This post is in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month.
On May 25, 2022, apple.com recognized small business app developers such as Rootd. Rootd is an anxiety relief app and it does this by asking of you to keep a journal of your daily successes, your income, moods, sleep, and breathing. Though this is an application created in 2017, I think the importance this has on a real current issue should not be ignored (I also checked to see if anyone had posted about this and did not find it).
This app celebrates the small and big successes, affirming those successes. There is a panic button that users can press and a voice comes on and celebrates and affirms your successes. There are visuals for the mood, breathing and other features of the application, making it fun and easy to follow. your successes become your stats/badges/achievements, helping users feel accomplished. there is also a lesson section for users to learn about panic attack and anxiety.
Rootd helps users keep track of their panic attacks and how they are progressing. In that way, it is a learning app about one’s self and their current anxiety state. It provides badges in recognition of the accomplishments an individual has made, adding the gamification aspect to it.
This app is completely mobile in that you can access it anytime, anywhere on your mobile phone.
Thanks for bringing up Mental Health, it’s a very important part of education which I feel is often neglected by educators. We’re all so focused on results/grades often at the cost of increased mental stress and physical toll. This is an app which should be encouraged and used to promote the importance of wellbeing and preventing burnout from stress. In particular I like how there’s a button to celebrate success as in most situations, students don’t receive the deserved amount of praise/positive feedback for their hard work, having acknowledgment and recognition is important.
This app is a great way of focusing our attention toward something positive while on our phones. I know that most of my apps and the things that take up most of my time while I’m on my phone aren’t really very positive towards helping my mental health.
Thank you for introducing us to this app, Rika. Some of my students have expressed to me they need encouragement, reassurance and self-recognition. This is an excellent app that can benefit them greatly. I have downloaded it on my phone and learned some of the key features. It’s like a self-inspirational journal with tips on how to handle stress and anxiety. It’s like a quiet friend sitting on the phone and easily accessible anytime and anywhere. Thank you for sharing this app with us!
Rika,
I had not heard of this app prior to you mentioning it but I do see the value in this. I currently, use a journal that has a morning and night section for reflection that I purchased because I found that I needed something to help me track my everyday mood and habits: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/self-care-a-day-and/9781683835547-item.html
I think the extra features in this app, like the panic button can help users to feel more connected. I also think reminders to check-in can also be helpful as I often forget to go back to my journal in the evening.
Hello Rika, it is indeed a really interesting and essential app in the current context, especially in mobile form, so in your pocket at all times. I discovered this app a few days ago when Apple recognized the small business app developers yes, but also the fact that this application was created by a Canadian woman following her personal experience. I actually replied to a post about it here : https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec523/2021/11/24/a3-redefining-your-journey-with-anxiety/#comment-7024. Thanks for the review! 🙂