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I've been exploring how I react in a certain way and how I feel in certain situations so I can learn to be more present and self-aware. Keeping a journal is a great way of doing this.

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I tried this the other day. It's amazing how relaxing it is, how it focuses you and how it takes you out of yourself. Try it.

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Plan things to do. It doesn't have to be a work piece. Now we can spend time with our loved ones it is beneficial to see them.

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I was introduced to Yoga Nidra the other week. I really recommend it. I drift off to another place.

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Currently listening to Mind Full audiobook by comedian Dermot Whelan. Its really good so far. Its about mindfulness, dealing with 'feelings of meh', and comedy!

Either of the Obama audiobooks are equally fantastic and inspirational :)

Sh**ged, Married, Annoyed podcast is hilarious (pretty naughty). The guilty feminist is fantastic and motivational.

OR put on your favourite power ballads and sing at top volume :)

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SHOUT is a free, confidential mental health support text service for the UK...text shout to 85258

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SHOUT is a free, confidential mental health support text service for the UK...text shout to 85258

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24/7

You can text us any time, day or night.

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Can you help us hit our match funding target of £50,000 and support a further 5,000 people this winter?

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Ways to cope with upsetting events in the news

If you're feeling overwhelmed, anxious or sad about what's going on in the news, know that you're definitely not alone. Here are some actions we can take to help us cope better through times like this.

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I think Shout saved my life tonight... no one has ever made me feel so safe, listened to and understood

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Take a look at our resources, information and support, find further help or reach out to one of our volunteers.

Resources for you

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Shout - UK's 24/7 Crisis Text Service for Mental Health Support

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Shout 85258 is the UK's first 24/7 text service for anyone in crisis. Get free, confidential mental health support anytime, anywhere. Text 'SHOUT' to 85258.

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I saw an interesting article on the very modern phenomenon of video call burnout and how to avoid it...

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As the coronavirus continues to affect daily life, work, school, people are still turning to Zoom video calls.

Zoom happy hours, parties, and games became a common part of people's social lives.

But now more and more people have begun experiencing Zoom burnout, or feeling overwhelmed by the deluge of video calls.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Many are turning to video online calls thanks to COVID-19, the coronavirus disease.

With schools, businesses, and restaurants closed, people are increasingly moving to video calling platform Zoom for work and socializing. The company says its stock already increased more than 100% since the outbreak spread in the US.

Some people are adapting by turning to Zoom games and parties as a way to interact with friends and stay in touch, but others are starting to feel burned out with what's been called Zoom fatigue. A few people shared how they're using Zoom, and what they're doing to combat burnout, with Business Insider. Here's what they had to say.

Fee Pelz-Sharpe, a 20-year-old college student, began to feel burnt out from Zoom calls almost immediately, though some classes were optional and they could watch recordings later. They use Zoom mostly for classes, which became remote this spring, and also for talking to friends.

"I think part of it is that I'm not constantly aware of my own appearance in in-person classes, while on Zoom I'm constantly adjusting and readjusting," they told Business Insider. They said that throughout Zoom calls, they worry about lighting and angles, even monitoring their facial expression to ensure that they appear interested enough.

Some of the technical issues common to Zoom and other video calling software also contributed to Pelz-Sharpe's burnout. They mentioned that it's both frustrating and exhausting to try to maintain a conversation while some participants' internet is slow, so audio can become out of sync or videos can freeze. People also tend to forget to mute themselves, which can be distracting with background noise. They found that these minor issues make every conversation last longer than it would in person.

In their circle of friends, the feeling of Zoom fatigue is common.

"I feel like at the beginning of this situation people were a lot more interested in Zoom happy hours and birthday parties." Now, more of their interactions have turned into phone calls and one-on-one conversations.

Carley Campbell, a 19-year-old student, also uses Zoom for classes and work. She says she really started to feel the signs of Zoom fatigue setting in around mid-April, and they've kept growing ever since. "I felt like I needed to take a nap in between meetings and sometimes I debated skipping entirely."

She told Business Insider that her burnout stems from the expectation of going from meeting to meeting while remaining serious and professional, and feeling like she had to "scramble to the next link," leaving no time for basic necessities like eating, sleeping, and caring for her pets.

She thinks her problem is fairly universal: "I have yet to find someone who enjoys these Zoom meetings."

Zoom fatigue seems especially persistent among students. Bernadette Bruu, a 20-year-old college student, said "I felt zoom fatigue before I even started using it, honestly."

Her school is on a trimester system, so she was still on spring break when she saw everyone sharing memes and complaints about "Zoom University," as remote school is jokingly called. In a way, these shared grievances have even contributed to the burnout.

"That's the strange thing about this - everyone is going through the same thing, and that has become part of the fatigue - relatable humor, often from the professor or meeting host, takes up half of the dialogue in Zoom meetings. Fake-laughing through the pain got so old so fast, but it's the only method that professors have embraced so far to counteract how dismal the whole thing is."

