Therapeutic Entertainment: Anxiety Relieving Apps
By Jonathan Kline Posted 5/1/2020 in ENTERTAINMENT
Maybe it’s because of a job interview, or something as simple as a phone call – tension in your gut, sweat on your palms, your mind rushing a mile a minute.
No matter who you are, you’ve probably experienced anxiety at least once. Unfortunately, there are those out there who fight this illness on a daily basis, often at the expense of both mental and physical health. Some form of Anxiety Disorder is thought to affect over eighteen percent of the United States population alone, but due to the cost of health insurance and treatment, only an estimated forty percent of those affected can seek help for their condition.
So, the price of professional treatment is too high, but that isn’t stopping your brain from giving you jitters and keeping you up at night. What are your options?
In this list you’ll find some tried, true, and free applications proven to calm anxiety. Most of these applications can also double as a way to aid with sleep disorders or Depression; if you or a loved one suffers from these disorders, try out these anxiety relieving apps for a fun way to unwind after a mentally exhausting day.
Zen Koi 2
Zen Koi 2 is a well-known anxiety relieving app, often recommended for insomnia. The Zen Koi series are simple games that can be picked up hours, days, even months from when they were last put down.
Zen Koi 2 involves a colorful fish, randomized by a hatching process. By eating small prey and engaging in the optional leveling up features, your Koi can eventually hatch eggs, get faster and ascend into a Dragon. You can then play as the dragon to create custom constellations.
Both the Koi and Dragon forms are added to your collection upon being gathered, encouraging players to breed each type of Koi to complete their collections. With no obligations and an incredibly relaxed play style, Zen Koi 2 easily tops this list. Get it on Google Play or the App Store.
My Oasis
It’s an idle app, which means you can put the game down and still make progress without worrying about the state of your game.
By clicking on the screen, you gain “hearts” which can be used to redeem virtues or woodland creatures for your Oasis. As your Oasis gains levels, it grows larger in size, allowing for more greenery and wildlife to be added to the surface.
The wildlife will speak to you, offering words of encouragement such as: “It doesn’t matter how slow you go, you’re still lapping everyone on the couch,” or “It’s okay, even the sky cries sometimes.”
It also involves a piano system, in which the player can play the piano for the wildlife to gain extra hearts. They can also use it to change the weather for daily goals, or even just to fit their mood.
With the successful goal of stress-relieving play style accomplished, My Oasis is a must-have for sufferers of Anxiety and Depression alike.
Tap Tap Fish – Abyssrium
Starting alone at the bottom of the ocean, the player is a “Lonely Corallite” who has lost their friends in the flow of time.
Also falling under the idle app category, Abyssrium focuses on gathering hearts to upgrade corals and fish. With each new creature, the Lonely Corallite becomes filled with happiness, allowing for more and more love to be shared throughout the ocean floor. This app has perfected the way idle apps can be played through ‘ease of access’, enabling the player to put it down and pick it back up whenever they’d like – but they can also play continuously without having to step away from their screens.
The application also promotes cross-platform posting of the player’s favorite fish, encouraging artistic screenshots to be featured in a weekly display.
With beautiful artwork and a calm atmosphere, Tap Tap Fish – Abyssrium makes a well-deserved home on this list of anxiety relieving apps.
Cat Room
If you’re looking for a more active simulation, Cat Room may just be what you’ve been searching for.
The player is an undefined cat owner who uses coins to buy goods for their furry friends. As the player levels up, more cats can be added to the owner’s repertoire.
Featuring a ‘match three’ style mini-game, fully custom rooms and even a recipe gathering function, this adorable, easy-going game is a winner for calming down bustling minds of all ages. The application is originally from Japan and lacking in proper translation, but the awkward English can bring tears to the player’s eyes from laughter.
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Between its charm and the well-rounded game-play, Cat Room has been working hard to earn a spot on this list.
Kitty Cat Clicker
Last but not least, Kitty Cat Clicker claws into the list of top anxiety relieving apps for its adorable graphics, ease of play and absurd characters. Between the basic Red Cat – “Will Steal Your Heart” – and the Sushi Cat – “Fastest Paws in Japan” – this clicker game is a slow-paced, humorous way to get some of that weight off of an Anxiety sufferer’s chest.
The goal for the player is to summon as many cats as possible to help toss food into “the Queen’s” mouth. The Queen is a large, white cat who cannot be sustained on something as small as a single salmon. She requires honey, cookies, and diamonds; there’s really no limit to what this cat will gorge itself on for the joy of fulfillment.
By clicking the screen, the player helps the cats feed the Queen. More cats can be unlocked with more feeding points, which can be used to complete levels faster or gain rare medals to unlock secret cats, helping the player’s goal of filling up the Queen.
While these are just some of the Anxiety-friendly applications out there, all of the apps on this list are free, user-friendly and successful at calming a wired mind. If you or a loved one is having a particularly hard day, give one of these apps a try and watch the day go from rain to shine.
