The Best Phone Apps For Anxious Minds

Sometimes the world can be overwhelming. For people with anxiety, that happens more frequently and escaping their thoughts for a few minutes (or a few hours) is necessary for their well being. While, of course, music, movies, TV shows, reading, etc. can help ease the constant spiral of thoughts, sometimes you need something to truly numb out.

In my experience, the best thing for this is phone games and apps. There is nothing like putting on a podcast or music and crushing candy until you're ready to go to sleep or have calmed down.

Here are 5 apps that I have found helpful for calming my anxiety or just numbing out when I need to.

#1: Best Fiends

You've probably heard about Best Fiends from your favorite YouTuber or podcaster, but this is truly my favorite game to mindlessly play when I'm feeling anxious, or just to relax at the end of the day. I like that it has more of a story and is more varied than Candy Crush. There is also a collectible aspect to it, which motivates you to keep playing.

#2: Crossword Jam

As a writer, I am particularly fond of word games. However, I am also quite picky about them. I do not like word searches and most crosswords I have come across on the app store are either too easy (aka made for children), or do not have enough free content to make it worth it.

Even so, I tend to prefer games where you create words or find words in a more unique way. Crossword Jam is the perfect game for that. Given a crossword and a few letters, you then have to find as many letters as possible. All words do count towards your score, but only a few count towards the crossword itself, which adds a level of challenge that helps you improve your vocabulary at the same time.

#3: GeoGuessr

Unfortunately, GeoGuessr is no longer free. Though, when it was, I loved the challenge of getting dropped somewhere in the world and having to wander around to find clues about where you are at. I am a geography nerd and someone who wants to travel pretty much everywhere. This was a fun game that allowed me to learn and be observant. Hence taking my thoughts away from my anxieties and onto trying to find the perfect angle to read the nearby street sign.

At one point, they also had a competition mode where you and a friend (in my case, my brother) would take turns on each level. The person who guessed overall closest/had the highest score would win.

#4: StateConnect

In this game, you are tasked with connecting North America's cities by highway. This is a slower paced game and the free version does offer a lot of ads. However, I got so addicted the day I downloaded it that I finished it that day. Additionally, I even paid to remove the ads when I started over. As you may be able to tell, I rarely pay for phone apps, but to me, this was worth it.

Currently, they only have North America, but I hope to see them expand to other continents soon as I think that will only add more fun and challenge to the game.

#5: Pokemon Go

Walks are a form of self-care for me, but when I'm feeling particularly depressed, I may not want to go. Pokemon Go helped me get out onto my walks and even made me look forward to going out. I explored more of my neighborhood on foot than I ever had before. Not only was this great for my physical health, but it also helped my mental health as well.