Resources
Mindfulness Resources
Below is a set of recordings of mindfulness exercises I have made. Some of them are my own take on common practices, and some of them are read aloud from manuals. Also be aware that there are plenty of additional places to find mindfulness exercises and assistance grounding. For extended audio with practices and lessons on mindful concepts, I highly recommend Charlotte Center for Mindfulness (they do lovely work in our community, and donations to them are appreciated). I also enjoy the apps Insight Timer (more below) and Headspace.
Useful Phone Apps
Below is a list of phone apps that I or my clients have found helpful in the past, with small blurbs about each of them.
Insight Timer is an app with a wide variety of mindfulness practices. I love it because its free version is expansive and incredibly functional (access to the entire catalog, ability to bookmark favorite meditations and practitioners, etc). The one thing I like folks to know is that you will find everything from grounding mindfulness practices to sleep stories to astral projection on this app! The key is to find a few folks you like, and stick to them. I recommend Sharon Salzberg and Tara Brach to start with.
Headspace is also a wonderful mindfulness app. The catch is that its free version is very basic (pretty much a beginner’s guide to mindfulness). The paid version has multiple courses including series of practices on coping with specific things (cravings, childbirth, illness), dealing with distractions, and dealing with fear of the future. Those are just a few of the many sessions offered.
Calm Harm is a free app designed to help mitigate self harm urges, and it works for many other target behaviors as well. Essentially what the app does is assist with urge-surfing by having you choose a period of time (5 minutes or 15 minutes), then choose to use distraction, a breathing exercise, or another activity to keep you occupied until that period of time passes, allowing you to more easily ride the wave (surf the urge) and avoid engaging in a target behavior.