A great many of us are in need of help when it comes to redirecting our thoughts during moments of inner turmoil and calming the emotions that arise when we are stressed out. Oftentimes, it can be difficult to whip out a journal on the go, and while writing out our thoughts is an effective method to reduce mental stress, it may not be practical to carry a journal around. It may also not be one's personal preference to do so. There is an application available for both iPhone and Android users called Nuna Companion that acts both as a personal, private mental wellness journal and a toolkit for calming one's thoughts and emotions.
What Nuna Companion Is
In this fast-paced world, it can be beneficial to learn how to calm your thoughts, even minutely.
When anxious feelings arise, you can turn to old habits, or you can try to form new ones that can over time become a reflex into healthier thoughts and behaviors.
The purpose of the Nuna app is to provide the user with tools that, self-directed, give the person the freedom to fix their thoughts and soothe strong emotions. There are many guided exercises that assist one's mental wellness by allowing the user to dive in and address distressing thoughts and emotions directly. It is backed by proven methods of psychotherapy such as CBT.
There are also private tabs where you may journal or write out your thoughts freely. A mood chart on your home screen allows you to track your moods, and identify your emotional patterns/insights.
It is customizable in terms of favourite tools, and how often it prompts you to check in (you can turn all notifications off or set a weekly schedule to check in). The option to set up using the app exists and may be useful for someone who forgets to journal or is struggling to stay consistent with that therapeutic method, and can aid someone to consistently journal on their phone.
How It Works
I have been trying Nuna out for the past month, and I was pleasantly surprised by the efficacy of one particular tool for anxiety called 'Challenge Thoughts'. Below, you can read an actual interaction I had with the chatbot in one of the application's mental wellness tools. I recall having a particularly anxiety-filled moment (happened to be in the shower, of all places) and I selected this tool to deal with a difficult notion and feeling I was experiencing at the time. Please note the user's responses are prompted, and you are free to choose which one. You do not have to type your answers save for the journaling portion of the activity that asks you to state your, in this case, potential cognitive distortion ( a thought that may not be altogether true).
I found that, in that moment of turmoil, it helped to write down that very anguish-filled thought, ' I am not doing enough and have a tool that pointed me to think, 'well, maybe this thought is not the most rational I have had.' The tool 'Challenge Thoughts' pointed me to consider whether the thought was overly negative. I used this in the midst of an anxiety attack. Please see the conversation below for an example of how the application's tool prompted the re-direction of thought.
Final Thoughts
My overall impression of this application is that it is a self-directed, effective toolbox that can be used as a preventative or reactive tool to ameliorate one's mental wellness. My personal issues revolve around anxiety, and that one tool in the example listed above successfully calmed me down after I put the work into it, which I was pleasantly surprised to see. I believe you will get out of this tool what you make of it. If you stay consistent, it would likely help you to use this application's tools to keep or get your mental wellness on track. It can help improve mental well-being and mood regulation. It can assist with guiding someone on how to slow their thoughts down, thus promoting stress relief. It is also a great tool for someone who is on the go and needs to quickly jot their thoughts down. Nuna Companion also allows for setting up notifications that can nudge you several times a week so you do not forget to create your new habit of journalling or analyzing your thoughts. If that is something you struggle with, this application has the potential to help with that.
Personally, I prefer pen-on-paper journalling, but then again, I am a writer. If you are someone who is on their phone all day or is on your phone frequently in bed, it takes but a few minutes to do these exercises on your phone, and the convenience of having a private journal (meaning, it is not a social media application) may appeal to you.
Overall, I do recommend the application to those who want to try to boost their mental wellness and manage their emotions better. If you choose to try the application, it is available for both iPhone and Android users in the App Store and Google Play. When you sign up, you are prompted to purchase either a monthly or annual subscription. For a discount, please feel free to use the affiliate link at the bottom of this article.
You may download the Nuna Companion on your iPhone or Android phone using the discount (affiliate) link here:
Find out more about Nuna Companion and their team, as well as the research behind the tools on their official website:
Leave me a comment below to let me know what you think of Nuna Companion! I hope it helps you in your mental wellness journey, even if just a little.
- Emily (@emiliospeace)
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