provides resources and support for those affected by OCD, including individuals with OCD and related disorders, their family members, friends, and loved ones. Promote awareness about OCD and related disorders to the OCD community and the general public. Increase access to effective treatment through: Educate mental health professionals about evidence-based treatments. Provides a forum for professional collaboration and networking. Support research into the causes of and treatments for OCD and related disorders.
  • MentalHealth.gov  provides one-stop access to U.S. government mental health and mental health problems information.
  • National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) provides advocacy, education, support, and public awareness so that all individuals and families affected by mental illness can build better lives.
  • National Center for Victims of Crime is an advocacy organization committed to — and working on behalf of — crime victims and their families. Rather than focus the entire organization’s work on one type of crime or victim, the National Center addresses all types of crime. Through collaboration with local, state, and federal partners, the National Center: advocates for stronger rights, protections, and services for crime victims provides education, training, and evaluation, and serves as a trusted source of current information on victims’ issues.
  • National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting individuals and families affected by eating disorders. NEDA supports individuals and families affected by eating disorders and serves as a catalyst for prevention, cures, and access to quality care.
  • National Institute of Mental Health offers authoritative information about mental disorders, a range of related topics, and the latest mental health research.
  • OK2Talk is a community where teens and young adults struggling with mental health conditions can find a safe place to talk about what they’re experiencing by sharing their personal stories of recovery, tragedy, struggle, or hope. Anyone can add their voice by sharing stories, poems, inspirational quotes, photos, videos, song lyrics, and messages of support in a safe, moderated space. 
  • Stalking Resource Center is an initiative of the National Center for Victims of Crime, with initial funding from the Violence Against Women Office of the U.S. Department of Justice. Its primary purpose is to provide resources, training, and technical assistance to victim service providers and criminal justice professionals in an effort to promote a shared, national understanding of stalking and to support locally coordinated, multidisciplinary anti-stalking approaches and responses.
  • VictimConnect Helpline provides information and referrals for victims of all crimes and can be reached at 855-4-VICTIM (855-484-2846)
  • A Guide On Sexual Assault sheds light on some of the most common questions a victim might have about sexual assault as it relates to safety and making a sexual assault claim.
  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation. SAMHSA’s mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities.
  • Trevor Space is an affirming international community for LGBTQ young people ages 13-24.
  • Anxiety and Depression Association of America focuses on improving the quality of life for individuals and their families struggling with anxiety and depression. They also provide a broad range of free resources to the public including webinars, podcasts, blog posts, two online peer-to-peer support communities, a “find a therapist” directory, and a monthly e-newsletter. 
  • Co-Dependents Anonymous is a twelve-step program for people who share a common desire to develop functional and healthy relationships.
  • Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance provide hope, help, support, and education to improve the lives of people who have mood disorders. DBSA offers peer-based, wellness-oriented support and empowering services and resources available when people need them, where they need them, and how they need to receive them—online 24/7, in local support groups, in audio and videocasts, or in printed materials distributed by DBSA, our chapters, and mental health care facilities across America
  • Emotions Anonymous is an international fellowship of men and women who desire to improve their emotional well-being. EA members come together in weekly meetings for the purpose of working toward recovery from any sort of emotional difficulties. EA members are of diverse ages (18+), races, economic statuses, and social and educational backgrounds. Approved literature is available here and includes pamphlets that address different emotions, workbooks, educational books, and daily affirmation-readers
  • National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders focuses on prevention, education, and helping those who are struggling to find treatment and support. ANAD has a helpline, school outreach programs, national awareness events, online discussion forums, prevention programs, and support groups across the nation.
  • Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is a not-for-profit organization that provides support, education, and advocacy to family, friends, allies, and LGBT people.
  • Heal Grief is a social support network that is there when everyone else goes away, and the real grieving begins. Heal Grief provides the tools and resources to guide one’s journey with grief into healthy personal growth.
  • International OCD Foundation is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to giving support to individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCDF), their families and friends, medical professionals, and other concerned individuals. It also provides appropriate referrals including support groups that engage in inpatient, professional, and community education. Informational and supportive materials include a bimonthly newsletter, a semi-annual children’s newsletter, and a quarterly newsletter for support group leaders, booklets, and brochures.
  • Sidran’s HelpDesk s a national nonprofit organization that helps people understand, recover from, and treat traumatic stress and related conditions. Sidran’s Trauma HelpDesk is a service that provides information, treatment resources, reading lists, educational materials, and a caring ear at no charge to trauma survivors and family members.
  • TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors is a donor-supported, nonprofit organization devoted to ending the suffering caused by a hair-pulling disorder, skin picking disorder, and related body-focused repetitive behaviors.
  • The Steve Fund (support for young people of color): Text “STEVE” to 741741 The Steve Fund is dedicated to the mental health and emotional well-being of students of color.
  • StartYourRecovery.org is a free, confidential resource developed with the input of leading clinicians, experts from the White House and SAMHSA, and people in recovery themselves. The website helps individuals take steps toward a healthy relationship with drugs and alcohol. Here, individuals can learn about addiction, recognize the signs of a problem, and find local support and treatment. Visitors to the site can also hear stories from their peers who have overcome substance abuse challenges.