Founder and investor Nemoy Rau, age 36, told Business Insider that he's always felt a level of Zoom fatigue, though it's increased recently. His company doesn't use Zoom because of security concerns, but he uses it to talk to friends and family, advise other startups and funds, and for religious groups.

Like others said, Rau finds audio-only calls preferable to video, and he usually suggests everyone turn off their webcams.

"I always joke and say, we all know what everyone looks like, save bandwidth," he said.

Since the pandemic ended most in-person meetings, having a webcam turned on during calls has become more of an expectation, Rau says, and people feel compelled to use video in every call. Bruu noted a similar feeling about video calls, given both the ability to watch yourself on screen and the knowledge that others are watching you.

"You basically sign on to being observed for an hour or more, even if only absentmindedly, by people with 'gallery view' on. Someone could even pin your video to their largest screen for an entire meeting if they wanted to."

According to Laura Hamill, who has a Ph.D in organizational psychology, Zoom is "just one piece of the puzzle" in the world right now contributing to an increased cognitive load. She pointed out that living through a pandemic, racial injustice, and protests, plus all the distractions that come with Zoom, can lead to fatigue, and eventually burnout.

Each person dealing with Zoom burnout mentioned trying to spend some time offline and focus on analog hobbies, though none had yet found a way to cure their fatigue.

Dr. Hamill suggests increases resources while decreasing demands, if possible. For example, she said that having a wellbeing mindset, showing compassion to yourself, and taking the time for non-work social connections can help.

Organizations can increase resources by encouraging and supporting flexibility and understanding, and not making assumptions about what is going on in people's lives right now.

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What it feels like to experience Zoom burnout and how to avoid it

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As the coronavirus continues to affect daily life, work, school, people are still turning to Zoom video calls. Zoom happy hours, parties, and games became a common part of people's social lives. But now more and more people have begun experiencing Zoom burnout, or feeling overwhelmed by the deluge of video calls.

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For today .... from Fiona, make it more than 30 minutes if you can!!!

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If you are worried about the increase in your drinking during COVID-19 ..... Guilford Press have 9 self help tips you might want to read .....

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If you are worried about the increase in your drinking during COVID-19 ..... Guilford Press have 9 self help tips you might want to read .....

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Controlling your drinking during the coronavirus pandemic can be incredibly difficult. Group support meetings are cancelled, stress levels are sky-high, and people are struggling to process difficult emotions, including trauma, grief, boredom, anger, and uncertainty. It's no wonder that experts have reported a sudden, dramatic rise in alcohol use.

If you are struggling with how much you are drinking right now, you are not alone. And "just say no," doesn't work for everyone. Here are nine simple and effective strategies to help you become more mindful about your drinking during these challenging times.

1. Resist New "Happy Hour" Habits. Lots of people are video conferencing with friends and families and the online happy hour has really taken off! But this isn't the time to start new drinking habits if you didn't do this before. Maybe you went to happy hour on Fridays after work, but now you're getting requests for several times a week. Remember that you don't have to drink alcohol during all those video happy hours. You can hold a glass of anything and join in the conversation.

2. Notice the Time. Now that we're working bizarre schedules, it's easy to not even notice what time it is when the urge to drink hits, or a request to have a drink with someone comes into your inbox. Think about your habits prior to this shelter-in-place. If you were pretty much satisfied with your drinking pattern then, now isn't the time to start day drinking.

3. Make Some Rules. Our regular structures have taken a hit with this virus shutdown. We join Zoom meetings in our pajamas, or from our front porch. Who knows what time it is? Decide how much, how often, and with whom you want to drink. Make some rules about it. Not before 5:30PM. Not more than three times a week. Not with people you never used to drink with before. Even if you don't always follow your rules, you'll have a benchmark to assess how you're doing and what you might want to change.

4. Beware the Home Delivery Boxes. Really? You need to buy three bottles just in case? Or you really need a case just because? Having a lot of booze around makes it hard to notice how much you're drinking and contributes to overdoing it.

5. Learn to "Surf the Urge." When you first feel the wish to drink, check the time and write it down if you can. Then just stand still. Don't do anything. Or if it's easier, move around, adjust the window shades, get a drink of water. Distract yourself for a while. The impulse will go away. As soon as you notice that you forgot about drinking, check the time. Was it one minute, or ten? This is your time frame for controlling yourself. You can say to yourself, "If I can wait ten minutes, this urge to use will go away." If the urge comes back, do it again. You're trying to teach yourself, "This urge will go away whether or not I drink!"

6. Fill Your Schedule with Activities that are Incompatible with Drinking. Many people find strenuous exercise, like running, a great way to release built up tension. You could also go for a long walk or bike ride. Don't underestimate the power of breathing fresh air! But if exercise isn't your thing, get creative. Sit in the car and sing at the top of your lungs; take a long, hot shower; or sign up for a class online ( Skillshare is a great option).

