It’s a given that your mental health will take a dive during a global pandemic.
Fear and anxiety lurks everywhere you turn, and on every news platform that exists. Headlines scream death, rising COVID-19 cases, and more closures of businesses in a plight that seems increasingly permanent.
The outside world is chaotic, so we’ve all retreated to our homes to try to work from, and work through an international crisis in the most socially responsible way we know how. A dark side to all this, though, is that your mental health takes a toll, even if your physical body leaves this uncertain time unscathed.
This plight is especially pressing for those of us who have pre-existing mental health concerns or are placed in close proximity with triggers more so than ever as we become home-bound.
Hypochondria and paranoia, for instance, is on the up as COVID-19 is extremely insidious, and its sufferers can be asymptomatic. Depression from being closed in is another. Abuse numbers are also climbing. It is hard to find a silver lining in all this, but it is important for all of us to remember that help is available if we need it.
Digital applications and local institutions exist as helpful platforms for us to seek wellness, guidance and aid for the health of our head and heart. Whether you’re looking to contact a counsellor remotely, get in touch with a helpline or download an application that can help ground you through minor bouts of the blues, peruse our guide of the best mental health platforms that can tide you through this period.
Please note that for mental health issues of extreme urgency, please contact the Institute of Mental Health’s emergency hotline at +65 6389 2222 or visit its 24-hour Emergency Centre. More information can be garnered here.
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AWARE is a women’s rights advocacy in Singapore that also holds counselling sessions for women in need, alongside having a sexual harassment hotline you can call to seek help from. If you need support over the phone, you can call 1800 777 5555 from 10am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, to speak to a trained counsellor. For more information, click here.
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The Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH) is a well-rounded platform for one’s daily mental health care needs. Not only does it aim to end stigmatization against mental health concerns with its comprehensive resources, but the website also offers toll-free counselling over the phone for those who need it, especially now during COVID-19. You can reach out to them at 1800 283 7019.
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Youper is a mental health-focused application co-created by a team of doctors, scientists and engineers, and relies on an intelligent AI to create personal mental health resources. Its functions include a check-in chat, where you can have conversations with a mental health assistant that responds to your needs, a journal where you can track your moods, and guided meditation podcasts for you to keep calm and carry on.
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One of the leading mental health and wellness apps in the industry is Moodpath, collaboratively created by a number of psychology and psychiatry departments from renowned institutions worldwide. It is available for the public, but also has been adopted by many mental health professionals as part of their practise. Components include a mood journal, a check-in function that involves quick, customised Q&As thrice a day to make sure you’re doing okay, mental health reports generated for you monthly, and an expansive range of courses that include meditation guides and sleep aids for you to delve into when needed.
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Subtitled “your safe space in these difficult times”, Wysa was awarded as the Best App for Health & Care under ORCHA, the world’s leading health application evaluator. It also is highly recommended as a platform to cope if you’re dealing with COVID-19-related panic. It has both an AI therapist that serves when you’re unable to go for therapy, over a hundred self-care exercises, and a personal therapist that checks in with you on a daily basis, though the last measure is for a fee. Everything is secure and anonymous on Wysa, so rest assured your privacy is protected.
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As its name suggests, Happify wants to make you happy, and it does so by interactive science-backed activities and games as a chief measure to help. These activities lift your spirits and get you into a feel-good headspace that is all the more necessary right now. In light of the COVID-19 crisis, the app has also made some of its premium functions such as guides and webinars for mental wellness, productivity and the like available for free.
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Moodfit is pretty much a one-stop resource for all your mental health needs, whether you require cognitive behavioural therapy, zen assistance, breathing exercises, medical intel, a mood tracker or more. It even allows you to “experiment” with your mood and how your daily practises can affect it by logging variables and seeing how they correspond with your headscape. All in all, this is an exhaustive resource for those seeking a broad array of care available in a click.
Beatrice Bowers
Features Editor
Beatrice Bowers writes about beauty, drinks, and other nice things. When not bound to her keyboard, she moonlights as a Niffler for novels and can be found en route to bankruptcy at your nearest bookstore. Don't tell her boss.
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