5 Meditation Apps to Use If You Have PTSD

From the 2017 New York Times bestseller The Science of Meditation to a recent Newsweek article The Neuroscience of Meditation and Virtue of Shutting Up, meditation is all the rage right now. Proven to lower stress levels, increase focus and productivity and overall do great things for the body, it’s not surprising that now meditation is being touted as effective for PTSD as well. Studies show that veterans who regularly meditate experience a reduction in flashbacks, nightmares and see insomnia fade away.  

Beyond the reported benefits, it’s so simple that there’s really no reason why someone dealing with chronic PTSD should not at least try to add it to their daily routine. Unlike many other purported PTSD treatments, it’s free, can be practiced anywhere and requires no equipment or supporting personnel.    

Getting started is simple but not necessarily easy given how many different available apps there are out there. To ease you into it and ensure you have the best experience possible, check out our list below of the 5 meditation apps to find which one is the best for you.  

 Simply Being

Type: Guided Meditation 

Price: Free

Why You Should Use It: With meditations ranging from 5 minutes to 30 minutes and delivered in a soothing woman’s voice, Simply Being is exactly what its name describes: simple. The script stays the same from each meditation and can be paired with a variety of background noise from nature soundscapes to relaxing zen music. This app is best suited for those who are just getting into meditation and are looking to explore how they react to the practice.  

Available in iOS

BrainWave

Type: Binaural Beats Therapy

Price: $4.99

Why You Should Use It: Binaural beats therapy is an emerging form of soundwave therapy in which the right and left ears listen to two slightly different frequency tones yet perceive the tone as one. Depending on what frequency range you listen to, the supposed benefits can be anywhere from relaxation, improved focus and concentration, dreamless sleep, or boosted creativity. The noise that it makes is similar to white noise, so be prepared to have your mind be quite active in the beginning as there is no one speaking and nothing for your mind to try and latch onto. It will be just you and your thoughts. I recommend this for those who already have some experience with meditation as well as those who are looking to challenge themselves by increasing their distress tolerance. Sessions range from 5 minutes to 60 minutes.    

Available in iOS 

Calm

Type: Guided Meditation

Price: Basic-Free, Premium-$79.99/yr

Why You Should Use It: Although it’s one of the pricier options, in addition to offering hundreds of basic guided meditations, and nature sounds, Calm uniquely offers sleep stories; simple, non-stimulating stories that are read to you as you fall asleep and allows your brain to disengage from the day’s thoughts and worries so you get a good night’s rest.  

Available in iOS and Android

Headspace

Type: Guided Meditation

Price: Basic-Free, Premium $94.99

Why You Should Use It: Although the priciest option on the list, Headspace is the most robust apps of the five, offering hundreds of specialized courses anywhere from Coping with Cancer to Letting Go of Stress. With sessions ranging from 1 minute to 20 minutes, there is lots of variety and can be curated toward whatever specific issue or problem you’re trying to tackle through meditation. With its gamified set-up, you will have fun tracking many total minutes you’ve meditated for, your current streak of unbroken sitting sessions and you can even join in on live meditation with people around the world. If you are truly committed to establishing your meditation practice, this app is absolutely worth the money.  

Available in iOS and Android

Sanity and Self 

Type: Guided Meditation

Price: Basic-Free, Premium-$59.99/yr

Why You Should Use It: As the only app geared specifically toward women on our list, Sanity and Self touts itself as a self-care app that offers ‘self-care audio sessions given by licensed wellness experts.’ Like Calm, they have a section dedicated to meditation and soothing nature sounds to help with sleep ambiance, but it goes beyond that offering fitness sessions, a reminder tool where you can set a reminder to commit to yourself as well as a journal function. With sessions including “Date like a Grown Ass Woman” and “Give less F#cks” Sanity and Self is definitely a more nuanced type of meditation, but is successful in its pursuit of empowering women to be their best selves.   

Available in iOS and Android