What's Up? A Mental Health App Reviews

It’s a REAL tool not a list of inspirational quotes

JmeAl3na

I am giving a explanation because I think I’m not the only one that avoids mental health apps and want to reassure them that this app is nothing like any of the other apps. Also as a genuine thank you to the developer ? Nothing is worse than thinking something can help you just to find out it is filled with “live love laugh”, “you’re special”, “omg mercury in retrograde”. That’s all nice but it is shallow and unhelpful. Some apps with breathing exercises and cutesy quotes really make me feel invalidated and that feeling better is just as easy as namaste. That if you just say the word “positive” over and over nothing bad will ever happen. So when I found this app I was sooooo happy. I share it with anyone overwhelmed by their mental state and especially when they had little resources available. I have severe anxiety attacks from PTSD and this app has saved my life. It is clear the developer is a professional and is focused on helping people get grounded and understand their emotions on a deeper level. Sometimes there is just no level of advice that takes the intensity of an emotion away. Sometimes you are just going to feel but this helped me through that in one piece and educated me on how to identify what I need.

Highly Reccommend!

SamGCMU

I’ve only just started using this app, but I am already in love with this app all around! I have personally have had experiences with anxiety and depression episodes and this app has given me an outlet. This is an informative, simple to use app that can also give quick help especially with anxiety! It walks you through a series of actions and activities to bring you back and grounded to reality. It gives you all the right tools you’ll need to be aware of your emotions and surroundings. This app also gives soooo many great coping strategies that help you with the thoughts and feelings you are going through, I have already used a few and it’s helped tremendously!! Some of the coping strategies that are used in this app is called: Thinking patterns, metaphors, manage worries, and positive steps. Thinking patterns: it helps identify the unhealthy thinking patterns, challenge and distance yourself from them, and see the situation in a different way. Metaphors: this uses a story or illustration to see alternative ways of looking at something and helping you make decision in a more effective way in life. Manage worries: this is where it gives 10 different approaches to try like “setting aside worry time” to “replaying the worry till your tired” as well as a few other examples. Positive steps: this gives you multiple options to take a step in the right direction of feeling better like “helping others” to “learning a new skill/hobby” to “simply relax”. This relates to Abnormal Psych and anxiety by how it affects the 3 components: cognitive, physical, and behavioral. This app helps these components on multiple levels for a person and it gives the person a way to quickly help through a panic attack. This app even has a way where you can document all your thoughts, feelings, behaviors, negative habits; this gives a way for a person to to keep a tab on their self and how much they may have changed physically, mentally, or emotionally.

To basic (read)

317gamergirl

It’s to basic and there’s just not much to do.

YOU NEED THIS

Riyam Tota

I was not feeling good today, but i downloaded this app and it made me a whole lot better. It made my day! To the developer: THANK YOU SO MUCH! You really are saving lives out here by just creating this app.

Hoping for something that could actually help

psylawn

I was looking for a CBT app that could help me understand and cope with my intrusive BDD thoughts. Instead, I got an app full of basic platitudes and an option to journal (wow so revolutionary). The fonts are ugly, the layout is not user friendly, and the options for help are extremely limited. Go with something like Youper if you’re looking for habit/mood tracking, because this app was just... not it.

Amazing

dietcokelove

I have been struggling with anxiety for a while trying to figure out coping mechanisms when I found what’s up- I got it during an anxiety attack and used the game to help- it was amazing 10/10 recommend this app

Cons of the Forums

LovinDePuppies <3 <3 <3 :D

Provides easy and immediate access to coping strategies and techniques that users can rely when experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Users are give information to understand their feelings and emotions, as well as ways they can break the cycle of feeling this way. However, forums should be better controlled. Anyone can post anything, which can be hurtful to users, especially teens. Although it is said that the app is for anyone that is 4 years old and older, children that do not know how to read will not be able to use it. Individuals that are visually impaired will not be able to use it either. An interesting point that was made by Steinberg (2014) is that the pain that adolescence experience when they are social rejected “closely resembles physical pain in neurological terms that taking acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, actually can help alleviate it” (95). Being socially rejected is a painful experience for teens that can definitely make things worse for those that are already struggling. Based on the review criteria above and my own experience with What’s Up, I would rate this app a 3 out 5. What’s Up has many different coping strategies and techniques that users can access whenever they are in need of it. However, individuals can post whatever they want on the forums that can potentially harm users.

Unable to create an account

[Drea4]

The app seemed good, but every time I tried to post something in the forum it would say I needed a valid account. I’ve been trying to create an account by filling in the username section, email address, etc, but when I hit the create button it just gives me an alert message. It won’t create an account for me.

Thanks

Donnie'sgirl34

I didn't even know there were apps like this and I found this one by accident. It's helped me put somethings into perspective.

Best app for anxiety ever

Kuku Cachoo

I am diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and this is the best app to help me calm down. It has actionable methods that it walks you through as you do them. It had great positive quotes but that’s not all the app is unlike many other anxiety apps. My favorite section is the grounding techniques that lead you through the five senses. It helps me calm down so much. Thanks so much to the creators of this app.