Mental Health: Meditations and Podcast for 2021
Mental Health: Meditations and Podcasts for 2021
By: Grace Logan
We feel good on the outside when we feel good on the inside. Mental health is such a significant priority in our lives. As college students, it is often hard to take the time to care for ourselves. Meditation has become a lifesaver this past year. Anxiety levels during the pandemic has increased. Being alone and comprehending the world around us was difficult for many. Living in the technology-infused world that we do, there are so many resources available to us to care for ourselves in simple, easy ways. A simple podcast or app is great to deal with pre-test jitters or mental breakdowns. Here are some of my favorite ways to decompress and meditate through the day.
The Calm App is something I cannot live without. The app is an excellent resource for anxiety and nerves. There are tabs for sleep, anxiety, meditation, sounds, music, etc. You name any situation, and there is a 10-50 minute sound for it. My personal favorites are the sleep sounds. With sleep stories read by some of our favorite celebrities like Harry Styles and Matthew McConaughey, you can escape before falling asleep into a different world. If you have anxious thoughts, a 10-minute body scan helps a ton. It is an investment for us broke college students, but an investment that is worth it. Calm is a yearly payment of $69.99 however, there are often deals available, a free trial and a free version. I highly recommend this app for beginners in the meditation world.
A wonderful free meditation app is Meditation App. There is a fair amount of free content available, or you can pay a weekly $3.99. This app has many background sound options for those that prefer the noise over the tutorials. They also have available several sleep stories as well. Whether you are there for the sleep sounds or the bedtime stories. This app is a great, inexpensive app to give a try.
A third app for meditation is Insight Timer. The app has over 35,000 free meditations. Yes, for FREE. This app was a great starter for someone like me who had no idea what meditation was. You make an account and can become friends with your friends. You can share how many minutes you meditated and see what other people are doing, as well. It provides a community amongst the users. Insight Timer is perfect for beginners.
Spotify is a great source of podcasts and meditation available if you do not feel the need to purchase an app. With a simple search in the search bar, you can find sleep sounds and timers to ease your night’s rest. Spotify’s array of podcasts are fantastic for anyone learning to cope with anxiety and meditation. There are so many options in this field. One of my personal favorites is Owning it: The Anxiety Podcast by Caroline Foran. This podcast is great to learn and cope with anxiety and answers so many questions someone can have about mental health. The episodes range from about 12 minutes to an hour, and the titles of each episode are very insightful as to what you are about to listen to. Another resource that Spotify has for its listeners are public playlists that contain music and sounds that are anxiety-reducers. A great playlist with popular songs is Anxiety Relief. It has songs like Sweet Creature by Harry Styles, Robbers by The 1975, and several other calming songs for a listener. I highly recommend taking the time to listen.
Meditation is not just a yoga class. Meditation can be a form of prayer, a stress-reliever, a time of silence, or just a simple, deep breath. With uncertain times, stability in our minds is essential. Using the resources we have is important. Technology and social media can be our worst enemies but also our best source of help. Enter this year with a new mindset and peace. Your mental health deserves the effort.
For more lifestyle tips and tricks, keep up with www.umsquaremagazine.com and follow us on Instagram @umsquaremagazine!