Therapy is often an essential part of treatment for mental health concerns like depression or anxiety. What are you supposed to do if you can’t afford it? Even with sliding scale payments, therapy can be expensive. Online therapy services like BetterHelp and Talkspace make it more affordable, at around $60 to $90 per session, but that’s still not in the budget for many people. Not to mention, therapists aren’t always taking new patients.
Therapy will always be the gold standard for mental health treatment, but circumstances can make it temporarily impossible. These four strategies improve your mental health without spending any money.
Also, see how to naturally treat depression and anxiety and ways you can give yourself a happiness boost each day.
1. Use mental health apps to track daily progress
Mental health apps offer resources to people who otherwise couldn’t get them. While they’re not a substitute for therapy and can’t diagnose conditions, mental health apps like Moodfit and Sanvello are great tools to use on your mental wellness journey. The best mental health apps will help you relieve stress and anxiety and teach you how to manage symptoms in the future.
There’s a lot of variety in what these apps offer and the features that are built in. Many offer a great catalog of educational resources to help you learn about conditions and adapt coping strategies to manage them daily.
Mental health apps can also be a reminder to check in on yourself. Most send push notifications throughout the day, which can be used as an indicator to stop and assess how you’re feeling.
2. Implement cognitive behavioral therapy strategies on your own
Cognitive behavioral therapy is commonly used to treat depression, anxiety and addiction. CBT strategies and tools are intended to be taken