I know, I know. Yet another app.   This is no ordinary app though. The Royal[1], “one of Canada’s foremost mental health care and academic health sciences centres”, developed the Healthy Minds app[2]. Aimed at post-secondary students, Healthy Minds is “a problem-solving tool to help deal with emotions and cope with the stresses you encounter both on and off campus.”

When you download Healthy Minds it opens with a short explanatory video showing you how to make best use of the app. The authors of the app ask that you do three things – think about one problem you want to focus on, write what led to the problem, what thoughts, feelings and behaviours this problem caused and what happened after the problem. Why? As Dr. Simon Hatcher says in the video, “So you can change how you react in the future”.

In the Mood section you are prompted with a “how are you feeling?” and you can choose from nine moods. When you click on the submit button you are then sent to a text box where you can write about “what happened before you felt this way”. You can even add a photo if you wish. Once you submit this text, depending on the emotion you chose, you there are helpful suggestions. For example, if you choose “angry” you will be asked if you want to take a moment to try the Breathe activity.

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