7. Make Self-Monitoring a Habit. You can do this by simply writing down each drink, what time it was, and how much you consumed; or use an app like DrinkControl. The point is not to be self-critical, but simply to be self-aware. It's important to know what your usual pattern is if you want to be able to change it.

*Adapted from 8. Remember the Core Values of Harm Reduction:

Understanding. Understand your choices and the things you have done in your life so far. Knowing why you drink is essential to figuring out what to do about it.

Acceptance. Accept yourself and your choices and receive acceptance from others. Appreciate that you are doing your best right now, and look for the strengths, the humor, and the cleverness in your efforts.

Compassion. Guilt is paralyzing, and you must forgive yourself and have self-compassion in order to move forward on your journey to balance and moderation.

Kindness. Be kind to yourself and surround yourself (virtually!) with people who are kind to you.

Connection. Attachment-to a frosty IPA or a glass of white wine-can be replaced by, or exist alongside, connection to other people.

Freedom to choose. Always remember that you have autonomy-the right and the opportunity to have a hand in the direction of your life.

9. Practice Mindfulness with the SOBER Breathing Space*:

Stop or slow down right where you are and bring awareness to this moment.

Observe what is happening in this moment, in your body, your emotions, and your thoughts.

Breathe and notice the sensations of the in-breath and the out-breath.

Expand awareness to the reactions in your body to the situation you are in.

Respond mindfully and choose a course of action. Do not judge your choice.

Controlling Your Drinking, Second Edition by William R. Miller and Ricardo F. Muñoz

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Controlling your drinking during the coronavirus pandemic can be incredibly difficult. Group support meetings are cancelled, stress levels are sky-high, and people are struggling to process difficult emotions, including trauma, grief, boredom, anger, and uncertainty. It's no wonder that experts have reported a sudden, dramatic rise in alcohol use.

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Self Care tips for coping during the COVID pandemic

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Self Care tips for coping during the COVID pandemic

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Here's some helpful tips from our friends at Epione training which may be of use whilst our lives are affected by the COVID pandemic.

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I like to think of 3 things I am thankful for at the end of each day e.g. My health, family, even just getting through the day. It is great to say this out loud or write it down to affirm.
Research has shown that doing this exercise improves our mental health.

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"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."
G.K. Chesterton

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."
Robert Brault
"Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
This week many of my readers will celebrate Thanksgiving.

So I thought it would be a good time to share a handful of my favorite tips for making thankfulness a daily part of life.

Because being thankful for what you have is one of the simplest and easiest ways to lift your mood. To give your motivation a jolt. And to live a happier life.
1. Pause and look around yourself.
No matter who you are or where you live in the world.

What are 3 things I can be thankful for in my life today?

Who are 3 people I can be thankful to have in my life and why?

A simple first step to being more thankful is to pause during your day and ask yourself these two questions:

If you don't come up with 3 people and 3 things each day then that is OK. One thing or person is great too.
2. Express your thankfulness.
But if you can, try to not repeat yourself too often. Instead, think of more people and things to be grateful for to, day by day, expand your thankful view of your world.

Don't stop at just coming up with people for whom you are grateful to have in your life.

Take a few seconds to tell them about it. This will make their lives happier. And as their faces light up with a smile you'll feel happier too.

Now, that gratitude could just be a small sentence. But it can have a big impact on someone's day, week or even life.
3. Look towards yourself too.
So be sure to make the small effort to express it.

It is not only things that are important. Or other people.

You are important and valuable too.

So appreciate that.

Ask yourself:

What are 3 things I can be thankful for about myself?

It could be that you were a good sister during a crisis last week. It could be that you finally got done with that boring or difficult task you had been procrastinating on.

Your self-gratitude does not have to be all about achievements. You can simply be thankful for your good sense of humor. Or the help you give your friends and family by being a good listener from time to time.
4. Be thankful for the things you may take for granted.
And the thankfulness doesn't have to be about big things either. It could simply be about the fact that you floss for a couple of minutes in the morning.

The things we get very used to having can become things we take for granted. But they are not things everyone in the world has access to.

A roof over my head and a warm home.

Plenty of drinkable water.

That I don't have to go hungry.

Being able to enjoy the small and free pleasures of life.

Access to the internet so that I can learn and connect with people.

A few such things that I like to reflect upon and feel very thankful for having are:
5. Start or end your day with thankfulness.
I have found that being grateful for things like these are especially helpful to zoom out and to put my situation in perspective when I am going through a tough time in life.

To make thankfulness into a habit that sticks find a regular time for it in your day.

For example, you can start your day in a good way by finding 3 things to be grateful for about yourself over breakfast.

Or you can take a few minutes in the evening, just before going to bed, to use a journal to write down 3 things you are grateful for about your day.

Try a tiny time commitment like one of these and see what impact it has on your life.

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The Power of Thankfulness: 5 Essential Tips

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"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." G.K. Chesterton "Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."

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If you fancy trying some meditations - with self compassion, etc.

