Headspace and similar apps

I finally took the plunge to use my Headspace app provided free under my Revolut plan.

The bedtime activity last night sent me to sleep within 20 minutes or so, usually takes me hours.

Then this morning, the self worth and work activity really hit hard :sweat_smile:

Unsure if itā€™s the same for everyone but it does really make you think.

Hopefully continues to work as effectively.

Anyone else using this, or any similar apps?

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Headspace is a brilliant app. I also use the Endel app for sleep sounds.

Mindfulness has been a lifesaver for me, especially at work, where my stress levels were reaching critical and my health was taking a hit.

Iā€™d also recommend the book ā€œThe Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***ā€ by Mark Manson. Silly title aside, itā€™s actually a good book that will help you to change how you see the world for the better.

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Anything that helps remove heartbreak Iā€™m game :sweat_smile:

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Iā€™ve never got into them really, but always impressed by those who it works for.

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Iā€™ve always loved the idea of these things in theory. Iā€™m pretty big into wellness these days.

The only app Iā€™ve ever used though is the one that comes baked into Apple Watch, and in all honesty, I find it counter intuitive. If Iā€™m agitated, I find it agitates me more than helps with calm and inner peace.

I like the breathing exercise, when Iā€™m already chill, but not when Iā€™m stressed. Trying to focus on my breathing just makes me more stressed!

I find self-affirming reflections frustrating too. Theyā€™re meant to make you ponder and feel good, but I get irritated by the often open ended nature of them. I think where I fail is that Iā€™m rubbish at guiding myself and so self-guided mindfulness winds up having the opposite of the intended effect for me.

What has worked quite well for me though (but only sometimes!) are guided meditations via Apple Fitness+. When someone is guiding me through it, it does seem to have a positive effect. Jonelle on Fitness+ is the best at this for me. I always end a workout session with one of her cooldowns.

Iā€™m interested and eager to see what Gentler Streak comes out with for stress, because that is by far my favourite wellness app.

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Iā€™m the same. Guided or not, I canā€™t get into these meditations or mindfulness exercises, especially not when I would need them.

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Itā€™s called ā€˜practiceā€™ because thatā€™s what you need to do. Practice it when youā€™re OK so you can do it when youā€™re not, and really need it. A bit like a footballer taking hundreds of penalties on the empty training ground so itā€™s second nature to them when itā€™s the World Cup Final and millions are watching.

When it works for me I love it, but my brain is and always has been like speaking spaghetti. So I really need to practice more butā€¦

I have found group medication/mindfulness the best. Something about not being able to go ā€œsod this!ā€ and stop is really helpful. I have often been to my local Buddhist temple for the beginnerā€™s night for this, but there are lots of non-religious groups around. Again, this helps with your practice when youā€™re on your own and in need. (Although I have Buddhist tendencies Iā€™m not into organised religion at all, and my local group are not preachy at all, you donā€™t even need to stay for the cuppa afterwards if you donā€™t want to!)

As for apps. I found the manā€™s voice in Headspace to Jamie Oliver for me. I donā€™t need the guide to be my mate! Calm is good but they seem to explain why itā€™s useful before every mediation and I donā€™t need that - Iā€™m convinced! Balance is really good and itā€™s free for a year, or at least was until recently.

There are also a load of simple timer and/or Buddhist-based apps that are good. Plum Village is free and Buddhist, but there are loads of meditations on there which are about love and kindness and not about how great Buddhism is. If youā€™re not totally anti itā€™s worth a look.

Practice. It really does work at making life calmer. And it doesnā€™t have to be a big thing. From practicing using the apps I find that I can switch into it for 30 seconds here, 5 minutes there when Iā€™m sat in a queue, waiting for an appointment, stood outside a shop waiting for my family, and especially when Iā€™m out for a walk - I love dividing on each step, and consciously noticing my surrounding. Youā€™re not in a trance, youā€™re mindful of your situation in the here and now, so you can prescribe anywhere.

Iā€™m a better person in myself for persevering with this practice.

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Eh?

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Ha! Autocorrect does its thingā€¦ Edited to ā€˜lifeā€™ which is what I obviously meant. :smiley:

Been using Balance and silvercloud. Tempted to give headspace a shot. Tried calm not sure Iā€™m a fan.

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Hey people who use these apps!

Are they any good at or do they offer any program to help rebuild intuition? I feel like Iā€™ve lost mine and I need it back.

Any mindfulness activity will ultimately lead to that.

Iā€™m unsure if there are specific exercises.

Has your intuition let you down? :slightly_smiling_face:

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In a pretty massive way today, yes. Particularly when looking back in retrospect, it was glaringly obvious, and I missed it. 4 months ago, I wouldnā€™t have.

Is there any particular mindfulness exercise youā€™d recommend? Iā€™m gonna try to get back into my nightly Mindful Cooldowns (I havenā€™t done one for a few months) with a guided meditation before bed. Simple breathing exercises on their own have never worked for me.

Breathing exercises donā€™t really help me either.

Leaves on a Stream helps me to offload and reduce stress. It originates from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which is used alongside CBT by psychologists.

As for intuition, Iā€™m not sure, Iā€™d imagine having a clear mind helps, so any mindfulness will.

Wrong about a person or something else? Weā€™ve all been there, humans can be quite disappointing.

The bigger question is whether these techniques and methods will even work for you. Youā€™ve said that youā€™ve done some mindfulness, so maybe it will. Some people just canā€™t do it, you need a very visual mind - some people just canā€™t visualise.

In fact, I know at least one person who literally canā€™t visualise anything in their mind. You could describe an object to them and ask them to imagine it, and they just canā€™t. Apparently, millions of people canā€™t visualise in their mind, itā€™s a thing.

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Thank you! Thatā€™s really helpful advice!

For me it depends on the guided meditation. Some I just donā€™t connect with at all, but others can be very powerful. Casting back to memories or places where youā€™ve felt certain emotions are ones I revisit a lot, because I find that easy, to reimagine and relive those experiences and capture those feelings, and it certainly does something for me.

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