Personal Blog

Me:

It’s called Booster Buddy, it’s free, and it’s available for both Android and iOS.

It works by giving you ‘quests’ (daily tasks) that you are encouraged to complete each day. They are very small things and it caters to you (it asks you questions at the start about what you struggle with).

It’s designed to be child friendly and easy to understand. I’m finding it really helpful. You can also input medication times for a reminder and emergency contact details.

In the Settings section, there is a list of Helpful Websites for a variety of different mental health issues. The list is short, but it is a great idea.

The app has you input information (which you can choose not to share) like your local emergency number, local hospital, and an emergency contact person.

There are plenty of activities to keep you going in the right direction.

There is a calendar function and a medication reminder if you need one– and if you have an “as needed” medication, the app can remind you to take them if you check in in “Crisis” mode.

You can edit or change your information at any time, including your symptoms.

Also, less useful but really cute, you can dress up your animal buddy as you do more activities.

I just downloaded this app this morning and it’s A M A Z I N G. I’m not overstating. This app combines some of the best elements and methods from all the various apps I’ve tried.

The two features that I haven’t seen elsewhere in mental health apps that I especially love are:

- It lets you choose a cute animal friend as a companion to keep you socially motivated. To “wake up” and play with this friend, you need to complete 3 wellness tasks (that are super simple and easy), once you’ve done your daily checkin tasks, the cute animal wakes up to play with you. You can tickle it, talk to it, and even play dress up!! Much more motivating than apps that try to make you feel connected to real people, IMO.

- It includes a “calendar” feature (not a big overwhelming calendar like a normal app) that lets you add your own tasks to your daily checklist. So now, along with “checked in,” “completed quests,” and “take medication” I have an extra task that’s alerting me to the fact that I have an important phone call coming up. It made me describe this as “appointment”: “An appointment means someone is counting on you to be somewhere.” I think that might be the most motivating description of an appointment ever. As an anxious person who tends to cancel and reschedule everything, this app is already making me feel better.