I haven't tried this yet ....it was a suggestion from my group & I've signed up ....... May not be good, might be great .....But IT IS FREE

https://www.rickhanson.net/loving-knowing-and-growing-free-online-program/?fbclid=IwAR2w_CsoG00ntCm76_w-r-t13hid2O42OFxCacqrYrvEtJSQcm2PmbYxHIM#signup

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Have a long soak and then put clean pjs on. It helps me sleep.

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Saw this video and I thought I’d share the tips.

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Stephen Fry's tips for managing virus-based anxiety

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Stephen Fry looks at the positives around self-isolation and managing stress.

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I love to spray on a fragrance. Even if I'm.not going anywhere. This one is Colonia Concentrada by Alvarez Gomez. It's under £20 from.Amazon for a huge bottle and it's really fresh and uplifting. It makes me feel more awake and refreshed.

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Search every mind matters....

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These have been my fave home workouts so far! For all levels of fitness :)

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If you haven't watched already your missing out!!

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Two sides of Glasgow collide when a teenage girl makes a pact with a wealthy couple.

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I have found Tik Tok videos fun to make and my niece has been teaching me lots of dances from it! It's one for all the family! If you like to laugh at yourself even better ;)

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You might not want to do too much of this, especially if exercise is reduced a bit, but like everyone else I have dusted off the baking tins to make a treat. Then I realised that there was hardly any sugar left in the house or shops and made a smaller than intended treat. Still delicious though.

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Gentle simple activity like Colouring in with the kids.

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Taking proper care of my skin makes me feel a bit more human and put together and I find I'm not so self-conscious on all the video calls!

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Sometimes ASMR helps me switch off. If you've never heard of it I've linked a BBC news article below .
It's growing fast on YouTube and focuses on listening to soft sounds and watching slow activities.

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ASMR videos - which claim to induce a tingling feeling in the viewer - have quietly become an internet phenomenon.

When I was a child I sometimes experienced a pleasant physical sensation in my scalp when I was especially intrigued or fascinated by something, or when being touched or stroked in certain ways.

The sensation continued into adulthood, but when I tried to explain what I was feeling to other people I was met with baffled looks and a quick change of subject.

Recently I discovered that other people have similar experiences, and that the sensation has a name, ASMR, and tens of thousands of videos dedicated to it.

Type the initials into the search box on YouTube and you'll get 1.5 million results. Most direct you to the work of dozens of "ASMR artists", making videos in their front rooms and back rooms, garden sheds and kitchens. And some of those videos are staggeringly popular.

At first glance it's hard to see why. Why would you want to watch 18 minutes of a woman demonstrating ways to fold towels and napkins? Yet in two years that video has had 770,000 views.

There are ASMR videos of polished fingernails tapping on a plastic surface, of someone scrunching up plastic packaging, of people being given massages, of performers whispering to camera. There are people pretending to be doctors giving the viewer a "cranial nerve exam", and others pretending to cut your hair, pretending to give you a job interview or pretending to be a hotel receptionist at check-in (that one lasts 41 minutes, and has had 460,000 views).

The ASMR search term also throws up clips from a 1980s US television series in which the artist Bob Ross teaches the viewer how to paint, dabbing his brush on to the canvas as he quietly explains what he's doing.

Find out more

Hear Nick Higham's report on ASMR videos on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, on 11 December 2014 - or catch up on BBC iPlayer
BBC Radio 4 - Today
What all these videos have in common is that watching them triggers - in a minority of people - a particular sensation in their scalp, best described as a buzzing or tingling. It's warm, relaxing and extremely pleasurable.

The initials stand for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. It sounds a vaguely scientific term, though there's no science behind it and it's not clear who coined it. It resembles the goose bumps or frisson some people get from listening to certain kinds of music, but its causes are different and it feels different.

The doyenne of video-makers is arguably a blonde woman with an eastern European accent who calls herself Maria GentleWhispering.

Her " Oh such a good 3D-sound ASMR video", which lasts 16 minutes and features several different sound effects designed to trigger the response, is the most popular I've been able to find with a staggering 7.6 million views in a little over two years, despite its pretty dreadful sound quality.

It's not clear where she's based, though it seems likely to be the US, where there's a flourishing ASMR subculture.

I tracked down two video-makers in the UK. The first, Emma, calls herself WhispersRedASMR on YouTube, where she has over 40,000 subscribers.

She lives on the outskirts of London, where she makes videos in a tiny shed at the end of her garden. In them she talks slowly and hypnotically to camera in a very soft voice, while making gentle sounds with props ranging from books to Velcro, or while pretending to clean the viewer's ears (yes, really).

And the sound quality on her videos is much better than Maria GentleWhispering's, especially if you listen on headphones. Emma uses a pair of binaural microphones, spaced the same distance apart as a person's ears, which give the listener an especially immersive experience.