Online Videos

10 Minute Guided Meditation | Play To Feel Good | Return To Feeling Good

10 Minute Guided Meditation to ease Anxiety Worry, Overthinking & Urgency | Soothing Calm | POWERFUL

10 Minute Guided Mediation for Eliminating Self-Doubt, Inadequacies, and Low Self-Esteem

Mindfulness is in Our Mind

10 Minutes of Mindfulness  

GUIDED MEDITATION -The Tropical Beach – Deep Relaxation & Sleep

GUIDED SLEEP MEDITATION TALKDOWN – Insomnia – Relaxation

A Meditation for Stress Relief & Anxiety: Walk Along the Beach Guided Meditation Visualization

Meditation for Panic Attacks/Emergency Anxiety Relief  

Guided Spoken Word Meditation for Acute Anxiety: Highly Stressed, Panic Attacks 

Progressive Muscle Relaxation For Management of Anxiety and Stress (with Music)  

Anxiety & Depression – Guided Meditation for Inner Healing

Guided Meditation and Progressive Muscle Relaxation  

Progressive Muscle Relaxation Meditation  

10 Minute Guided Body Scan Meditation from The Meditation Coach

20 Minute Body Scan – Mindfulness Meditation – New Mindful Life

Podcast

Podcasts from the Mental Health Foundation 

Guided Meditations for Stress and Sleep from UCLA 

Deep Breathing and Relaxation Exercises from Dartmouth College 

Meditation Oasis 

Community Wellness Downloads from MIT 

Meditations from the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness 

Therapy For Black Girls Podcast

Between Sessions Podcast Everything You Need To Know About Mental Health And Communities Of Color.

Relax & De-Stress With These Daily Free Meditations for Children and Adults

Self-Care

Association of Black psychologist Self-Care Tool This 26-page tool kit, written in English and Spanish, contains information about how stress and trauma affect the body and mind, and self-care strategies for dealing with the effects of racism. 

Everything is Awful and I’m Not Okay: Questions to ask yourself before giving up – A PDF

You Feel Like Shit: An Interactive Self-Care Guide

Self Care Plan by Social Work Tech | Ignacio Pacheco Example Here

Self-Care Assessment Worksheet

Articles

Sit Down and Reflect: Meditation For Beginners By Carina This article would be helpful to someone who wants to meditate and need a step-by-step guide. It also includes tips on practicing mindfulness and how to use affirmations to build self-motivation. Best of all, at the end of the article, there are links to other articles about meditation to improve your knowledge and practice.

How to calm anxiety (when you’re freaking out) This article provides information about anxiety and coping strategies that may be helpful.

Are All-Nighters Bad For Your Health? This article gives insight into how staying up all night can impact your physical, emotional, and mental health. 

Medical Resources

K Health Chat with a doctor for just $19. This is a Telemedicine app service. If needed, you can chat with an expert doctor for just $19 ($9/month for unlimited chats) who can diagnose, prescribe medicine, and order lab tests. K Health offers primary health care and anxiety and depression management. This may be helpful for some who need primary care or medication for anxiety or depression but do not have insurance.

Suggestions

Are there other resources you would like to see more of or feel that would be helpful to add? Fill out this suggestion form. I appreciate your feedback and helping me to help others.