She first encountered the sensation (she calls it a "crinkling in my head") as a child and listed for me the situations that triggered it: "An eye test, a haircut... at school when the teacher read a story or wrote on the blackboard... when one of the other children read a story... doing our times tables, standing beside the teacher when she was going through my work... children playing with my hair.

"We'd sit in a circle and play with each other's hair and tickle each other's backs - all those nice nurturing things we used to do as children, they triggered my ASMR."

She first started watching videos when she was having trouble sleeping and was looking for something on YouTube to help calm her down. She discovered what she calls the "ASMR community", started an online group called ASMR UK and began making videos herself so that the other members would know who she was.

If I'm experiencing a panic attack, watching a video for five minutes I feel all my anxiety symptoms fading, and then within 10 minutes I'm calmer
Laura Stone, ASMR video-maker

Her target audience is adults, but she's recently started making videos specifically aimed at children as well, in response to requests from viewers. Her videos, like those of many other practitioners, carry advertising which generates a modest income.

Laura Stone also started watching videos when she was having difficulty sleeping, and suffering nightmares and panic attacks after a death in the family. For her too, watching them led to an interest in making them. "I wanted to help people like they helped me," she says.

She makes her videos - sometimes as many as three a day - in her Essex home. The front room is full of props she's planning to use - a doll with long, blonde hair for hairdressing scenarios, some noisy jewellery, a back scratcher, a sheet of wrapping paper. Most of her videos are "role-plays", although several involve her long-suffering boyfriend (that's where the back-scratcher comes in) and some even feature her mother.

The feedback, she says, has been very positive. "People say I help them sleep. Lonely people who don't have many friends or don't go out, they feel I'm their friend."

And she still finds watching other people's videos helpful: "Sleep is 100% improved when I watch videos, to the point where if I don't watch a video I don't sleep as well."

When I suggest that indicates she's addicted to them, she concedes that could be true. "A little bit addicted, but it's a good addiction, a healthy addiction, there's a lot worse. Anxiety-wise, it does definitely calm me down. If I'm experiencing a panic attack, watching a video for five minutes I feel all my anxiety symptoms fading, and then within 10 minutes I'm calmer." And watching videos, she says, is preferable to being on medication.

That worries Frances McGlone, professor of neuroscience at Liverpool John Moores University. I contacted him because I hoped he might be able to explain the mechanism which produces such a distinctive physical reaction from such a diverse range of stimuli. He couldn't, because no-one has researched the question. "In a quick look on the more respected search engines for published scientific research I couldn't find anything that supported a neurobiological basis for why these sensory experiences should be provoked by observing these ASMR videos," he tells me.

Strange sounds in the Magazine

But he is profoundly sceptical of their use as a kind of home-brewed alternative therapy: "What worries me is susceptible individuals who want to believe this kind of thing because they really have problems and need some kind of psychological help - that is where I get a little bit annoyed, because people can be led up the garden path by techniques that clearly are snake oil, and do not and will not provide any long term benefit for an underlying condition."

He also points out that most of these videos are presented by attractive-looking women, perhaps implying that there may be an erotic element in their appeal. And indeed, some have tried to promote the term "braingasm" as an alternative name for ASMR. On the other hand, the sensation, though undeniably pleasurable, doesn't seem to have anything to do with sex.

For the time being then, ASMR is something of a mystery. But thanks to the internet, I now know that I'm not alone, and that others too experience the same thing. There's just one problem - with few exceptions, YouTube's "ASMR videos" don't actually trigger my own ASMR.
Hear Nick Higham's report on ASMR videos on BBC Radio 4's Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox. Today programme, on 11 December 2014

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The videos which make their viewers tingle

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ASMR videos - which claim to induce a tingling feeling in the viewer - have quietly become an internet phenomenon. When I was a child I sometimes experienced a pleasant physical sensation in my scalp when I was especially intrigued or fascinated by something, or when being touched or stroked in certain ways.

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I was sceptical at first, but a friend introduced me to training my mind by using an app. The one I used really keeps me calm. There are loads you can use. The link takes you to some recommendations.

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Over the past couple of years mindfulness has exploded in popularity. Like many trends, it has faced questions about whether it's just another health-crazed fad.

But it's not just Instagram influencers who are recommending it. According to the NHS website, paying more attention to the present moment, and to thoughts and feelings, helps to improve mental wellbeing and enables people to enjoy life and understand themselves better.

Thanks to the boom, there are now dozens of apps on the market to help you start - or continue - your path to mindfulness.

The vast majority of these apps are free (at least at first) and offer short, guided meditations so it doesn't matter if you're a beginner or a pro.

But there are also plenty of extras to look out for - from nostalgia-inducing bedtime stories, to calming background noises and winsome animations to help you learn about the theory behind the trend.

When searching to find the right app, it's worth thinking about what you need as well as what you like. If you can't stand the narrator's voice, for instance, then you're going to find it hard to relax.

If you want motivational messages sent through when you know you're going to be stressed, there's an app that will do that.

There are also audio-focused apps and mindfulness journals if you'd rather track how you're feeling by answering daily questions than sit through a guided meditation.

To help you find the perfect one, we have tested products from across the market. We've rounded up the best below, from those designed for "fidgety sceptics", to another that customises the meditations offered depending on how you're feeling - so whether you're a total novice or a seasoned expert, we can guarantee there's an app out there for you.

You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Calm: Free one week trial, then £28.99/year, iOS/Android

Open the Calm app and you'll immediately be greeted with the gentle sound of the outdoors. It varies from person to person, but we loved this touch and found it helped us on the path to relaxation (if you don't like the outdoors, you can change it to rolling waves, pouring rain, crackling firewood or crickets). As well as guided Daily Calm sessions, which help you unwind and refocus your attention, there are also programmes for intermediate and advanced users.

If you fancy something a little different, you can pick from exclusive music tracks engineered to help you focus, relax or sleep, such as Calm Body - a series of 10-minute guided videos on mindful movement - and Sleep Stories, which are calming tales narrated by celebrities including Stephen Fry and Matthew McConaughey. We genuinely found the latter helped us unwind in the evenings and brought back the wonderful nostalgia of being read a bedtime story.

The latest version of the app includes a new mood check-in feature, which allowed us to reflect on how we were feeling each day, and an updated home screen, making our favourite meditations easily accessible. With plenty of content and at just £28.99 for a subscription that lasts the whole year (there's no monthly offer but that equates to just under £2.50 a month), we also think this app is great value.

Headspace: Free download, then optional subscription £9.99/month, £44.99/year, iOS/Android

Headspace is one of the best-known meditation apps on the market. Following its launch in 2010, it has accrued more than 60 million members across 190 countries - and it's not hard to see why. The app is a great choice if you want to learn the essentials of meditation and mindfulness, with a free 10-part "basics" course and whimsical animations to help you find your feet. The sessions, which come in three, five or 10-minute chunks, are easy to follow, focusing on breathing and scanning through the body to check in on how you feel. We found the sessions, narrated by co-founder Andy Puddicombe (who came up with the idea after ditching his sports science degree, travelling to Asia and becoming a Buddhist monk), more relaxing and less jargon-heavy than others. There are also bite-sized "minis", including a one-minute breathing exercise, and themed sessions available if you want to add a little more mindfulness to your day.

If you feel the need to escape from 4G, you can also save your favourites for when you're offline. The premium service unlocks hundreds more specialised meditations for everything from stress to sleep (although it's worth noting the slightly higher annual price than some of the other apps). We think Headspace is by far the best app for beginners and would recommend anyone hesitating to go ahead and download it.

Portal - Focus, Sleep, Escape: £3.99 to download, iOS

Do you ever find yourself sitting on the train home after a stressful day at work wishing you were actually in Hawaii listening to the waves crash against the beach? Or curled up next to a log fire in Switzerland? Well, this app can help with that. Portal is a mindfulness app with a difference. Instead of guided meditations, the app transports users around the world, helping them chill out with the assistance of some of nature's most relaxing sounds.

We loved the concept and found it not only helped with us relax, but also sent us to sleep when the dreaded insomnia kicked in. From summer thunderstorms, to the rustle of palm tree leaves, there's a sound to suit everyone - plus you can mix Portal's audio with other apps to add a little extra ambience to your audiobooks or podcasts. There is also a "relax" function, which includes breathing exercises, and a "focus" section, where we found it helpful to write the one thing we wanted to concentrate on, boosting our productivity. We've also had a sneak peek of the next update, which includes even more content and dynamic imagery. Our only complaint was that we had to leave the app open and our phone unlocked to use the alarm function - but we'd recommend those looking for something a little different to look past this and give this app a go. You're bound to feel on top of the world in no time.

Simple Habit: Free to download, optional subscription £38.99/year, iOS/Android

This app offers stress relief for busy people. It was set up by Yunha Kim, who recognised that many of us do not have time (or at least *think* we don't have time) to squeeze yet another thing onto our to do list. To help combat this, the app offers audio meditations as short as five minutes, with good quality guided meditations that really do help to reduce stress and calm the mind.

The meditations themselves are well paced and offer good guidance. We found there was a little more space towards the end of each recording, which helped us really relax without the need for continual instruction. We were also impressed by the variety on the app. Users are asked to choose topics that interest them when they open it for the first time and there really is something for everyone - from meditations that will help you find your feet after a break up, to post-argument relaxation, stress-free commutes and pre-date mindfulness to help you get into the zone.

The app itself is clean and modern, with a simple feed and easy-to-use interface. Lots of the content is free to use, if you don't want to pay for the optional subscription, but we also think the price is very reasonable for such a high quality app.

Stop, Breathe & Think: Free download, optional subscription £9.99/month, £54.99/year), iOS/Android

Unlike many other apps on the market, Stop, Breathe & Think asks you to "check in" before meditating. Using a choice of adjectives to describe how you're feeling, both physically and mentally, we found this was a great way to get into the right mindset after a busy day in the office or on your feet. The app then uses this information to recommend short, guided meditations or yoga, from five-minute "joy" sessions, to longer practices to help you deal with anxiety or to relax, ground and clear your head. You get 30 free activities, with more than 100 others available if you upgrade to premium, including some acupuncture videos.

While the app describes itself as an emotional wellness platform for the under-25s, we found it was equally as effective for all ages and has all the standard features, allowing you to set reminders and track your progress. There's a separate app for kids, while a handy "how to" guide on meditation is available if you need a little more guidance. Finally, if you want to do your bit while learning how to lead a happier and healthier lifestyle, the company supports Tools for Peace, a non-profit that teaches mindfulness skills to inner-city teens, by sharing 10 per cent of its net revenues.

10% Happier: Free one week trial, then £12.99/month or £87.99/year, iOS/Android

The 10% Happier app bills itself as "mediation for fidgety sceptics". "Most of the meditation apps out there have a very traditional tone - very soft and gooey and loving," co-founder Dan Harris told TechCrunch last year. "But we're much more in the no-b******* category." Harris, a television news anchor with the self-confessed "attention span of a three-year-old retriever" started meditating after he had a nationally televised panic attack.

For the most part, Harris has achieved what he wanted to; we liked 10% Happier's relaxed nature, from the simple interface to the short video lessons, which teach users more about mindfulness. The guided meditations are very much "no frills", which we found incredibly refreshing. As well as being asked how often you've meditated before, why you want to meditate (do you want to be happier or is it to reduce stress?) and how you've been feeling lately, you can also set reminders to ensure you never miss a session. Pay the subscription and you'll get more than 500 guided meditations (including sessions such as "tooth brushing" and "in the shower"), as well as a number of packages, from the basics, to programmes centred on performance, relationships or - what everyone needs - how to be 10 per cent nicer. This app is great if you are keen to feel the benefits of mindfulness without wanting it to take over your daily routine - or if you're a straight-talker who prefers no fuss.

MindU: Free one-week trial, then £58.99/year, iOS

Open MindU and you won't be given a dropdown menu to describe how you're feeling. Instead, you'll be asked to place your finger on your phone's camera to measure your "energy levels". Ten seconds later, you'll be told just how much energy you've got, along with how stressed and anxious you are.

We can't guarantee it's totally scientific - but it is certainly a unique feature in a crowded market, and we were pleased to see our stress levels went down as we used the app (thought we were slightly skeptical about the 18 per cent increase in energy after just one session). The meditations themselves are set to space-style music, with the beginners' ones offering a slightly faster pace than we were used to. We found the phrasing repetitive at times and the app is also on the expensive side when compared to others. But overall it offers a good variety - and a quirky gimmick for those looking to start or continue their path to mindfulness.

Insight Timer: Free to download, optional subscription £55.99/year, Android/iOS

Insight Timer is more of a social network for meditators. As well as a world map showing you how many people are meditating at any one time, it allows you to see who is nearby and to invite friends to join in with you. There are also community groups where you are encouraged to join meetups throughout the UK, or discuss anything from poetry to Hinduism.

As for the content, Insight Timer says it's the world's most popular meditation timer, with a free library of guided meditations at 30,000 and counting. These range from beginners' flows, to sessions focused on self-love, better relationships and conquering addictions. The customisable timer feature is perfect for short meditations when on the go and you can even choose whether you want ambient background sounds or ending bells.

This is a great app with lots of content - but it can be daunting for a beginner. We recommend sticking with it, though, if you're willing to put the time in to find out what really works for you. If you need even more content, premium gets you extra courses, access to The Daily Insight, offline listening and Nightmode for early risers and night owls.

The Mindfulness App: Free one week trial, then £54.99/year, iOS/Android

This app does what it says on the tin. With a free download, not only do you get a five-day introduction to mindfulness, but there is also a range of guided and silent timed sessions to choose from - from a three-minute refresher, to deeper half-hour sessions. There are also daily reminders and statistics, so you can stay focused on your practice and keep up to date with your progress, as well as "Mindful Notices", which help you stay grounded throughout the day (think: "become aware of the contact your body is making with the ground" popping up on your phone around 11am).

We didn't get on that well with the standard voice, but we did love the traditional bell sound, which chimed at the beginning and end of each session. We also liked that we could save our favourite sessions to use when we're offline (for example, on the tube).

Paying for the subscription will get you more than 200 additional guided meditations as well as courses on relationships, your body, sleep and more. Whatever you choose, this app has a really simple interface, so it's easy to find what you want and save your favourites for next time. Overall, a great download.

Buddhify: £4.99 to download, iOS/£2.99 to download, Android

Buddhify boasts that it is the "only meditation app designed to fit into a busy modern lifestyle". It's certainly unique in its design, with a daily wheel divided into segments, from waking up, to going to bed. The colourful disc is designed to help you find relevant mindfulness and meditation exercises depending on the time of day, with plenty of short, spoken sessions for use on the go. We loved the "work break" exercises, which help you relax at the office, while the "travelling" segment was perfect for that dreaded journey into work.

Sessions range from four minutes to around half an hour, and there are also guided exercises if you can't sleep or if you're feeling particularly stressed. We liked the idea, but found that many of the other apps also had the variety we needed to fit them into our busy lives. This was also one of the only apps that makes you pay upfront - so if you'd rather try before you buy, then you might want to go for something else.

Reflectly: Free one-week trial, then £41.99/year, iOS/Android

Reflectly describes itself as a journal for happiness. More specifically, it claims it will enable users to "deal with negative thoughts and make positivity louder" as it teaches them about the science of well-being. It does this by asking easy-to-answer questions, enabling better reflection on the ups and downs of each day.

The idea is a good one. There are many people who would benefit from mindfulness but who do not necessarily want to follow guided meditations, or who can't quite get on board with the over-the-top mantras that some apps on the market promote. This handy journal app allowed us to instead track our thoughts and feelings by asking questions like how our day was, why it was good (for example, because of food or work), and how we felt. Our answers were then saved as "stories", which made up the wider "journal". We found that even after a couple of entries, it helped us gain perspective, and also increased our gratitude for some of the little things in life.

At times, however, the app felt a little childish. The language is extremely simple (think "Nice to meet you! What do your friends call you?" and "super awesome"), while we found the options for the questions - some of which are answered via a sliding scale - slightly restrictive. If you're after something a little different though, this app could be a good starting point for your mindfulness journey.

Smiling Mind: Free to download, iOS/Android

If you're obsessed with data and don't want to spend ages scanning through hundreds of programmes to find what you need, then this app is a great choice. From the moment you open Smiling Mind, you start inputting information to ensure you get a customised list of guided meditations. From asking you how much experience you've had before, to identifying what you're interested in - from mindfulness in sport to improving performance and sleep (who isn't interested in that?) - we liked the customisable element and found it saved time. Like some of the other apps, we also liked being able to check in and out before and after meditations to track our progress.

The guided sessions are easy to follow and offer a good balance between silence and narration (we particularly liked the Australian twang). Our favourite was the "body scan", which encourages listeners to identify how parts of the body are feeling. It may not be as slick as some of the other apps on the market, but we loved it all the same. Even better, Smiling Mind is completely free, as it was set up by an Australian not-for-profit organisation, which wants to make mindfulness "an accessible tool for all".

The verdict: Mindfulness apps

If you are looking for the right mindfulness app, it's reassuring to know that there are plenty of great options out there. was our favourite due to its variety - from the calming bedtime stories, to the easy-to-follow meditations. was a close runner-up and by the far the best app for beginners. We also loved , which offers us a haven through our headphones, and the sceptical 10% Happier for its refreshing nature, while Stop, Breathe & Think really makes you "check in" with yourself. As most of the apps are free to download, make sure you try before you buy and find one that makes your daily routine easier, not harder.

IndyBest product reviews are unbiased, independent advice you can trust. On some occasions, we earn revenue if you click the links and buy the products, but we never allow this to bias our coverage. The reviews are compiled through a mix of expert opinion and real-world testing.

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12 best mindfulness apps to help you keep calm during a crisis

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Over the past couple of years mindfulness has exploded in popularity. Like many trends, it has faced questions about whether it's just another health-crazed fad. But it's not just Instagram influencers who are recommending it.

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Not seeing the people we usually do can take its toll at a time like this - it can relieve stress to have some form of this - even at the other side of a screen, various platforms are available - I personally have been using zoom for quizzes, virtual pubs, and good old fashioned chats.

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For the most part these are still in production, variety of subjects and can be listened to anywhere.

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This is my labrador Arlo, hes still a pup and keeps me active using my walks to stretch his legs as well as my own. He's always on hand for a few minutes distraction if needed

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https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWSqmBTGDYngZ?si=CBFbAVTgTNulzxYCjXl_iw
an obvious one possibly, but listening to music is such an easy way to improve your mood. Other music streaming services are available ;)

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This is my Bengal, Noodle. Taking time out to play with him calms me down. It's mindfulness in a way

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I find that a walk really helps me decompress but I don't want to leave the house more than is necessary so I've started walking to Aldi. Carrying the bags up the stairs makes me feel virtuous!

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Very helpful way of calming yourself ..... like this walk, only you
Walk slowly ..... focus on each step and movement ....be aware of lifting your heel, moving your foot forwards, transferring your weight to your other leg, setting your foot down ... feel the heel first, then the rest of your foot  ..... and pause and repeat, repeat. Tune in to the sounds around you, what you can hear, see, smell or even touch. .... Breathe deeply & enjoy.

There are lots of different ones online, look for one that suits you ....I like this simple one
https://www.stopbreathethink.com/mindful-walking/